I can't believe the slashdot editors let this submission go through. To quote the author:
"First of all, in examining the details of the reports, there is no Windows Vista virus described in them."
"The viruses do not attempt to exploit a software vulnerability and do not encompass a new method of attack."
"...there is no relation between Monad and Windows Vista Beta 1."
The author is pretty clear that the reported virii had ZERO effect on the choice to include monad or not.
Yet somehow the submitter was able to conclude "...because of the possible virus threat that targets Monad the shell will not be included in Windows Vista.". Will wonders ever cease to exist!
Yeah, and Microsoft isn't the first company to think of using patents to drive business. According to the US Patent Office, IBM was top dog in 2004 with 3,248 patents. Microsoft didn't even make the top-10 that year!
I totally agree that software patents are out of control, but I find the author's focus on Microsoft very suspicious. In 2004 they weren't even on the radar.
Traditionally a lot of DRM designs call for restictions on:
- copying
- printing
- saving
- viewing beyond a certain period of time
However, I think it is unfair that email I send to customer_support@[your_favorite].com is deleted so quickly. I should be able to tag my email so that I control when and how the message is deleted! It's my content, so as part of my license I control when it may be deleted. This contractual item ought to be backed up by digital rights management software restrictions.
Therefore, I think it any DRM software should allow a user to restrict the following additional action:
- deleting
In hyperthreading, the logical processors do not share registers, just function units. Thus, if one logical processor needs to multiply while the other needs to add, they may share the CPU resources simultaneously.
This was developed in response to the observation that individual function units remained idle for multiple cycles while the current process was busy doing one kind of operation.
CLick the "Image" button to see the lovely diagrams. There are a few items this patent does NOT cover, as explicitely mentioned in the text. This patent does not cover additional channel information, like alpha channels. It only covers a seperate, full color, mask image that is used to mask off the source image.
I have a few questions:
The patent mentions that a black pixel codes for source image. Does this mean that if I decide the opposite, I can avoid royalties?
The patent mentions it uses full color mask images. Is a greyscale or black + white image considered a full color image?
If the patent does not cover greyscale images, then not all sanity is lost!
In a followup session, the Web Standards Project recommended that webmasters direct users of "legacy" operating systems such as Windows 95/98/NT, MacOS 9, or Linux 2.2 upgrade their respective OS's to the most recent version. According to their spokesperson, this will bring into use the thousands of CPU cycles currently wasted in computers not running new and more "feature rich" machines. The WSP did not return phone calls and refused comment on this issue.
Mr Gates very nicely sidesteps the question of Linux as a server, and condemns Linux on the desktop because of its dividedness, lack of support in the industry, and conflicting standards.
1) Linux as a server -- This question was left completely unaddressed in his email. He attacks Linux as a desktop machine only.
2) Dividedness -- This is both a danger and a benefit. Because Linux is divided, it is flexible. Flexibility, as we know, is an essential skill for survival in the market place.
3) Lack of Inustry support -- Ok, so there isn't a DVD player yet. Ok, so there isn't MS Word for Linux yet. But then again, does BeOS have industry support? Does the MacOS have MS MediaPlayer? One can obviously argue between the views that Linux lacks these, and also that the measure is irrelevant.
4) Conflicting standards -- I predict that the US economy will fail because MS and Sun were duplicating development time with conflicting Java standards. Did I miss something here?
Things like this just plain out don't work. Here's why: To be useful, the recipient must be able to read the message that you sent. Therefore, there is a copy on the recipient's computer. There is no way to force someone to delete information. I can copy and paste text, print out a copy, take a screen capture, or copy the message by hand.
Ifyou think this scheme will work, I have an island in the bahama's I'd like to sell to you *cheap*.
I heard an insightful comment at Rootfest last June. We were talking about biometric authentication methods. One of the attendees mentioned that it would be very very nasty if someone could steal the authentication token your biometric data generated. Unlike passwords, you cannot change your fingerprint every 3 months. I'd hate to see someone with a scanner steal your implant's code and then use it to authenticate him/herself.
I believe that their EULA will not hold up in court. First, it is a "legally binding contract" that you are not required to have even read [1]. You are entered into it retroactively just by having accessed any of their "Property" [2]. You lose your freedom to publish reviews, good and bad, without prior, authorization [3]. You agree to "vest is Apogee" any goodwill or reputation you gain in any of their Marks [4]. You lose your right to due process of law. All those cease and desist letters are now legally binding, too [5]. Even if the agreement were not retroactive (see [2]), Apogee is allowed to modify the agreement at their sole discretion [6]. Finally, you are agree to prohibit yourself from using their Marks, variations on their marks, or any portion of their marks in your any negative context, webpage, domain names, etc. [7,8,9]. In essense, you lose your right to say anything about Apogee unless they grant you that limited ability. In addition, they control not just their own trademarks, but also any portion or variation thereof. Thus, the domain name "www.action.com" or "www.3Dlabs.com" are prohibited by this EULA, for they contain portions of the trademarks held by Apogee.
Fortunately for myself, I have not played any Apogee games, and therefore am not bound by their EULA. I claim this post is fair use and stand by my freedom of press, as granted in the bill of rights.
This Agreement is a legally binding contract between you ("You") and Apogee Software Ltd.,...
YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT IT IS THE COMPLETE AND EXCLUSIVE STATEMENT OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND APOGEE WHICH SUPERSEDES ANY PROPOSED OR PRIOR AGREEMENT, ORAL OR WRITTEN, AND ANY OTHER COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN YOU AND APOGEE RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE WEB SITE.
You must notify Apogee prior to any use of the Marks and/or the Materials.
If you acquire any goodwill or reputation in any of the Marks, all such goodwill or reputation will automatically vest in Apogee when and as such goodwill or reputation occurs. You agree to take all actions necessary to effect such vesting.
By consenting to use of the Marks and/or Materials, you agree to immediately cease and desist using the Marks or Material on our written or electronic request.
Further, Apogee reserves the right to revise these Terms of Use at any time without notice.
You are not allowed to vary the spelling, add or delete hyphens (even for normal hyphenation at the end of a line of text), make one word two, or use a possessive or plural form of the Marks.
You may not use the Marks in a derogatory or defamatory manner, or in any negative context.
The Marks, or any portion thereof, may not be used by you or any third party as a domain name or as part of or incorporated in to a domain name.
A recording industry trade group, announced today that they will be expanding their lawsuit to include other software vendors including Microsoft Corp. A representative for the RIAA remarked that because of the resent victory against the hacker program Napster, they feel the path is open for closing all piracy havens.
The RIAA claims that Microsofts "Network Neighborhood", when combined with the search functionality of the suspiciously named "Find..." command, can be used to search for and copy copyrighted materials.
Microsoft rebutted saying that the "Network Neighborhood" is an innovative tool used to aid the flow of information between computers. They went on to say that this technology, which can be used legitimately, is already in jeapordy if the Justice Department breaks the company apart. "Without a central leadership, invention will cease in the Windows Operating system. A second lawsuit would make it difficult for Microsoft to compete against other insurgent companies and would stifle the global economy," said a Microsoft representative.
The RIAA rejects this argument as handwaving. They feel there is no economic guarantee for any company. Individual artists, on the other hand, deserve the fullest protection under the law in order to make a profit for their protecting trade group.
Napster, meanwhile, welcomes the opportunity to work with the software giant, Microsoft in its epic battle against the recording industry giant. A spokewoman for Napster said that their position in the lawsuit is comparable to the pebble David used to slay Goliath. She neglected to mention which company was Goliath.
U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Patel in San Frasisco mentioned that because of the magnitude of the case, millions and perhaps billions of U.S. government money might have to be spent in lawyers' fees during the case. "This case promises to create a larger commotion than Kennith Starr or Judge Ito every accomplished," she commented.
I mean it will work fine until we try to open up trade relations with another country and end up insulting their women and complementing their sexy sheep by accident.
Personally, I think we should work on improving our native language skills to the point that we can compliment our own women while complementing their wardrobe with sexy sheep products.
Help should be placed in logical places. Technical, man-page style documentation should probably be online since you just need quick reference. However, it is sometimes nice to have overviews on paper so that you can remember syntax, yet not have a 3" thick bundle of paper.
The flip-side of the coin to is make sure the user has enough documentation to get started. It can be hard to find the appropriate pdf or help system if you are new to a program. Another instance of this are all the READMEs that tell you how to ungzip the distribution. Of course, the README is already _inside_ the gzip, so....
"Hello, tech support" "Hi, I forgot my password. My username is bjk4" "Ok, I just emailed you your password. It should get to you in a minute." "Thanks."
What I'm wondering is where the Diamond Viper cards are. These cards are quite common in the market, and I should expect to see them compared. Especially since in the Windows benchmarking schemes, they ranked quite high, right up there with the Matroxand Voodoo3 cards.
The new regulations passed in Illinois do not restrict publishing of material once a case is resolved. Nor does it restrict releasing information to relevant parties, such as those accused, their lawyers, the accuser, and the lawyers of the accuser.
This means the regulations will *not*, I repeat, *not* affect your personal experience. Yes, I can see where you find the lack of information annoying.
However, there is a great difference between your circumstance and the one where the newspaper headline reads: "romco house raided for drugs!", at which point your employer forces you to take drug tests and undergo psychological examinations. Meanwhile a credit agency gets hold of the article and decides to deny your next credit card.
This is what the regulation is designed to prevent.
I wouldn't mark this as a very good purchase. We now have CD players (lasers included) for about $30. Not $30k. I can appreciate the cost of compact lasers 10 years ago, but things have changed and things are cheaper now. I think the company should consider modernizing its lineup before charging such outrageous prices.
Besides, it looks like a late 80s product (I'm thinking USR plastic type.) If it looked and acted like one of those uber-cool minidisc players, then I'd be interested.
This is more a case for the admin, who should patch the boxes or add a firewall.
Why should I have the network admin patch my box? I own my box. I pay for access to the network. I don't want to let the network admin anywhere near my box.
The fatal assumption many people are making about the issue is that the network admin has access to every single box on a network. This isn't the case, quite often. Even if they do, you still want to report it just so that the FBI gets a damage assessment so that the crackers get a larger fine/prison term.
The user has holes on their box and the admin gets blown off.
This can happen. The network admin is in charge of keeping an experimental network of 12 thousand computers running. This is quite a job. They (the network admin department) do not have the resources to manage every single computer. Nor can they install any kind of management software due to varying platforms, personal right and legal issues also withstanding.
Here is a situation in which you might wish to report the transgression to the FBI:
I'm a user on a network of 12000 computers. I run this program, and discover that 150 have DDoS programs running. I manage to contact 100 of these users, who remove their computers from the network (I have a lot of free time, don't I.) However, 50 of the rest are unknown to me. I've contacted the network administrator, but they are uninterested in doing anything about the issue. They feel that the increased traffic will not affect our network, which is circuit-switched OC3.
At this point, I'm concerned because I cannot get the last 50 DDoS computers off the network. So, I give in an contact the FBI. I give them the ip's, and the network admin contact number. This is why.
The other reason is if you find something that might point to the originating culprit. That way justice can be served. A final reason is so that the charges against the hooligans can be increased because the FBI now has record of another 150 computers afflicted and 'damaged' and 'tresspassed' upon.
Perhaps you could have the person supported on an item that could be dragged back to the center of the room without their knowledge. That way they can walk in any direction and never hit a wall. When they come near a real wall, the user is visually prompted to raise up his/her feet so that the mechanism can return to the base.
There are a few disadvantages though, like having to build the thing to hide the acceleration back to base. Also, the lifting of the feet could be troublesome.
One aspect of OpenSSH that many people should like is that the most recent security hole in ssh-1.2.27 was non-existant in OpenSSH. For that reason alone, OpenSSH might be a better choice -- especially with the lack of developer news concerning ssh1 and ssh2.
Slashdot Mirror
LOL!
Well put.
The author is pretty clear that the reported virii had ZERO effect on the choice to include monad or not.
Yet somehow the submitter was able to conclude "...because of the possible virus threat that targets Monad the shell will not be included in Windows Vista.". Will wonders ever cease to exist!
Yeah, and Microsoft isn't the first company to think of using patents to drive business. According to the US Patent Office, IBM was top dog in 2004 with 3,248 patents. Microsoft didn't even make the top-10 that year!
I totally agree that software patents are out of control, but I find the author's focus on Microsoft very suspicious. In 2004 they weren't even on the radar.
Traditionally a lot of DRM designs call for restictions on:
- copying
- printing
- saving
- viewing beyond a certain period of time
However, I think it is unfair that email I send to customer_support@[your_favorite].com is deleted so quickly. I should be able to tag my email so that I control when and how the message is deleted! It's my content, so as part of my license I control when it may be deleted. This contractual item ought to be backed up by digital rights management software restrictions.
Therefore, I think it any DRM software should allow a user to restrict the following additional action:
- deleting
Has anyone noticed how the scene where Anakin jumps off the levitating car is eirily similar to a scene from The Fifth Element?
-B
In hyperthreading, the logical processors do not share registers, just function units. Thus, if one logical processor needs to multiply while the other needs to add, they may share the CPU resources simultaneously.
This was developed in response to the observation that individual function units remained idle for multiple cycles while the current process was busy doing one kind of operation.
-B
CLick the "Image" button to see the lovely diagrams. There are a few items this patent does NOT cover, as explicitely mentioned in the text. This patent does not cover additional channel information, like alpha channels. It only covers a seperate, full color, mask image that is used to mask off the source image.
I have a few questions:
If the patent does not cover greyscale images, then not all sanity is lost!
-B
I'd worry about a smart thief who decides to jam a person's cell-phone just prior to mugging them.
I'd also worry about the technical support calls from customers unaware of cell phone jammers.
-B
Mr Gates very nicely sidesteps the question of Linux as a server, and condemns Linux on the desktop because of its dividedness, lack of support in the industry, and conflicting standards.
1) Linux as a server -- This question was left completely unaddressed in his email. He attacks Linux as a desktop machine only.
2) Dividedness -- This is both a danger and a benefit. Because Linux is divided, it is flexible. Flexibility, as we know, is an essential skill for survival in the market place.
3) Lack of Inustry support -- Ok, so there isn't a DVD player yet. Ok, so there isn't MS Word for Linux yet. But then again, does BeOS have industry support? Does the MacOS have MS MediaPlayer? One can obviously argue between the views that Linux lacks these, and also that the measure is irrelevant.
4) Conflicting standards -- I predict that the US economy will fail because MS and Sun were duplicating development time with conflicting Java standards. Did I miss something here?
Mark me down if you will,... but someone has to do it:
I'm going to patent the idea of patenting obvious ideas. This way anyone trying to pass a ridiculous patent will have to pay me royalties. Sound good?
-B
Things like this just plain out don't work. Here's why: To be useful, the recipient must be able to read the message that you sent. Therefore, there is a copy on the recipient's computer. There is no way to force someone to delete information. I can copy and paste text, print out a copy, take a screen capture, or copy the message by hand.
Ifyou think this scheme will work, I have an island in the bahama's I'd like to sell to you *cheap*.
-B
I heard an insightful comment at Rootfest last June. We were talking about biometric authentication methods. One of the attendees mentioned that it would be very very nasty if someone could steal the authentication token your biometric data generated. Unlike passwords, you cannot change your fingerprint every 3 months. I'd hate to see someone with a scanner steal your implant's code and then use it to authenticate him/herself.
-B
Fortunately for myself, I have not played any Apogee games, and therefore am not bound by their EULA. I claim this post is fair use and stand by my freedom of press, as granted in the bill of rights.
- This Agreement is a legally binding contract between you ("You") and Apogee Software Ltd.,
... - YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT IT IS THE COMPLETE AND EXCLUSIVE STATEMENT OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND APOGEE WHICH SUPERSEDES ANY PROPOSED OR PRIOR AGREEMENT, ORAL OR WRITTEN, AND ANY OTHER COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN YOU AND APOGEE RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE WEB SITE.
- You must notify Apogee prior to any use of the Marks and/or the Materials.
- If you acquire any goodwill or reputation in any of the Marks, all such goodwill or reputation will automatically vest in Apogee when and as such goodwill or reputation occurs. You agree to take all actions necessary to effect such vesting.
- By consenting to use of the Marks and/or Materials, you agree to immediately cease and desist using the Marks or Material on our written or electronic request.
- Further, Apogee reserves the right to revise these Terms of Use at any time without notice.
- You are not allowed to vary the spelling, add or delete hyphens (even for normal hyphenation at the end of a line of text), make one word two, or use a possessive or plural form of the Marks.
- You may not use the Marks in a derogatory or defamatory manner, or in any negative context.
- The Marks, or any portion thereof, may not be used by you or any third party as a domain name or as part of or incorporated in to a domain name.
-BA recording industry trade group, announced today that they will be expanding their lawsuit to include other software vendors including Microsoft Corp. A representative for the RIAA remarked that because of the resent victory against the hacker program Napster, they feel the path is open for closing all piracy havens.
The RIAA claims that Microsofts "Network Neighborhood", when combined with the search functionality of the suspiciously named "Find..." command, can be used to search for and copy copyrighted materials.
Microsoft rebutted saying that the "Network Neighborhood" is an innovative tool used to aid the flow of information between computers. They went on to say that this technology, which can be used legitimately, is already in jeapordy if the Justice Department breaks the company apart. "Without a central leadership, invention will cease in the Windows Operating system. A second lawsuit would make it difficult for Microsoft to compete against other insurgent companies and would stifle the global economy," said a Microsoft representative.
The RIAA rejects this argument as handwaving. They feel there is no economic guarantee for any company. Individual artists, on the other hand, deserve the fullest protection under the law in order to make a profit for their protecting trade group.
Napster, meanwhile, welcomes the opportunity to work with the software giant, Microsoft in its epic battle against the recording industry giant. A spokewoman for Napster said that their position in the lawsuit is comparable to the pebble David used to slay Goliath. She neglected to mention which company was Goliath.
U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Patel in San Frasisco mentioned that because of the magnitude of the case, millions and perhaps billions of U.S. government money might have to be spent in lawyers' fees during the case. "This case promises to create a larger commotion than Kennith Starr or Judge Ito every accomplished," she commented.
<\humor>
Help should be placed in logical places. Technical, man-page style documentation should probably be online since you just need quick reference. However, it is sometimes nice to have overviews on paper so that you can remember syntax, yet not have a 3" thick bundle of paper.
The flip-side of the coin to is make sure the user has enough documentation to get started. It can be hard to find the appropriate pdf or help system if you are new to a program. Another instance of this are all the READMEs that tell you how to ungzip the distribution. Of course, the README is already _inside_ the gzip, so....
"Hello, tech support"
"Hi, I forgot my password. My username is bjk4"
"Ok, I just emailed you your password. It should get to you in a minute."
"Thanks."
-B
What I'm wondering is where the Diamond Viper cards are. These cards are quite common in the market, and I should expect to see them compared. Especially since in the Windows benchmarking schemes, they ranked quite high, right up there with the Matroxand Voodoo3 cards.
-Ben
The new regulations passed in Illinois do not restrict publishing of material once a case is resolved. Nor does it restrict releasing information to relevant parties, such as those accused, their lawyers, the accuser, and the lawyers of the accuser.
This means the regulations will *not*, I repeat, *not* affect your personal experience. Yes, I can see where you find the lack of information annoying.
However, there is a great difference between your circumstance and the one where the newspaper headline reads: "romco house raided for drugs!", at which point your employer forces you to take drug tests and undergo psychological examinations. Meanwhile a credit agency gets hold of the article and decides to deny your next credit card.
This is what the regulation is designed to prevent.
I wouldn't mark this as a very good purchase. We now have CD players (lasers included) for about $30. Not $30k. I can appreciate the cost of compact lasers 10 years ago, but things have changed and things are cheaper now. I think the company should consider modernizing its lineup before charging such outrageous prices.
Besides, it looks like a late 80s product (I'm thinking USR plastic type.) If it looked and acted like one of those uber-cool minidisc players, then I'd be interested.
-B
Why should I have the network admin patch my box? I own my box. I pay for access to the network. I don't want to let the network admin anywhere near my box.
The fatal assumption many people are making about the issue is that the network admin has access to every single box on a network. This isn't the case, quite often. Even if they do, you still want to report it just so that the FBI gets a damage assessment so that the crackers get a larger fine/prison term.
This can happen. The network admin is in charge of keeping an experimental network of 12 thousand computers running. This is quite a job. They (the network admin department) do not have the resources to manage every single computer. Nor can they install any kind of management software due to varying platforms, personal right and legal issues also withstanding.Have fun!
-B
Here is a situation in which you might wish to report the transgression to the FBI:
I'm a user on a network of 12000 computers. I run this program, and discover that 150 have DDoS programs running. I manage to contact 100 of these users, who remove their computers from the network (I have a lot of free time, don't I.) However, 50 of the rest are unknown to me. I've contacted the network administrator, but they are uninterested in doing anything about the issue. They feel that the increased traffic will not affect our network, which is circuit-switched OC3.
At this point, I'm concerned because I cannot get the last 50 DDoS computers off the network. So, I give in an contact the FBI. I give them the ip's, and the network admin contact number. This is why.
The other reason is if you find something that might point to the originating culprit. That way justice can be served. A final reason is so that the charges against the hooligans can be increased because the FBI now has record of another 150 computers afflicted and 'damaged' and 'tresspassed' upon.
I find the last reason most convincing.
-B
The corollary to this is that freedom of speech gives you the right to speak, but not the right to be heard.
-B
Does anyone remember the baby-walkers?
Perhaps you could have the person supported on an item that could be dragged back to the center of the room without their knowledge. That way they can walk in any direction and never hit a wall. When they come near a real wall, the user is visually prompted to raise up his/her feet so that the mechanism can return to the base.
There are a few disadvantages though, like having to build the thing to hide the acceleration back to base. Also, the lifting of the feet could be troublesome.
-B
One aspect of OpenSSH that many people should like is that the most recent security hole in ssh-1.2.27 was non-existant in OpenSSH. For that reason alone, OpenSSH might be a better choice -- especially with the lack of developer news concerning ssh1 and ssh2.
-B
ps. Check www.securityfocus.com for the bugtraq archives and mailing list.