While I'm normally anti-censorship, I must say that I would have to agree with this stand by the people of the UK. Each society is a collection of individuals who tacitly agree to behave with each other in generally defined ways. Without society there is anarchy, which serves no purpose, not even itself. If the people disagree to this sort of content being available, owned, or distributed, it is entirely within their rights as a democratic people to enact legislation to protect themselves from those that do.
The key here is that there is a victimization enacted or portrayed in the content. This type of content glorifies the victimization of individuals, and further, links sexuality to this type of behaviour. This is identical to the widely rejected child pornography, in that there is a clear victim of these acts. Neither of these expressions of sexuality are found to be acceptable in today's society and there are clear rules (laws) to deal with perpetrators of this victimization.
Given that, it may still prove less effective and harder to enforce than they assume, as with child pornography. It's arguable however that by weeding out and correcting through therapy and other monitoring of individuals who are deemed to be dangerous to society (i.e. there are clear victims or victimization by these individuals) is potentially a good step. It takes some time to weed these issues out of society, and sociologists and other social scientists are only beginning to grasp the true power of imagery.
It's clear however, that deviant sexual behaviour is and has been historically something that humans in general find unacceptable. This is exactly why we empower ourselves with the rule of law to investigate and prosecute individuals who step outside of our societally effected boundaries.
While I am normally quite 'Libertarian' I believe that Liberty ends where another individual begins in that I am at liberty to live as I wish as long as it doesn't impact another individual, except without their express and informed consent. Sexual behaviour is becoming more and more 'defined' societally, in that what happens between two partners is no longer outside of the jurisdiction of the law because there are external repercussions of certain behaviours. Furthermore, the spread of this 'socially abhorrent' behaviour through media of any type also falls under this jurisdiction for the very same reasons.
While it's true that the Masochists say 'Hurt me!' the Saadists don't and say 'Suffer.'
While I would agree in principle, I feel that the example set by Google begs to differ on how to handle unreasonable requests from the Government. In light of the terms and conditions of service, they are being held accountable for their involvement and/or complicity in this illegal search and seizure method. You'll note that the EFF lawsuit is v. AT&T not v. NSA. We all know there's 'No Such Agency' after all.
This is small time compared to the egregious breach of privacy experienced by nearly everyone with AT&T's complicity with the NSA's illegal splitting operations in San Francisco and elsewhere. AT&T is at it again time for more anti-trust remedies.
The VHS debate is behind us, as is the cassette recorder, and the floppy disk, and other 'copy protection' mechanisms are on the forefront of this battle versus our own machinations.
To be fair, we have made this problem for ourselves, and only we can allow ourselves to fix it. I'm not suggesting that this will be an 'overnight' event. It is evident through the study of history that this is not the first time that we have been faced with such struggles. Where civilization fails its members is when it becomes static and foolishly believes that it is at the 'pinnacle' of progress. It's measurable that in these moments of self-delusion, that 'the barbarians at the gate' become a real and tangible threat to progress of civilization. Any student of history can verify the cyclical nature of empire and civilization, it seems that we are on the cusp of another such cycle.
If civilization is to finally progress beyond the previous incarnations, we must first allow ourselves the recognition of our common heritage. Consistently civilizations in history have allowed the creation of an 'elite' ruling class, which in turn has controlled through knowledge and coordination the bulk of society to what its knowledge base and comfort level deemed best effect.
This incarnation of 'civilization' has gone beyond previous incarnations in that it has developed a knowledge base (the internet) that makes the Library of Alexandria seem like a quaint idea. The danger to civilization as the 'elite' ruling class has come to know it is in the spread of this knowledge base. There truly is an opportunity for egalitarian rule using the internet. I think the 'elite's' know it and are working to lock down all knowledge to ensure their comfortable position at the rest of humanity's expense. This is 'Digital Rights Management' and the 'Digital Millenium Copyright Act' and other such nonsense.
This is direct evidence that the 'elite' aren't exactly comfortable with having the 'cat out of the bag' The flaw in their reasoning however is that they feel that they can control the flood of anger and retribution that they rightly deserve. They can no more control this than they could mitigate the effects of Katrina. DRM and DMCA et al are just 'band-aid' approaches to 'stem the tide' of the knowledge that they find is freely floating all around them.
To suggest that artists are hurt by mp3 and other digital media types fails to account for the real economic facts of the case. In fact, artists and creators actually benefit from the distribution of their content, people outside of their 'region' are now being exposed to the work and the dissemination of ideas is bringing real positive effects to society. Who is directly hurt by this distribution are the people who have controlled the work 'to their exclusive benefit' through previous distribution and marketing mechanisms. While it is arguable that the distribution and marketing people need to make a living too, perhaps they might need to address the inequity of the current model. Sales have not decreased dramatically as suggested by the BSA, the RIAA, and the MPAA, it's smoke and mirrors. The real benefit for DRM is the control mechanisms that were previously in place (i.e. the dissemination of knowledge and culture) are returned to the 'elite' class.
Recently on Slashdot (and elsewhere) there has been much discussion on how little artists actually derive per song with legitimate downloads v. CD prices. I believe that the artists are speaking out against cruel tyranny of their creative work and minds. This tyranny is not through the downloader, but rather the 'big muscle' corporations that 'lock-in' content and claim creativity as their own. The irony is that although they might be guilty of creative views of the truth, they probably haven't created anything original in their whole lives.
It's also important to remember that security (aka DRM,DMCA) is a state of mind. The fact that a lock exists already implies insecurity. It implies this doubly, first in that a lock 'needs' to exist (aka.
Actually, as I had mentioned, there is a way to use Java to program your RCX brick...
Furthermore, Lego has recently resurrected the Mindstorm group of products with NXT
Mindstorms 2.0 continued to be available to education accounts but was discontinued for consumers...
Iraq is facing an imminent civil war, this is not an improvement for the world... further to this, the hatred of the US for their actions in Iraq has only increased, this has not 'ended' terrorism, instead it has sown the seeds or fanned the flames of what may have been only a marginal feeling. This is a failure on the part of the current administration, who lied to the US public in it's reasons for war in Iraq, as WMD have still not surfaced.War does not make peace.
Afghanistan, which was originally funded heavily by the US during the occupation of Afghanistan by then USSR, had led to the training and development of the armed Taliban fighters. This is on the record. Proof that War does not make peace, yet again. The same forces that the US armed 'allegedly' plot to kill them today.
Nicaragua is more proof of US foreign policy failure. In fact the US was ordered by the International Court of Justice to make reparation to Nicaragua for it's funding Contras and 'unlawful use of force' The US rebuts that finding and as is typical, despite being founding members of the United Nations, only plays lip-service to the ideals enshrined by that august body. Instead, the US is typically against the UN, and works actively to undermine the success of International co-operation and International rule of law.
The current administration has made previous administrations all appear to be boy scouts by direct comparison, despite their foibles. In recent times, rather than focus on a cease fire, the administration supported and condoned the wholesale destruction of Lebanon, and viewed Israeli response as measured. This flies in the face of International agreements on proportionate response. If there was proportionate response, an area EQUAL to that utterly destroyed in Lebanon would be found in Israel. If there was proportionate response, Lebanese fighters under Hizbollah would have killed and targetted an EQUAL number of Israeli civilians. Instead the Lebanese took the high ground, and in the eyes of the world, came out not only the moral victor, but in many respects the combat victor as well.
Your administration has not ingratiated the Lebanese people, who have democratically elected a government. Instead the state of US diplomacy is so bad that 'Condi' was refused audience. Furthermore, Mr. Bush was unequivocal in his damnation of Iran and Syria and claimed their direct involvement in the conflict with Israel, hoping to incite further violence on his "Hand that Rocks the Cradle" (of civilization) tour.
Is it not odd to you that the current administration seeks to change laws to legitimize their illegal behaviours AFTER they have been caught? Notable instances recently are the Rumsfeld war crimes, and the NSA wholesale spying on Americans violating fourth amendment rights.
Please don't take me wrong as being 'antiAmerican' because I have many friends and family in the US. I just believe that the current administration is criminal in the whole and must be impeached as quickly as the constitution allows for, that will be a great step in the 'War on Terror'. War is NOT peace. The defense through superior offense is only further entrenching antiAmerican sentiment in the world through the spread of violence by the military. The credibility of the US, once a loved leader of the world has eroded dramatically under the current leadership. It's time for a change.
While it's not specifically a 'programming' environment, it's programming mechanisms illustrate the general programming concepts and it's also coupled with a great engineering robots 'toy' as well. The easy click together programming blocks allow children to approach computing from the general concepts. Each clickable block also provides 'fine tune' controls. This approach is directly analogous to oo programming. There are also methods to use java programs with the RCX bricks so that as your students advance, they will be able to increase their knowledge using the same fun toy tools.
For renewing my faith in humanity, one lucid mind at a time.
It is not difficult for the rest of the world to see the US Foreign Policy failures in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, etc. etc. I agree wholeheartedly that this is an Imperialist operation, funded and supported by Oil Cartels to further fleece the population. Has anyone here heard of Synarchist International? Prescott Bush's progeny are back at it, trading with the enemy. The truth is painfully apparent.
Bush lied, thousands died...impeachbush.org
This only strengthens my point.
To be realistic, we have had many laws and statutes on the books which have been repealed for the advancement of civilization. I contend that in the future, 'soft' goods such as ideas or thoughts will not be patentable, as it's clear we're already hitting a ceiling. This reminds me of a story in 2000 AD I once read, wherein an advanced humanity has done 'everything' and created a button that will undo everything, and it's the only thing left... I believe that in order to escape our eventual legislative nightmare we've created that trademarks will be the only protection available to manufacturers and inventors, this will ensure that creators will be free to implement ideas, and their skills or ability to do so will be the deciding factor on their commercial success, rather than their ability to think about something nifty...
There is no feasible plan to allow for the ownership of ideas. Patents are meant to protect innovators from encroachment of their property (idea/method) for a short period of time. Originally the founding fathers discussed a much shorter period than is currently in place in that there is a real stifling of creativity through exclusive patenting.
Human thought is a process, not a destination. To suggest that the myriad connections and interconnections of neurons can somehow be frozen in time (in a patent) is flawed at best. If Darwin is to be believed this is an ongoing process, not something that happens in fits and starts but in constant fluid motion. Observation of the universe supports this premise. By supporting intellectual property, we are dooming our children to not have the right to their own ideas and discoveries. Isn't it bad enough that they are born into slavery for our debts? If we take away the tools for their liberation (i.e. innovation) we are the worst progenitors of record.
Imagine a world where only the people that can afford to have ideas are allowed to. How many Mozarts will die unrecognized because they infringed (bridged) on an already owned concept? Is a patent necessarily a ground breaking concept? Does it undermine future uses of a previously public-domain concept? Hats off to the EFF for their consistent work on our behalf. I sent my cheque, did you?
The federal Help America Vote Act requires one touchscreen machine in every voting precinct for elections starting this year.
I believe that hundreds of thousands of dead afghanis, iraqis, and lebanese might differ with you with respect to election results not risking lives. This does not preclude of course the nicaraguans, guatemalans, columbians, or chileans for that matter. Wherever the military-industrial complex rears its hydra heads you will find that election results are directly culpable.
How many people must die before we address the problem?
Now that we have a dwarf planet, this opens up the possibility of other dwarf planets in our solar system. I'm thankful that when I took astronomy that there were only 9, but now school children will have a much harder time with pluto, mickey, donald, grumpy, doc, sneezy, bashful, and lest we forget dopey.
memo to self: who are you and what have you done to my brain?
I ask you to explain the voting list practice in Florida for 2000, where Black Americans were removed from the voting roles, and other people were removed as well, in flagrant abuse of their civil rights.
We're discussing voting machines here, and is it not relevant to discuss the problems of missing votes in view of Ohio's results? Or is it an inconvenient topic, given Diebold's recent scandalous signed code bypass switch? And even more inconvenient the party of those who approved the contracts.
Or perhaps you're okay with the fact that the current administration (and I use the term loosely) has brought the US from amongst the most loved countries on earth to the most despised. Do you work for an oil company? Or perhaps a defense contractor? Do you believe that it's ok for the secretary of defense to be found guilty of war-crimes by your own supreme court, yet have the same administration attempt to bypass the laws through new legislation thereby legitimizing the inhumane treatment of POW in Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo? Have you heard of Thermate? Or how about sulfidation of steel? Where are those pesky weapons of mass destruction? Because you're brown does that make you a terrorist? Because I don't believe what you believe, does that mean that I'm misinformed?
Frankly, I don't care what you're tired of hearing, because it seems to me you have quite selective hearing as it is, and you will filter out whatever you don't like anyway...
Getting extra mod points these days. Rather than informing themselves by actually reading the specifications and informing themselves on the issue at hand, they mod real problems down, preventing other users from the opportunity to inform themselves as well.
I thought that this was news for nerds, and stuff that matters. Well, if it doesn't matter that there are no protections in place for owners of TPM enabled equipment to Slashdot, I guess they're already cashing their cheques from Apple. In light of the consistent pro-Apple slant to this site, I will refrain from recommending this site to new tech-people as one of the 'go-to' sites for stuff that matters.
Frankly I'm disgusted by your incredulity, as any self-respecting tech would first inform themselves as to the issue, and then make their decision, rather than mod down a story that is a) on topic (if we're actually discussing Windows v. Apple security) b) relevant as software runs on hardware c) not an attempt to troll for (un)favourable responses, but rather an attempt to elucidate a very clear and present issue facing computer users today.
In closing, to whoever modded me down: 'Bite Me Fanboy' to quote the Main Man.
leaves much room for speculation as to the true 'security' of this system.
While it's all well and good to discuss system security from the standpoint of the software, it is a moot point in light of an insecure hardware implementation.
'I don't want to get on a rant here but...'
The Trusted Computing Group (the industry group responsible for TPM (previously known as Palladium, TCPA etc.))has posted their best practices and principles for the use of TPM.
You will note (if you bother to read these) that the aims of the TCG are to:
i. preserving privacy, backward compatibility, and owner control
ii. promoting ease-of-use
iii. designing the technology so that it is interoperable
iv. ensuring that the user's data, while secure and protected, remains portable
and accessible as needed in alternative modalities
Is it me, or is it curious that Apple is not a member of the TCG, nor have they implemented the TPM Control panel that is requisite with its implementation? There is NO end-user control or validation of the settings of the TPM. Therefore, no-one, save your remote Cupertino overlords will know who it's set up to trust! How cool is that?
Given the properties of transitive trust relationships, I'm sure you ALL want to trust Apple, and hell, while you're at it, ANYONE they trust (No Such Agency comes to mind here) How cool is that?
At least with all of the Windows based offerings, as flawed as their software implementation is, they give you the OWNER of the PC hardware the respect of letting you see how it's set up. That makes me feel a damn sight more secure than what Apple is currently foisting on an unsuspecting public.
With an Apple computer it turns out you're not BUYING a PC, but RENTING an EXPERIENCE. Because with the TPM shipping enabled, it's definitely remotely owned.
in other news, Diebold Voting Machines come with an easy to bypass signed code switch... Allowing corrupt government election officials (read Republicans(having already FIXED two US elections)) to quickly bypass that pesky honest count for the 1 for you 2 for me counting paradigm. I'm very shocked that there hasn't been more attention to this by the American public. Why hasn't this made FOX News? or CNN? or any other propaganda wing of your media? Thank God (pending independent scientific inquiry) for Slashdot!
As an integrator, VAR, developer, security consultant, and chief cook and bottle washer for many firms, I advise my clientele with respect to their internet connectivity, and the expense and disbursement of the same. Given the strict liabilities of corporations, it is unfeasible to permit unrestricted access. Furthermore, I don't find it surprising that this discussion is coming from Redmond, which offers one of the most difficult Operating Systems on the market, in that it's increasingly difficult to secure Windows of any description and therefore it's probably just more cost effective to give free reign than it is attempt to limit the corporate liabilities presented by the deployment of M$ products.
It should also be painfully obvious that internet access is not free, but must be paid for by the corporation, and unfettered access in ANY environment could prove unnecessarily costly. In these difficult economic times the onus is on upper management to ensure that the operation of the company is streamlined in such a way as to ensure both maximum productivity and profitability.
In the Canada there are PIPEDA legislative restrictions in place that must be met with respect to user/customer privacy, and as such, in even a well considered M$ environment, it is not possible to grant unrestricted internet access and comply with the rules. Granted it may be possible to provide a properly cordoned internet access, but this should only be available to employees on their break times.
As the by-line suggests, productivity is still the bottom line, and employees (digital natives or any other such ludicrous monicker) should not be the defining force behind internet access policy. It is widely held that a measured approach is preferable. One that can enable all stakeholders without potentially compromising any corporate/consumer data, and maintain operational efficiency to ensure that at the end of the month the company can still afford to honour the paycheques they pump out.
MYTH: This is merely a "terrorist surveillance program."
REALITY: When there is evidence a person may be a terrorist, both the criminal code and intelligence laws already authorize eavesdropping. This illegal program, however, allows electronic monitoring without any showing to a court that the person being spied upon in this country is a suspected terrorist.
MYTH: The program is legal.
REALITY: The program violates the Fourth Amendment and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and will chill free speech.
MYTH: The Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) allows this.
REALITY: The resolution about using force in Afghanistan doesn't mention wiretaps and doesn't apply domestically, but FISA does--it requires a court order.
MYTH: The president has authority as commander in chief of the military to spy on Americans without any court oversight.
REALITY: The Supreme Court recently found the administration's claim of unlimited commander in chief powers during war to be an unacceptable effort to "condense power into a single branch of government," contrary to the Constitution's checks and balances.
MYTH: The president has the power to say what the law is.
REALITY: The courts have this power under our system of government, and no person is above the law, not even the president, or the rule of law means nothing.
MYTH: These warrantless wiretaps could never happen to you.
REALITY: Without court oversight, there is no way to ensure innocent people's everyday communications are not monitored or catalogued by the NSA or other agencies.
MYTH: This illegal program could have prevented the 9/11 attacks.
REALITY: This is utter manipulation. Before 9/11, the federal government had gathered intelligence, without illegal NSA spying, about the looming attacks and at least two of the terrorists who perpetrated them, but failed to act.
MYTH: This illegal program has saved thousands of lives.
REALITY: Because the program is secret the administration can assert anything it wants and then claim the need for secrecy excuses its failure to document these claims, let alone reveal all the times the program distracted intelligence agents with dead ends that wasted resources and trampled individual rights.
MYTH: FISA takes too long.
REALITY: FISA allows wiretaps to begin immediately in emergencies, with three days afterward to go to court. Even without an emergency, FISA orders can be approved very quickly and FISA judges are available at all hours.
MYTH: Only liberals disagree with the president about the program.
REALITY: The serious concerns that have been raised transcend party labels and reflect genuine and widespread worries about the lack of checks on the president's claim of unlimited power to illegally spy on Americans without any independent oversight.
The luggage that flies underneath the passengers in the cargo hold. The carry-on restrictions, while potentially mitigating the effects of a manually assembled device (i.e. in flight) do not absolutely resolve the threat condition. Soon we might find that there are no liquids or gels allowed at all on flights. Worse, there may be restrictions on shipping laptops, ipods or other electronics even in luggage. Soap and cosmetic companies must be happy about these coming rules.
Basic economics will hamper the convergence market:
Consumer demand does not drive companies, the bottom line does. If Sony can make money selling you a 50" HDTV, they sure as hell wouldn't undermine their ability to also sell you a 21" LCD monitor to plug your VAIO into...
Convergence would also hurt the sales tax grab, which supports big fathead government...
Convergence hurts government in that if the companies make fewer products, there are whole sectors of the economy that would necessarily scale (read job losses, closures) to allow the corporations to remain profitable, this hurts the income tax base...
And so on... there are many factors behind the manufacturers 'inability' to properly converge these devices... really and truly they are 'protecting you', maybe not the environment, but really they are 'protecting you' from the nasty effects convergence would have...
There once was a time when mankind invented things to improve 'quality of life' but you can't tax quality of life, so there was a paradigm shift... ask Nicola Tesla... or better yet, a living innovator like Doug Engelbart. I for one am using my 'intelligence augmentor' to actually augment my intelligence. Not unlike many of my fellow/.ers.
In light of all of the illegal wiretapping, and requests for search data that have been perpetrated by a clearly criminal presidential administration that the search records were only left up long enough to bypass the Google refusal? If the reports that AOL search is basically rebranded Google search, has AOL not cooperated in an end run on Google's refusal? While I understand that many Americans would be terrified by the prospect that their president (I use the term loosely) could possibly be involved in any corruption, it's happened before on at least two occasions, most recently for lying to the American public about an otherwise inoccuous sexual act. Having full knowledge of illegal wiretaps, GW is still overseeing the juggernaut that is America, and the rest of the world is cowering in fear over what he'll do next. It seems to me that the words of a famous president come to mind 'Beware the military industrial complex...' I think that might include an ex-Haliburton CEO and an ex-Oil Tycoon...
I pray for your continued safety.
Did it ever occur to you that Apple's recent release of the sources comes well after the kernel was hacked to bypass the TPM AND due to the outcry from their userbase and others alike?
If every tech site on the planet had the same thing to say about the fact that Apple didn't release sources for a previously open project doesn't mean they should all rush to retract their previous statements. Apple is doing the right thing NOW while when those statements and reports were made they weren't.
That I have been cranking on the source being closed since the Intel Mac debut, and that releasing kernel sources will allay the fears of many people. This release, however, does not mean that Apple is off the hook for their TPM implementation. Shipping a TPM enabled STILL implies remote ownership (per the spec).
If Apple were to provide a control panel to verify that the trusts are correct for the security context of the machine then I would be able to sleep better at night, and happily recommend Apple again to all of my friends, family, colleagues, and clientelle. Furthermore, I would also be empowered to utilize the TPM capabilities to help properly secure business networks I integrate, and ensure that these networks aren't exposed to misuse, and/or negligence on the part of end-users.
This source code release hasn't achieved that, and while it goes a long way toward that goal, it's still not hitting the mark imco.
Slashdot Mirror
While I'm normally anti-censorship, I must say that I would have to agree with this stand by the people of the UK. Each society is a collection of individuals who tacitly agree to behave with each other in generally defined ways. Without society there is anarchy, which serves no purpose, not even itself. If the people disagree to this sort of content being available, owned, or distributed, it is entirely within their rights as a democratic people to enact legislation to protect themselves from those that do.
The key here is that there is a victimization enacted or portrayed in the content. This type of content glorifies the victimization of individuals, and further, links sexuality to this type of behaviour. This is identical to the widely rejected child pornography, in that there is a clear victim of these acts. Neither of these expressions of sexuality are found to be acceptable in today's society and there are clear rules (laws) to deal with perpetrators of this victimization.
Given that, it may still prove less effective and harder to enforce than they assume, as with child pornography. It's arguable however that by weeding out and correcting through therapy and other monitoring of individuals who are deemed to be dangerous to society (i.e. there are clear victims or victimization by these individuals) is potentially a good step. It takes some time to weed these issues out of society, and sociologists and other social scientists are only beginning to grasp the true power of imagery.
It's clear however, that deviant sexual behaviour is and has been historically something that humans in general find unacceptable. This is exactly why we empower ourselves with the rule of law to investigate and prosecute individuals who step outside of our societally effected boundaries.
While I am normally quite 'Libertarian' I believe that Liberty ends where another individual begins in that I am at liberty to live as I wish as long as it doesn't impact another individual, except without their express and informed consent. Sexual behaviour is becoming more and more 'defined' societally, in that what happens between two partners is no longer outside of the jurisdiction of the law because there are external repercussions of certain behaviours. Furthermore, the spread of this 'socially abhorrent' behaviour through media of any type also falls under this jurisdiction for the very same reasons.
While it's true that the Masochists say 'Hurt me!' the Saadists don't and say 'Suffer.'
While I would agree in principle, I feel that the example set by Google begs to differ on how to handle unreasonable requests from the Government. In light of the terms and conditions of service, they are being held accountable for their involvement and/or complicity in this illegal search and seizure method. You'll note that the EFF lawsuit is v. AT&T not v. NSA. We all know there's 'No Such Agency' after all.
there's fire.
This is small time compared to the egregious breach of privacy experienced by nearly everyone with AT&T's complicity with the NSA's illegal splitting operations in San Francisco and elsewhere. AT&T is at it again time for more anti-trust remedies.
The VHS debate is behind us, as is the cassette recorder, and the floppy disk, and other 'copy protection' mechanisms are on the forefront of this battle versus our own machinations.
To be fair, we have made this problem for ourselves, and only we can allow ourselves to fix it. I'm not suggesting that this will be an 'overnight' event. It is evident through the study of history that this is not the first time that we have been faced with such struggles. Where civilization fails its members is when it becomes static and foolishly believes that it is at the 'pinnacle' of progress. It's measurable that in these moments of self-delusion, that 'the barbarians at the gate' become a real and tangible threat to progress of civilization. Any student of history can verify the cyclical nature of empire and civilization, it seems that we are on the cusp of another such cycle.
If civilization is to finally progress beyond the previous incarnations, we must first allow ourselves the recognition of our common heritage. Consistently civilizations in history have allowed the creation of an 'elite' ruling class, which in turn has controlled through knowledge and coordination the bulk of society to what its knowledge base and comfort level deemed best effect.
This incarnation of 'civilization' has gone beyond previous incarnations in that it has developed a knowledge base (the internet) that makes the Library of Alexandria seem like a quaint idea. The danger to civilization as the 'elite' ruling class has come to know it is in the spread of this knowledge base. There truly is an opportunity for egalitarian rule using the internet. I think the 'elite's' know it and are working to lock down all knowledge to ensure their comfortable position at the rest of humanity's expense. This is 'Digital Rights Management' and the 'Digital Millenium Copyright Act' and other such nonsense.
This is direct evidence that the 'elite' aren't exactly comfortable with having the 'cat out of the bag' The flaw in their reasoning however is that they feel that they can control the flood of anger and retribution that they rightly deserve. They can no more control this than they could mitigate the effects of Katrina. DRM and DMCA et al are just 'band-aid' approaches to 'stem the tide' of the knowledge that they find is freely floating all around them.
To suggest that artists are hurt by mp3 and other digital media types fails to account for the real economic facts of the case. In fact, artists and creators actually benefit from the distribution of their content, people outside of their 'region' are now being exposed to the work and the dissemination of ideas is bringing real positive effects to society. Who is directly hurt by this distribution are the people who have controlled the work 'to their exclusive benefit' through previous distribution and marketing mechanisms. While it is arguable that the distribution and marketing people need to make a living too, perhaps they might need to address the inequity of the current model. Sales have not decreased dramatically as suggested by the BSA, the RIAA, and the MPAA, it's smoke and mirrors. The real benefit for DRM is the control mechanisms that were previously in place (i.e. the dissemination of knowledge and culture) are returned to the 'elite' class.
Recently on Slashdot (and elsewhere) there has been much discussion on how little artists actually derive per song with legitimate downloads v. CD prices. I believe that the artists are speaking out against cruel tyranny of their creative work and minds. This tyranny is not through the downloader, but rather the 'big muscle' corporations that 'lock-in' content and claim creativity as their own. The irony is that although they might be guilty of creative views of the truth, they probably haven't created anything original in their whole lives.
It's also important to remember that security (aka DRM,DMCA) is a state of mind. The fact that a lock exists already implies insecurity. It implies this doubly, first in that a lock 'needs' to exist (aka.
Actually, as I had mentioned, there is a way to use Java to program your RCX brick...
Furthermore, Lego has recently resurrected the Mindstorm group of products with NXT
Mindstorms 2.0 continued to be available to education accounts but was discontinued for consumers...
Iraq is facing an imminent civil war, this is not an improvement for the world... further to this, the hatred of the US for their actions in Iraq has only increased, this has not 'ended' terrorism, instead it has sown the seeds or fanned the flames of what may have been only a marginal feeling. This is a failure on the part of the current administration, who lied to the US public in it's reasons for war in Iraq, as WMD have still not surfaced.War does not make peace.
Afghanistan, which was originally funded heavily by the US during the occupation of Afghanistan by then USSR, had led to the training and development of the armed Taliban fighters. This is on the record. Proof that War does not make peace, yet again. The same forces that the US armed 'allegedly' plot to kill them today.
Nicaragua is more proof of US foreign policy failure. In fact the US was ordered by the International Court of Justice to make reparation to Nicaragua for it's funding Contras and 'unlawful use of force' The US rebuts that finding and as is typical, despite being founding members of the United Nations, only plays lip-service to the ideals enshrined by that august body. Instead, the US is typically against the UN, and works actively to undermine the success of International co-operation and International rule of law.
The current administration has made previous administrations all appear to be boy scouts by direct comparison, despite their foibles. In recent times, rather than focus on a cease fire, the administration supported and condoned the wholesale destruction of Lebanon, and viewed Israeli response as measured. This flies in the face of International agreements on proportionate response. If there was proportionate response, an area EQUAL to that utterly destroyed in Lebanon would be found in Israel. If there was proportionate response, Lebanese fighters under Hizbollah would have killed and targetted an EQUAL number of Israeli civilians. Instead the Lebanese took the high ground, and in the eyes of the world, came out not only the moral victor, but in many respects the combat victor as well.
Your administration has not ingratiated the Lebanese people, who have democratically elected a government. Instead the state of US diplomacy is so bad that 'Condi' was refused audience. Furthermore, Mr. Bush was unequivocal in his damnation of Iran and Syria and claimed their direct involvement in the conflict with Israel, hoping to incite further violence on his "Hand that Rocks the Cradle" (of civilization) tour.
Is it not odd to you that the current administration seeks to change laws to legitimize their illegal behaviours AFTER they have been caught? Notable instances recently are the Rumsfeld war crimes, and the NSA wholesale spying on Americans violating fourth amendment rights.
Please don't take me wrong as being 'antiAmerican' because I have many friends and family in the US. I just believe that the current administration is criminal in the whole and must be impeached as quickly as the constitution allows for, that will be a great step in the 'War on Terror'. War is NOT peace. The defense through superior offense is only further entrenching antiAmerican sentiment in the world through the spread of violence by the military. The credibility of the US, once a loved leader of the world has eroded dramatically under the current leadership. It's time for a change.
Bush lied, thousands died.
While it's not specifically a 'programming' environment, it's programming mechanisms illustrate the general programming concepts and it's also coupled with a great engineering robots 'toy' as well. The easy click together programming blocks allow children to approach computing from the general concepts. Each clickable block also provides 'fine tune' controls. This approach is directly analogous to oo programming. There are also methods to use java programs with the RCX bricks so that as your students advance, they will be able to increase their knowledge using the same fun toy tools.
For renewing my faith in humanity, one lucid mind at a time.
It is not difficult for the rest of the world to see the US Foreign Policy failures in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, etc. etc. I agree wholeheartedly that this is an Imperialist operation, funded and supported by Oil Cartels to further fleece the population. Has anyone here heard of Synarchist International? Prescott Bush's progeny are back at it, trading with the enemy. The truth is painfully apparent.
Bush lied, thousands died...impeachbush.org
This only strengthens my point.
To be realistic, we have had many laws and statutes on the books which have been repealed for the advancement of civilization. I contend that in the future, 'soft' goods such as ideas or thoughts will not be patentable, as it's clear we're already hitting a ceiling. This reminds me of a story in 2000 AD I once read, wherein an advanced humanity has done 'everything' and created a button that will undo everything, and it's the only thing left... I believe that in order to escape our eventual legislative nightmare we've created that trademarks will be the only protection available to manufacturers and inventors, this will ensure that creators will be free to implement ideas, and their skills or ability to do so will be the deciding factor on their commercial success, rather than their ability to think about something nifty...
There is no feasible plan to allow for the ownership of ideas. Patents are meant to protect innovators from encroachment of their property (idea/method) for a short period of time. Originally the founding fathers discussed a much shorter period than is currently in place in that there is a real stifling of creativity through exclusive patenting.
Human thought is a process, not a destination. To suggest that the myriad connections and interconnections of neurons can somehow be frozen in time (in a patent) is flawed at best. If Darwin is to be believed this is an ongoing process, not something that happens in fits and starts but in constant fluid motion. Observation of the universe supports this premise. By supporting intellectual property, we are dooming our children to not have the right to their own ideas and discoveries. Isn't it bad enough that they are born into slavery for our debts? If we take away the tools for their liberation (i.e. innovation) we are the worst progenitors of record.
Imagine a world where only the people that can afford to have ideas are allowed to. How many Mozarts will die unrecognized because they infringed (bridged) on an already owned concept? Is a patent necessarily a ground breaking concept? Does it undermine future uses of a previously public-domain concept? Hats off to the EFF for their consistent work on our behalf. I sent my cheque, did you?
I believe that hundreds of thousands of dead afghanis, iraqis, and lebanese might differ with you with respect to election results not risking lives. This does not preclude of course the nicaraguans, guatemalans, columbians, or chileans for that matter. Wherever the military-industrial complex rears its hydra heads you will find that election results are directly culpable.
How many people must die before we address the problem?
Now that we have a dwarf planet, this opens up the possibility of other dwarf planets in our solar system. I'm thankful that when I took astronomy that there were only 9, but now school children will have a much harder time with pluto, mickey, donald, grumpy, doc, sneezy, bashful, and lest we forget dopey.
memo to self: who are you and what have you done to my brain?
Perhaps it should read:
Here are viewpoints I support... blah blah.
I ask you to explain the voting list practice in Florida for 2000, where Black Americans were removed from the voting roles, and other people were removed as well, in flagrant abuse of their civil rights.
We're discussing voting machines here, and is it not relevant to discuss the problems of missing votes in view of Ohio's results? Or is it an inconvenient topic, given Diebold's recent scandalous signed code bypass switch? And even more inconvenient the party of those who approved the contracts.
Or perhaps you're okay with the fact that the current administration (and I use the term loosely) has brought the US from amongst the most loved countries on earth to the most despised. Do you work for an oil company? Or perhaps a defense contractor? Do you believe that it's ok for the secretary of defense to be found guilty of war-crimes by your own supreme court, yet have the same administration attempt to bypass the laws through new legislation thereby legitimizing the inhumane treatment of POW in Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo? Have you heard of Thermate? Or how about sulfidation of steel? Where are those pesky weapons of mass destruction? Because you're brown does that make you a terrorist? Because I don't believe what you believe, does that mean that I'm misinformed?
Frankly, I don't care what you're tired of hearing, because it seems to me you have quite selective hearing as it is, and you will filter out whatever you don't like anyway...
Getting extra mod points these days. Rather than informing themselves by actually reading the specifications and informing themselves on the issue at hand, they mod real problems down, preventing other users from the opportunity to inform themselves as well.
I thought that this was news for nerds, and stuff that matters. Well, if it doesn't matter that there are no protections in place for owners of TPM enabled equipment to Slashdot, I guess they're already cashing their cheques from Apple. In light of the consistent pro-Apple slant to this site, I will refrain from recommending this site to new tech-people as one of the 'go-to' sites for stuff that matters.
Frankly I'm disgusted by your incredulity, as any self-respecting tech would first inform themselves as to the issue, and then make their decision, rather than mod down a story that is a) on topic (if we're actually discussing Windows v. Apple security) b) relevant as software runs on hardware c) not an attempt to troll for (un)favourable responses, but rather an attempt to elucidate a very clear and present issue facing computer users today.
In closing, to whoever modded me down: 'Bite Me Fanboy' to quote the Main Man.
leaves much room for speculation as to the true 'security' of this system.
While it's all well and good to discuss system security from the standpoint of the software, it is a moot point in light of an insecure hardware implementation.
'I don't want to get on a rant here but...'
The Trusted Computing Group (the industry group responsible for TPM (previously known as Palladium, TCPA etc.))has posted their best practices and principles for the use of TPM.
You will note (if you bother to read these) that the aims of the TCG are to:
i. preserving privacy, backward compatibility, and owner control
ii. promoting ease-of-use
iii. designing the technology so that it is interoperable
iv. ensuring that the user's data, while secure and protected, remains portable and accessible as needed in alternative modalities
Is it me, or is it curious that Apple is not a member of the TCG, nor have they implemented the TPM Control panel that is requisite with its implementation? There is NO end-user control or validation of the settings of the TPM. Therefore, no-one, save your remote Cupertino overlords will know who it's set up to trust! How cool is that?
Given the properties of transitive trust relationships, I'm sure you ALL want to trust Apple, and hell, while you're at it, ANYONE they trust (No Such Agency comes to mind here) How cool is that?
At least with all of the Windows based offerings, as flawed as their software implementation is, they give you the OWNER of the PC hardware the respect of letting you see how it's set up. That makes me feel a damn sight more secure than what Apple is currently foisting on an unsuspecting public.
With an Apple computer it turns out you're not BUYING a PC, but RENTING an EXPERIENCE. Because with the TPM shipping enabled, it's definitely remotely owned.
On the Bright Side, Parent will be modded up 50% of the time as well. LOL
in other news, Diebold Voting Machines come with an easy to bypass signed code switch... Allowing corrupt government election officials (read Republicans(having already FIXED two US elections)) to quickly bypass that pesky honest count for the 1 for you 2 for me counting paradigm. I'm very shocked that there hasn't been more attention to this by the American public. Why hasn't this made FOX News? or CNN? or any other propaganda wing of your media? Thank God (pending independent scientific inquiry) for Slashdot!
Are better off without them.
As an integrator, VAR, developer, security consultant, and chief cook and bottle washer for many firms, I advise my clientele with respect to their internet connectivity, and the expense and disbursement of the same. Given the strict liabilities of corporations, it is unfeasible to permit unrestricted access. Furthermore, I don't find it surprising that this discussion is coming from Redmond, which offers one of the most difficult Operating Systems on the market, in that it's increasingly difficult to secure Windows of any description and therefore it's probably just more cost effective to give free reign than it is attempt to limit the corporate liabilities presented by the deployment of M$ products.
It should also be painfully obvious that internet access is not free, but must be paid for by the corporation, and unfettered access in ANY environment could prove unnecessarily costly. In these difficult economic times the onus is on upper management to ensure that the operation of the company is streamlined in such a way as to ensure both maximum productivity and profitability.
In the Canada there are PIPEDA legislative restrictions in place that must be met with respect to user/customer privacy, and as such, in even a well considered M$ environment, it is not possible to grant unrestricted internet access and comply with the rules. Granted it may be possible to provide a properly cordoned internet access, but this should only be available to employees on their break times.
As the by-line suggests, productivity is still the bottom line, and employees (digital natives or any other such ludicrous monicker) should not be the defining force behind internet access policy. It is widely held that a measured approach is preferable. One that can enable all stakeholders without potentially compromising any corporate/consumer data, and maintain operational efficiency to ensure that at the end of the month the company can still afford to honour the paycheques they pump out.
Excerpted from the ACLU page:
MYTH: This is merely a "terrorist surveillance program."REALITY: When there is evidence a person may be a terrorist, both the criminal code and intelligence laws already authorize eavesdropping. This illegal program, however, allows electronic monitoring without any showing to a court that the person being spied upon in this country is a suspected terrorist.
MYTH: The program is legal.
REALITY: The program violates the Fourth Amendment and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and will chill free speech.
MYTH: The Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) allows this.
REALITY: The resolution about using force in Afghanistan doesn't mention wiretaps and doesn't apply domestically, but FISA does--it requires a court order.
MYTH: The president has authority as commander in chief of the military to spy on Americans without any court oversight.
REALITY: The Supreme Court recently found the administration's claim of unlimited commander in chief powers during war to be an unacceptable effort to "condense power into a single branch of government," contrary to the Constitution's checks and balances.
MYTH: The president has the power to say what the law is.
REALITY: The courts have this power under our system of government, and no person is above the law, not even the president, or the rule of law means nothing.
MYTH: These warrantless wiretaps could never happen to you.
REALITY: Without court oversight, there is no way to ensure innocent people's everyday communications are not monitored or catalogued by the NSA or other agencies.
MYTH: This illegal program could have prevented the 9/11 attacks.
REALITY: This is utter manipulation. Before 9/11, the federal government had gathered intelligence, without illegal NSA spying, about the looming attacks and at least two of the terrorists who perpetrated them, but failed to act.
MYTH: This illegal program has saved thousands of lives.
REALITY: Because the program is secret the administration can assert anything it wants and then claim the need for secrecy excuses its failure to document these claims, let alone reveal all the times the program distracted intelligence agents with dead ends that wasted resources and trampled individual rights.
MYTH: FISA takes too long.
REALITY: FISA allows wiretaps to begin immediately in emergencies, with three days afterward to go to court. Even without an emergency, FISA orders can be approved very quickly and FISA judges are available at all hours.
MYTH: Only liberals disagree with the president about the program.
REALITY: The serious concerns that have been raised transcend party labels and reflect genuine and widespread worries about the lack of checks on the president's claim of unlimited power to illegally spy on Americans without any independent oversight.
The luggage that flies underneath the passengers in the cargo hold. The carry-on restrictions, while potentially mitigating the effects of a manually assembled device (i.e. in flight) do not absolutely resolve the threat condition. Soon we might find that there are no liquids or gels allowed at all on flights. Worse, there may be restrictions on shipping laptops, ipods or other electronics even in luggage. Soap and cosmetic companies must be happy about these coming rules.
I bet they've been performing virtual concerts in their minds for years now...
It's probably just bad boys experiencing the reflex.
And so on... there are many factors behind the manufacturers 'inability' to properly converge these devices... really and truly they are 'protecting you', maybe not the environment, but really they are 'protecting you' from the nasty effects convergence would have...
There once was a time when mankind invented things to improve 'quality of life' but you can't tax quality of life, so there was a paradigm shift... ask Nicola Tesla... or better yet, a living innovator like Doug Engelbart. I for one am using my 'intelligence augmentor' to actually augment my intelligence. Not unlike many of my fellow
In light of all of the illegal wiretapping, and requests for search data that have been perpetrated by a clearly criminal presidential administration that the search records were only left up long enough to bypass the Google refusal? If the reports that AOL search is basically rebranded Google search, has AOL not cooperated in an end run on Google's refusal? While I understand that many Americans would be terrified by the prospect that their president (I use the term loosely) could possibly be involved in any corruption, it's happened before on at least two occasions, most recently for lying to the American public about an otherwise inoccuous sexual act. Having full knowledge of illegal wiretaps, GW is still overseeing the juggernaut that is America, and the rest of the world is cowering in fear over what he'll do next. It seems to me that the words of a famous president come to mind 'Beware the military industrial complex...' I think that might include an ex-Haliburton CEO and an ex-Oil Tycoon...
I pray for your continued safety.
Did it ever occur to you that Apple's recent release of the sources comes well after the kernel was hacked to bypass the TPM AND due to the outcry from their userbase and others alike?
If every tech site on the planet had the same thing to say about the fact that Apple didn't release sources for a previously open project doesn't mean they should all rush to retract their previous statements. Apple is doing the right thing NOW while when those statements and reports were made they weren't.
That I have been cranking on the source being closed since the Intel Mac debut, and that releasing kernel sources will allay the fears of many people. This release, however, does not mean that Apple is off the hook for their TPM implementation. Shipping a TPM enabled STILL implies remote ownership (per the spec).
If Apple were to provide a control panel to verify that the trusts are correct for the security context of the machine then I would be able to sleep better at night, and happily recommend Apple again to all of my friends, family, colleagues, and clientelle. Furthermore, I would also be empowered to utilize the TPM capabilities to help properly secure business networks I integrate, and ensure that these networks aren't exposed to misuse, and/or negligence on the part of end-users.
This source code release hasn't achieved that, and while it goes a long way toward that goal, it's still not hitting the mark imco.