FUD at it's best! This is what you get when your primary news source is 4chan.
The file is rather obviously (look at the strings/modules) a small update to the Symantec PIF Alert Engine. See PIFSvc.exe and PifEng.dll (which have been there for a while) for more information. From what I can tell, and I'm not a Symantec user, this is the part of the LiveUpdate componant, even if it wasn't binary analysis shows nothing untoward.
The real WTF is why are Norton deleting supports requests en-masse rather than simply sending out a press release.
A good question. You want to start a Cable ISP? You have two options.
1) Approach Virgin media, the cable Monopoly. They are in pretty much exactly the same position as BT, but with Cable. They own the entire infrastructure, so either become a reseller or see option 2)
2) Put down the cable yourself. This will cost a few hundred million pounds to get anywhere near the coverage you will need to be competitive. So unless you have a stupid amount of capital to throw at what is really a hit or miss plan, then I don't recommend it.
Virgin Media also backed Phorm 100%. And why not? it's a real money maker and most customers won't know or care.
They've been forced to allow LLU, which breaks the monopoly somewhat, and they're also compelled to offer competitive prices with their Wholesale packages.
However, cable companies aside (who are only available in specific areas), BT still own the entire infrastructure, and while they may be complying with the Anti-Trust ruling, they'll still do everything in their power to maintain their dominance.
You try and start an ISP in the UK, and let me know how far you get without BT's involvement.
I had never seen this show before. Now that I have, I consider the last 20 years of ignorance a blessing. The script reads like a 13 year old wrote it.
I am a business customer of Google's. We use their apps and e-mail package.
"99.9% Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Talk uptime SLA"
The service was down for over 45 minutes, how do you think google will react to a refund request? I'm probably not going to make one, but do you think many people are? Has anybody here? How did it go?
Primary no, but like it or not, it an absolutely necessary part of any Linux user's skill set.
Is there a single Linux (or Unix) user without some knowledge of bash? For many, it is almost synonymous with Linux, it has to be one of the most pervasive pieces of software out there.
If by "the kind of person I was referring to", you mean, one of many millions of competent Unix users out there, then I suppose I am.
Will this major release affect my productivity directly? Probably not, (although I daresay "improvements to the programmable completion functionality" will be a welcome feature) however, to suggest that bash scripting is merely some bygone vestige of a time where people didn't have "serious" languages work with just shows how far outside your comfort zone you stray when actually considering these things.
Bash is core to almost all the major Linux distributions out there (in the sense that it is the default shell). It is a serious technology indeed, just as relevant today as it ever was. A major release is not only worthy of the Slashdot front page, but I'd be disappointed if I hadn't heard it here first.
I love using bash scripting inline, so to speak. The speed that you can get complex things done on the commmand line (and you might be surprised how much you can do with a little ingenuity) is due in no small part to the flexibility of the bash scripting language.
Sure, you could fire up vi (or perhaps nano?) and write a "serious" script to help you get the job done, but my way's quicker.
I'd started writing a proper rant about DRM, Win7 and how I'd not be upgrading. I even decided to read the article, only to find to my amazement, there isn't one. Who on Earth let this through? Two paragraphs of badly formatted, badly written prose devoid of any pertinant information.
You modify a DLL in an unspecified way and it breaks. I'm shocked.
Programs can add themselves to the firewall exception list while being installed (ie. having dealt with the UAC shit). I'm shocked.
The last bit? Apart from being nearly incomprehensible, it would appear the tester is using BETA software and has encountered a bug.
Also, telling us that all this started when you tried to crack Photoshop? Pure class.
We're actually at a turning point with a lot of these less developed countries. More and more of them are advancing to a point where they're technically capable of making their own generic versions of these extremely expensive drugs (see Cuba).
Politically it would be dynamite. I can see promises of free healthcare winning Elections, and in lieu of democracy, revolutions.
Make no mistake, we're entering dangerous times for Big Drug Inc.
GSK have realized that either they make their prices acceptable, or they may very soon find that their share of the market disappears overnight.
We've been doing this for years. Funny to think my genetic fingerprint is stored in a DB somewhere.
I've always thought, doesn't this constant databasing of our personal details fall under the Data Protection Act's remit? Surely I should be able to A) Request a copy of everything they have on me B) Have it removed on request.
IANAL but I work on the assumption that nobody's above the law, and that conflicting laws are deemed unenforacable when they get shot down in court. Have I got it wrong?
Slashdot Mirror
Mod parent up. Couldn't have said it better...
FUD at it's best! This is what you get when your primary news source is 4chan.
The file is rather obviously (look at the strings/modules) a small update to the Symantec PIF Alert Engine. See PIFSvc.exe and PifEng.dll (which have been there for a while) for more information. From what I can tell, and I'm not a Symantec user, this is the part of the LiveUpdate componant, even if it wasn't binary analysis shows nothing untoward.
The real WTF is why are Norton deleting supports requests en-masse rather than simply sending out a press release.
A good question. You want to start a Cable ISP? You have two options.
1) Approach Virgin media, the cable Monopoly. They are in pretty much exactly the same position as BT, but with Cable. They own the entire infrastructure, so either become a reseller or see option 2)
2) Put down the cable yourself. This will cost a few hundred million pounds to get anywhere near the coverage you will need to be competitive. So unless you have a stupid amount of capital to throw at what is really a hit or miss plan, then I don't recommend it.
Virgin Media also backed Phorm 100%. And why not? it's a real money maker and most customers won't know or care.
They've been forced to allow LLU, which breaks the monopoly somewhat, and they're also compelled to offer competitive prices with their Wholesale packages.
However, cable companies aside (who are only available in specific areas), BT still own the entire infrastructure, and while they may be complying with the Anti-Trust ruling, they'll still do everything in their power to maintain their dominance.
You try and start an ISP in the UK, and let me know how far you get without BT's involvement.
You mean a company like Phorm , who have been getting backing from both BT (THE telco out here) and the Gov't despite the exclusively bad press?
It's just a very stylish and aesthetically pleasing form of population control.
Like a really glamorous Eugenics...
Sean Hannity?!? Is that you????
I had never seen this show before. Now that I have, I consider the last 20 years of ignorance a blessing. The script reads like a 13 year old wrote it.
Awful.
Ah! So finally I can buy that yacht I always wanted...
I am a business customer of Google's. We use their apps and e-mail package.
"99.9% Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Talk uptime SLA"
The service was down for over 45 minutes, how do you think google will react to a refund request? I'm probably not going to make one, but do you think many people are? Has anybody here? How did it go?
Primary no, but like it or not, it an absolutely necessary part of any Linux user's skill set.
Is there a single Linux (or Unix) user without some knowledge of bash? For many, it is almost synonymous with Linux, it has to be one of the most pervasive pieces of software out there.
If by "the kind of person I was referring to", you mean, one of many millions of competent Unix users out there, then I suppose I am.
Will this major release affect my productivity directly? Probably not, (although I daresay "improvements to the programmable completion functionality" will be a welcome feature) however, to suggest that bash scripting is merely some bygone vestige of a time where people didn't have "serious" languages work with just shows how far outside your comfort zone you stray when actually considering these things.
Bash is core to almost all the major Linux distributions out there (in the sense that it is the default shell). It is a serious technology indeed, just as relevant today as it ever was. A major release is not only worthy of the Slashdot front page, but I'd be disappointed if I hadn't heard it here first.
Do you use bash on a day to day basis?
I love using bash scripting inline, so to speak. The speed that you can get complex things done on the commmand line (and you might be surprised how much you can do with a little ingenuity) is due in no small part to the flexibility of the bash scripting language.
Sure, you could fire up vi (or perhaps nano?) and write a "serious" script to help you get the job done, but my way's quicker.
...became self-aware at 2:14am EDT February 30, 2009.
Now we just wait for the bombs
I'd started writing a proper rant about DRM, Win7 and how I'd not be upgrading. I even decided to read the article, only to find to my amazement, there isn't one. Who on Earth let this through? Two paragraphs of badly formatted, badly written prose devoid of any pertinant information.
You modify a DLL in an unspecified way and it breaks. I'm shocked.
Programs can add themselves to the firewall exception list while being installed (ie. having dealt with the UAC shit). I'm shocked.
The last bit? Apart from being nearly incomprehensible, it would appear the tester is using BETA software and has encountered a bug.
Also, telling us that all this started when you tried to crack Photoshop? Pure class.
Solidarity hey?
Fuck that.
We're actually at a turning point with a lot of these less developed countries. More and more of them are advancing to a point where they're technically capable of making their own generic versions of these extremely expensive drugs (see Cuba).
Politically it would be dynamite. I can see promises of free healthcare winning Elections, and in lieu of democracy, revolutions.
Make no mistake, we're entering dangerous times for Big Drug Inc.
GSK have realized that either they make their prices acceptable, or they may very soon find that their share of the market disappears overnight.
Progress? Debatable.
We need that Reiser fella on this pronto.
So what if he killed his wife, he still makes a damn fine filesystem. Reiserfs 3 was a good bit of kit.
I'd imagine he has time on his hands at the moment, does anybody know if he's expressed an interest in/allowed to continue development of Reiserfs 4?
"Linux distros such as Ubuntu are stripping out functionality, including MySQL, CUPS, and LDAP, to cut footprints in half."
Can somebody define "footprint" in this context, and then explain how MySQL, CUPS and LDAP could possibly account for half of it?
...systematically installing Debian on every University machine in the dead of night, and then breaking the CD drives.
We'll also need to take out the enemy's ability to network install Windows (again). I am, at this very moment, working on code disable the bios PXEs.
Guerilla tactics...
...to the UK.
We've been doing this for years. Funny to think my genetic fingerprint is stored in a DB somewhere.
I've always thought, doesn't this constant databasing of our personal details fall under the Data Protection Act's remit? Surely I should be able to A) Request a copy of everything they have on me B) Have it removed on request.
IANAL but I work on the assumption that nobody's above the law, and that conflicting laws are deemed unenforacable when they get shot down in court. Have I got it wrong?
Thats because Windows 7 == Vista with some bloat removed.
UAT's a breeze when your codebase is shrinking.
http://gristmill.grist.org/images/user/8/vostok.jpg
This scientist is wrong.
That relates to the manufacturer, not the user.
There's no law to stop you hacking the phone to stop clicking, you just couldn't get that nice little CE stamp or the right to sell it.
Pop up blockers aren't really fair, a lot of webmasters rely on ad revenue to prop up free services.
No, the answer is not to visit sites whose user's are nothing more to them than a unique IP.