you don't want to spend hours trying to solve a problem that a properly trained domain admin might spend 5 minutes fixing
I think a careful choice of wording this to a manager might be required... Otherwise it just might sound like that the employee is telling how he is completely incompetent and that the manager should just fire him and hire someone more qualified...
Perhaps the original poster could explain his strengths to the manager and discuss how getting this extra bit of training from a class (rather than a book) would allow him to perform is other duties more effectively and overall make him a better administrator.
I used to get really pissed off as an undergrad when read seminar abstracts that used phrases like "...found a new dynamic." (WTF? "dynamic" is a damn adjective, not a noun).
Or maybe its just a quirk of the physical sciences... I wouldn't know. I'm an engineer.
The windows users state that they don't need to run as administrator, but then ask them what hurdles they have to go through to make their software "just work".
Well, I can see Windows users saying the whole problem of running apps under an account other an "Administrator is actually a very easy one.
3 Easy Steps:
1) Create account named "NotTheAdministrator" 2) Add it to the "Administrators" group. 3) Change all programs running as "Administrator" to run as "NotTheAdministrator"
All the convenience of the existing software without any of it running as Administator.
its one of those "if you have no firewall and ignore all the alerts and warnings and have filesharing enabled and have a wifi card set to auto DHCP and an attacker is targeting you specifically" flaws
Well, virtually all wireless cards **ARE** going to be configured using DHCP... Even users with wifi in their home are going to be (most often) using a wireless router (which uses dhcp).
And who says the attacker must be a human? The default DHCP IP address used by a Windows hosts is easy to spot... Seems likely someone will write an automated scanning tool -- and someone else will package it with a botnet virus. All it takes is one infected exec reading his Outlook mail in an airport to infect hundreds.... In this manner, computer viruses could spread (mainly wirelessly) in a way very similar to air-borne biological viruses.
And don't Windows XP-Firewall permissions work at the "Interface Level" versus the network configuration level??? Which means if a lazy Joe Schmo uses filesharing at work/home/etc (wireless), he will probably always leave it enabled in the firewall!!!! At home/work this **might** be okay but in a public wifi network, this would be disasterous.
I'm curious as to how many slashdotters have bothered to set-up VPNs to allow controlled access to unsafe resources (as opposed to 'host address'-based firewall configuration). Even if your firewall only allows filesharing from your work's internal private IP block, it would be easy for a tool to start trying IP addresses from the private IP blocks). And how many wireless routers operate with a default like 192.168.0.0/24 ???
The sad thing about the people who most often get "0wned" is that even when informed of the security problem, they might be likely to undo the fix...
I can picture a scenario like this:
1. Jon Idiot uses unsecure AP without a firewall... 2. Mad Hatter informs Jon of problem and instructions on how to fix. (two weeks later) 3. Jon's laptop cannot connect to internet through AP (cause: poor signal, network card not inserted, cable modem/dsl outtage, etc) 4. Knowing the last thing that changed occured in step #2, Jon reverses actions of step #2 (factory reset of router) (meanwhile, cable modem/dsl starts working again -- a very short outage) 5. After completing #4, Jon sees Internet working on his laptop... feels problem has been solved.
If some type of network problem occurs, many users will first DISABLE their firewall to see if it helps... And since such an action does not visibly "break" anything, they can easily forget to re-enable it... (unless that stupid thing in XP reminds them)
This is a nice idea, but I think there would still be problems....
One thing grad school in ECE is teaching me is that I know and understand very little (compared to how much exists in just that field)... When I attend the huge conferences, I am somewhat familiar with the works presented, but I no capability to fully *understand* their proofs, fully understand their methods (get at their heart), or even compare how novel their approach is compared to existing ones... (At least none of this without **a lot** of extra time studying and researching their work). And I believe my case is a fairly common one.
Now is **any** patent clerk going to spend as much time and energy as a grad student would at this stuff? No computer database can figure this stuff out. A little complex math or use of *interesting* mathematical tricks will likely completely baffle most and they will think it is some amazingly novel or sophisticated work, or so complicated, "it must be novel".
For example, what level clerk would notice these are all the same:
1) Linear Least Squares estimation on Non-Gaussian RV's 2) Minimum Mean-Squared Error on Gaussian RV's (And there are probably more others)
or what about: A) Raise-Cosine Pulse Shaping for Pulse-Amplitude Modulation (using polyphase filters) B) Software-based Variable Phase Interpolation for Synchronization C) Optimal approximation of a Low-Pass filter in Discrete Time (Optiminal in the MMSE sense) (Guess what, these are all pretty much the same thing, unless you consider putting peperroni on pizza and putting pepperoni on a sandwich to be two entirely distinct and individually novel concepts)
Now these are really simple concepts... But their descriptions could be made arbitrarily unintelligible with over-use of sub/superscripts,funny letters, etc... And what if they were inside much larger patent applications, for extremely varied purposes, who would realize they were the same???
And if someone patents a generalization of some process/idea/product, then how is the clerk going to realize that a later application is really only a special case of the prior work?
Even today, Engineers are discovering that some of the crazy stuff Mathematicians discovered a few hundred years ago has completely novel applications... And still today, it still happens that groups in entirely different diciplines happen to be working on the same problem as the other, and don't realize it (understandably)...
And how intelligble is the patent application going to be after a lawyer gets to it??
Yes, I realize one can't patent facts, but it looks like the use of facts can be patented as a business process!!! And it looks like algorithms can also.. (which in fields like Signal Processing, are often trivially obvious once some system has been modeled mathematically in a certain way) So even if the math can't be patented, anyone who sees the math often instantly discovers how to implement it... For example, the Fast-Fourier-Transform [decimation in time/freq/etc] )
Even someone with a MS degree in engineering is not going to be able to understand highly technical patents outside their own narrow sub-sub-field... Even different fields/sub-fields have entirelly different vocabularies to describe the same thing...
Yes Innovation is important... But it cannot be a business model in itself... Businesses need to find out how to exist by making high-quality products/services, fast-turnaround-time,etc, etc, etc... I'm under the (naieve?) impression that most technological fields were relatively unobstructed by patents until the past 10-20 years... So I think there is a way to survive without relying on them as companies do now...
Also, patents are killing innovation also by discouraging it (rather than impeding it)... It looks like companies now, instead of maintaining many quality employees for R&D, they prefer to just wait to see which startup does something good and t
The Ac in humvees right now is not too bad, its just the fact that it overheats the engine
The AC causes the engine to overheat? Then the solution is clear...
I'm sure it won't be long before some genius suggests the use of TWO Air Conditioners... One for inside, one for the engine...
But kidding aside, are they using house-type central AC's inside those things? Considering the massive engine that must be in those Humvees, I find it extremely odd that the little AC would put a significant load on it... (Or more likely the hot air-exhaust from the AC evaporator is heating the area surrounding the vehicle, which just sounds like poor design and a possible combat disadvantage)...
How do you drive slowly up a hill, desert sand-dune, etc...? What happens if you have to pull/tow/push another vehicle, etc??? I hope they don't overheat then...
(Parent can treat these as rhetorical questions...)
At any rate, I don't think the testing is on the level of Nazi stuff. I'm assuming the drug companies will still be ethical and are just looking for a way to save time and money but not necessarily buy hurting people.
Why should these companies be ethical towards a group of people "below their caste", to a group of people who are incapable of defending themselves... (Indian society is not sue-happy like that of the US).
And if being "ethical" causes they companies more hardship, financial cost, or headache, then what is their motovation??? Remember, we are discussing a country where the local Coca-Cola & Pepsi plants use polluted water in their soft-drinks... (e.g. really bad pesticides and/or bacteria like typhoid)
technology could be used to take meter readings and remotely disable power to non-paying customers
Yes, but how long will it be until some customers figure out a way to "remotely change" their electric bill?? Or to "remotely" turn their power back on? (Or their neighbor's off for that matter, LOL!)
Like most things, I'm going to guess that the first crack at automating such will be highly insecure.
I noticed that many of the girls in my high-school graduating class went into Chemistry/Chemical Engineering/Bio-*** Engineering. (But not ECE)
I don't believe math skills are the factor keeping women out... For example, my wife is an EE (!!), but she still thinks spending the whole day typing a program in a closed room is a waste of one's life... She would prefer to be interacting with people, going places, etc, etc... To her, that is more interesting.
To some extent, I think women tend to be slightly more social than guys... (I gather they form more close-knit relationships with their female friends than most guys do with their male friends) [at least those born in the US].
CS and/or IT is not a very social field... (Social is not "hey you, can you fix my computer?") Wheras, I've noticed English/Humanities classes tend to be centered more around group discussion/interaction than individual calculation. (Yes there are some seminar courses in grad Enginnering, but they are relatively few).
Lowering high-school math requirements for women in Engineering is just a big mistake... (high-school math is already too far behind in the US). When these women get far into their BS/graduate studies, they will likely feel they aren't prepared for the math and just change to another field. As it is, high-school math does not prepare students well for engineering. (For me, Calculus I was optional [and taught in a worthless manner]!?!??!?!?! WTF?!!!)
If some women don't like science/math, then they shouldn't go into fields that make heavy use of such... But if the reason that they don't like it is that science/math is not "women's work", then society (not the school requirements) needs to change.
why not India's poor? They are getting paid for it, a nice enough sum that it's worth their health and life. They aren't being forced or coerced into it.
It is a noble and selfless act for one to freely subject their body for medical testing... But how can you state that they are not co-erced???
The disparity of incomes in India is orders of magnitude (many powers of 10) larger than in the US... When college students in the US donate blood and get $50 (or whatever), they aren't depending on that money for survivial... Its just extra spending money for partying, etc...
However, the same amount of money in India would cause a poor person to be compelled to do it. They are truly poor (read: not enough money for food, poor in US == not enough money for cable bill)... And such people are going to be powerless to wage a lawsuit if those administering the test are grossly negligent/corrupt... Some won't even have the proper education to make an informed choice about what they would be getting themselves into. And since Indian healthcare is heavily subsidised, then why should the Indian govt pay for the after-effects of such tests? (Or should the poor just be left to die?!?!?!)...
Also income from such testing is not going to be a long-term remedy for their economic situtation... If anything it will only keep these poor economically repressed and will likely interfere with their ability to perform their regular work. So such testing basically amounts to exploitation of these poor (and the exploitation of their ignorance).
And what if the drugs tested are made from cow/pig cells/components?... What amount of money is worth these people's religion???
To all who are still not convinced... The parent AC seems to indicate that testing on disabled US veterans, mentally retarded, and the homeless (all in the US) would be perfectly fine... After all, if they have nothing left to contribute to society, then what's the harm? (parent AC's reasoning)...
(Begin Sarcasm) In fact, why don't we just to drug testing on all elderly/retired people in the US... Their population is ever growing and they likely have not saved enough money for retirement... They can make some money from drug testing and shorten their life from it... A Win-Win for society, surely.... Social Security would be fixed... What could be more convenient? (End Sarcasm)
The parent AC and the moderators who modded him up should all be bitch slapped silly with a million large trout each. And then they should submit to some testing...
It is staggering how many slashdotter's missed the parent's point... (These/.'s don't deserve to be called NERDS).
If this thing is put in an area where people slow down, then the rate at which it is depressed is going to be very low... And whatever it charges is going to loose some charge over time even if it doesn't power anything....
Also, what causes the ramp to go back up?? If it relies on springs or a compressible material, then surely that will wear out. (Especially when 18 wheelers tread on it).
If some component of this ramp breaks, imagine what type of damage it could to a small car's suspension/under carriage.
And what about motorcyclists? Will they do a somersault over their handlebars?
On a financial note, FA states that 1 million was spent on development and that 200 authorities are interested... Even if the each buy only one, that's 25 000 * 200 = 5 million pounds! And they plan to make 2000/year... which means 50 million pounds a year expected revenue???
All of my schooling has managed to avoid the 20th century... (Except that we read part of Anne Frank's diary). A huge amount of time was spent on the Columbus, the colonization of the South Americas, and the history behind our home state...
I find this quite disturbing, given the important events and the huge amount of information easily available on the past ~100 years...
Things like Stalin, WWI, WWII (W seems to be a common letter), the things in Korea, Vietnam, Panama, etc... All never mentioned.
(And I supposedly went to the *good* schools, YIKES!).
How much would Hitler need to have given to charity to bring honor to his name? (and imagine how we would have gotten the money, GASP!)
I don't believe one can make Billions through *honest* means, even in America...
It generally seems to require some form of deception, dishonest billing, and/or a monopolized market...
Or you believe that the Airlines operate an honest business? Cell-phone companies? Fast-food? Multi-level marketing? "Get Rich" schemes? QuickStar/Amway schemes? What about companies that exist to only hold patents???
How many Billions does MSFT have laying around in CASH right now??? Not revenue, not capital, but pure CASH... The number is truly staggering.
Hopefully the money MSFT donates does some good, but it is ill-gotten gains. Robin Hood is a nice child's story, but it is still not right to go around performing armed robbery in order to get some money to donate... MSFT's guns are not the projectile type, but the legal & financial type.
So please, don't delude yourself and other readers...
Slashdot Mirror
you don't want to spend hours trying to solve a problem that a properly trained domain admin might spend 5 minutes fixing
I think a careful choice of wording this to a manager might be required... Otherwise it just might sound like that the employee is telling how he is completely incompetent and that the manager should just fire him and hire someone more qualified...
Perhaps the original poster could explain his strengths to the manager and discuss how getting this extra bit of training from a class (rather than a book) would allow him to perform is other duties more effectively and overall make him a better administrator.
I used to get really pissed off as an undergrad when read seminar abstracts that used phrases like "...found a new dynamic." (WTF? "dynamic" is a damn adjective, not a noun).
Or maybe its just a quirk of the physical sciences... I wouldn't know. I'm an engineer.
Jst the usual right something up on it for me and then watch him forget about it.
Perhaps if you WROTE something instead of RIGHT it, your boss would pay more attention to your proposal...
On second thought, your boss probably remembers your writeups and being gramatically incomprehensible.
my honda CRX is infinite.
I think most tall people will remind you that the space inside a CRX is extremely FINITE.
perhaps he's just frozen and will run for usa pres in a few hundred years...
outgoing call centers are ... a criminal enterprise.
And sadly, it is only a small divsion of a larger criminal enterprise named "Marketing".
Well, I can see Windows users saying the whole problem of running apps under an account other an "Administrator is actually a very easy one.
3 Easy Steps:
1) Create account named "NotTheAdministrator"
2) Add it to the "Administrators" group.
3) Change all programs running as "Administrator" to run as "NotTheAdministrator"
All the convenience of the existing software without any of it running as Administator.
Well, virtually all wireless cards **ARE** going to be configured using DHCP... Even users with wifi in their home are going to be (most often) using a wireless router (which uses dhcp).
And who says the attacker must be a human? The default DHCP IP address used by a Windows hosts is easy to spot... Seems likely someone will write an automated scanning tool -- and someone else will package it with a botnet virus. All it takes is one infected exec reading his Outlook mail in an airport to infect hundreds.... In this manner, computer viruses could spread (mainly wirelessly) in a way very similar to air-borne biological viruses.
And don't Windows XP-Firewall permissions work at the "Interface Level" versus the network configuration level??? Which means if a lazy Joe Schmo uses filesharing at work/home/etc (wireless), he will probably always leave it enabled in the firewall!!!! At home/work this **might** be okay but in a public wifi network, this would be disasterous.
I'm curious as to how many slashdotters have bothered to set-up VPNs to allow controlled access to unsafe resources (as opposed to 'host address'-based firewall configuration). Even if your firewall only allows filesharing from your work's internal private IP block, it would be easy for a tool to start trying IP addresses from the private IP blocks). And how many wireless routers operate with a default like 192.168.0.0/24 ???
The sad thing about the people who most often get "0wned" is that even when informed of the security problem, they might be likely to undo the fix...
I can picture a scenario like this:
1. Jon Idiot uses unsecure AP without a firewall...
2. Mad Hatter informs Jon of problem and instructions on how to fix.
(two weeks later)
3. Jon's laptop cannot connect to internet through AP (cause: poor signal, network card not inserted, cable modem/dsl outtage, etc)
4. Knowing the last thing that changed occured in step #2, Jon reverses actions of step #2 (factory reset of router)
(meanwhile, cable modem/dsl starts working again -- a very short outage)
5. After completing #4, Jon sees Internet working on his laptop... feels problem has been solved.
If some type of network problem occurs, many users will first DISABLE their firewall to see if it helps... And since such an action does not visibly "break" anything, they can easily forget to re-enable it... (unless that stupid thing in XP reminds them)
The difference is subtle (and probably a bit less likely), yet highly interesting!!
(Recall that a foreman oversees his employees)
This is a nice idea, but I think there would still be problems....
,etc, etc, etc... I'm under the (naieve?) impression that most technological fields were relatively unobstructed by patents until the past 10-20 years... So I think there is a way to survive without relying on them as companies do now...
One thing grad school in ECE is teaching me is that I know and understand very little (compared to how much exists in just that field)... When I attend the huge conferences, I am somewhat familiar with the works presented, but I no capability to fully *understand* their proofs, fully understand their methods (get at their heart), or even compare how novel their approach is compared to existing ones... (At least none of this without **a lot** of extra time studying and researching their work). And I believe my case is a fairly common one.
Now is **any** patent clerk going to spend as much time and energy as a grad student would at this stuff? No computer database can figure this stuff out. A little complex math or use of *interesting* mathematical tricks will likely completely baffle most and they will think it is some amazingly novel or sophisticated work, or so complicated, "it must be novel".
For example, what level clerk would notice these are all the same:
1) Linear Least Squares estimation on Non-Gaussian RV's
2) Minimum Mean-Squared Error on Gaussian RV's
(And there are probably more others)
or what about:
A) Raise-Cosine Pulse Shaping for Pulse-Amplitude Modulation (using polyphase filters)
B) Software-based Variable Phase Interpolation for Synchronization
C) Optimal approximation of a Low-Pass filter in Discrete Time (Optiminal in the MMSE sense)
(Guess what, these are all pretty much the same thing, unless you consider putting peperroni on pizza and putting pepperoni on a sandwich to be two entirely distinct and individually novel concepts)
Now these are really simple concepts... But their descriptions could be made arbitrarily unintelligible with over-use of sub/superscripts,funny letters, etc... And what if they were inside much larger patent applications, for extremely varied purposes, who would realize they were the same???
And if someone patents a generalization of some process/idea/product, then how is the clerk going to realize that a later application is really only a special case of the prior work?
Even today, Engineers are discovering that some of the crazy stuff Mathematicians discovered a few hundred years ago has completely novel applications... And still today, it still happens that groups in entirely different diciplines happen to be working on the same problem as the other, and don't realize it (understandably)...
And how intelligble is the patent application going to be after a lawyer gets to it??
Yes, I realize one can't patent facts, but it looks like the use of facts can be patented as a business process!!! And it looks like algorithms can also.. (which in fields like Signal Processing, are often trivially obvious once some system has been modeled mathematically in a certain way) So even if the math can't be patented, anyone who sees the math often instantly discovers how to implement it... For example, the Fast-Fourier-Transform [decimation in time/freq/etc] )
Even someone with a MS degree in engineering is not going to be able to understand highly technical patents outside their own narrow sub-sub-field... Even different fields/sub-fields have entirelly different vocabularies to describe the same thing...
Yes Innovation is important... But it cannot be a business model in itself... Businesses need to find out how to exist by making high-quality products/services, fast-turnaround-time
Also, patents are killing innovation also by discouraging it (rather than impeding it)... It looks like companies now, instead of maintaining many quality employees for R&D, they prefer to just wait to see which startup does something good and t
Well buster, guess what list you just got added to!!!!
The AC causes the engine to overheat? Then the solution is clear...
I'm sure it won't be long before some genius suggests the use of TWO Air Conditioners... One for inside, one for the engine...
But kidding aside, are they using house-type central AC's inside those things? Considering the massive engine that must be in those Humvees, I find it extremely odd that the little AC would put a significant load on it... (Or more likely the hot air-exhaust from the AC evaporator is heating the area surrounding the vehicle, which just sounds like poor design and a possible combat disadvantage)...
How do you drive slowly up a hill, desert sand-dune, etc...? What happens if you have to pull/tow/push another vehicle, etc??? I hope they don't overheat then...
(Parent can treat these as rhetorical questions...)
Both... Now AOL is only 95% evil and Google is now 5% evil...
That's still better odds than the state lottery!
And it can be a good way to help your computer serve as an effective space-heater during these winter months... Quite a good deal in all.
Sadly, yes, I think it could.....
But that would likely mean less ad-revenue... (less page hits from people ranting about the dupes).
Perhaps someone can make a robot that prevents dupes on /.
Why should these companies be ethical towards a group of people "below their caste", to a group of people who are incapable of defending themselves... (Indian society is not sue-happy like that of the US).
And if being "ethical" causes they companies more hardship, financial cost, or headache, then what is their motovation??? Remember, we are discussing a country where the local Coca-Cola & Pepsi plants use polluted water in their soft-drinks... (e.g. really bad pesticides and/or bacteria like typhoid)
LOL, I think you mis-spelled "vim"....
Yes, but how long will it be until some customers figure out a way to "remotely change" their electric bill?? Or to "remotely" turn their power back on? (Or their neighbor's off for that matter, LOL!)
Like most things, I'm going to guess that the first crack at automating such will be highly insecure.
I noticed that many of the girls in my high-school graduating class went into Chemistry/Chemical Engineering/Bio-*** Engineering. (But not ECE)
I don't believe math skills are the factor keeping women out... For example, my wife is an EE (!!), but she still thinks spending the whole day typing a program in a closed room is a waste of one's life... She would prefer to be interacting with people, going places, etc, etc... To her, that is more interesting.
To some extent, I think women tend to be slightly more social than guys... (I gather they form more close-knit relationships with their female friends than most guys do with their male friends) [at least those born in the US].
CS and/or IT is not a very social field... (Social is not "hey you, can you fix my computer?") Wheras, I've noticed English/Humanities classes tend to be centered more around group discussion/interaction than individual calculation. (Yes there are some seminar courses in grad Enginnering, but they are relatively few).
Lowering high-school math requirements for women in Engineering is just a big mistake... (high-school math is already too far behind in the US). When these women get far into their BS/graduate studies, they will likely feel they aren't prepared for the math and just change to another field. As it is, high-school math does not prepare students well for engineering. (For me, Calculus I was optional [and taught in a worthless manner]!?!??!?!?! WTF?!!!)
If some women don't like science/math, then they shouldn't go into fields that make heavy use of such... But if the reason that they don't like it is that science/math is not "women's work", then society (not the school requirements) needs to change.
It is staggering how many slashdotter's missed the parent's point... (These /.'s don't deserve to be called NERDS).
If this thing is put in an area where people slow down, then the rate at which it is depressed is going to be very low... And whatever it charges is going to loose some charge over time even if it doesn't power anything....
Also, what causes the ramp to go back up?? If it relies on springs or a compressible material, then surely that will wear out. (Especially when 18 wheelers tread on it).
If some component of this ramp breaks, imagine what type of damage it could to a small car's suspension/under carriage.
And what about motorcyclists? Will they do a somersault over their handlebars?
On a financial note, FA states that 1 million was spent on development and that 200 authorities are interested... Even if the each buy only one, that's 25 000 * 200 = 5 million pounds! And they plan to make 2000/year... which means 50 million pounds a year expected revenue???
Con artists must live awfully well....
All of my schooling has managed to avoid the 20th century... (Except that we read part of Anne Frank's diary). A huge amount of time was spent on the Columbus, the colonization of the South Americas, and the history behind our home state...
I find this quite disturbing, given the important events and the huge amount of information easily available on the past ~100 years...
Things like Stalin, WWI, WWII (W seems to be a common letter), the things in Korea, Vietnam, Panama, etc... All never mentioned.
(And I supposedly went to the *good* schools, YIKES!).
How much would Hitler need to have given to charity to bring honor to his name? (and imagine how we would have gotten the money, GASP!)
I don't believe one can make Billions through *honest* means, even in America...
It generally seems to require some form of deception, dishonest billing, and/or a monopolized market...
Or you believe that the Airlines operate an honest business? Cell-phone companies? Fast-food? Multi-level marketing? "Get Rich" schemes? QuickStar/Amway schemes? What about companies that exist to only hold patents???
How many Billions does MSFT have laying around in CASH right now??? Not revenue, not capital, but pure CASH... The number is truly staggering.
Hopefully the money MSFT donates does some good, but it is ill-gotten gains. Robin Hood is a nice child's story, but it is still not right to go around performing armed robbery in order to get some money to donate... MSFT's guns are not the projectile type, but the legal & financial type.
So please, don't delude yourself and other readers...