They have to install it on the computers of people who don't agree to it, because if they only monitored people who agreed to it, it would skew their results, because they'd be using self-selected samples! Think of the marketers!
But there's a very dangerous security vulnerability in Microsoft Word that doesn't have a patch yet, and which will not get patched any time soon either. That means it is very risky to rely on Microsoft file formats!
(In the same way that the OpenOffice's suboptimal support for disabled users means you shouldn't use ODF, that is...)
Your dirt road analogy breaks down because in real life, the government would levy a tax on all ten residents to pay for the paving. Of course, with no-bid contracts and $6000 hammers, this is a little less efficient...
The point is, the OLPC developers don't want to put Windows on it, because it isn't free as in speech. They declined free as in beer OS X already.
Any installations of Windows on OLPC machines would either be done by the users themselves or by the governments distributing them. If Microsoft makes a version of Windows that can run on the OLPC, it's likely that at least some of them will get to run it, legally or illegally. Personally, I doubt that Microsoft will care whether it's properly licensed or not, I think they want marketshare and control above money.
It would be just as much a problem with any other piece of software, Microsoft Windows or not, pirated or not.
To recall the tired (tyred?) car analogy, it is a problem if people start driving cars that are dangerous to other drivers, due to unreliable breaks or parts falling off when driving at high speed.
ISPs need to be more proactive at disconnecting people who can't keep their computer clean.
There are fingerprint scanners that can detect a pulse, so a dead finger won't work, and it might also make forged fingerprints useless.
The fingerprint is a what-you-are item, instead of a what-you-have item like an ATM card. It has the benefit that you can't easily lose it. That is, once it is clear that a cut-off thumb doesn't pay up. Which might take a disappointingly long time.
A PIN code is a what-you-know item, which should be combined with one of the above items, but if the fingerprint reader can reliably detect whether or not the fingerprint is real, you can assume it can detect whether the account holder is at the ATM.
A PIN code would increase the security somewhat, but it is also an additional hurdle, especially for non-literate people. However, they might have a good memory (they can't write down anything, so they'll have to remember things instead), so why not replace the numbers with stylized pictures? Examples would be (imagine the kind of pictures you see on traffic signs):
banana elephant tree house train bird boat sun face fork
Maybe they should make it optional, so that people who do not understand the idea of a secret code to protect their money, don't need to use it. If the scanner is secure, it should add little extra safety anyway, I think. (But, a secure scanner is probably more expensive. Also, a non-secure scanner + password combination can still be defeated through social engineering or coercion.)
I think they should just put a guard next to every ATM, who can verify that the person withdrawing money isn't being coerced, and there are no games being played with fake or dead thumbs. But that is expensive and the guard can be bribed.
All in all, I think using just a thumbprint should be secure enough IFF the scanner is secure.
It'd be disturbing if the Polonium came from the reactor in Petten (which makes medical isotopes for most of Europe), but Russia was already suspected to be behind this assassination, so I'd hardly call this result disturbing.
Well, the agents in the simulation should worship the person running the simulation, because His avatar promised they would be saved! After the current simulation ends, a new simulation will start, which will be populated by those agents that were saved earlier.
No wonder people from 2000+ years ago didn't understand it, it's all technobabble!
Basically, SCO concocted this weird "your code becomes mine if it rubs against mine" infringement argument because they couldn't find any copied SVR4 code.
That explains why Dell doesn't spin off a division (Ledd?) selling exclusively Linux computers. It would decrease the number of PCs sold by Dell, and thereby increase the Windows tax per PC, and apparently they think the extra sales generated by their new division aren't enough to offset the tax.
Don't you remember the eastern European crime gangs that threatened UK businesses with DoS attacks unless they paid?
And those that paid were then subsequently threatened by smaller gangs for smaller amounts of money to prevent smaller DoS attacks (down to $0.02 to prevent a DoS attack from an 8088 PC hooked up on a 300 baud modem).
Slashdot Mirror
As could the ROU How I Wish I Had Modpoints (moderator class) ;=]
Since when is a star of 1000 times the mass of the Sun a humungous star? The Sun is a pretty small star compared to others...
Talk about milking a dead cow!
(Well, actually, I'll wait and see before I actually form an opinion.)
They have to install it on the computers of people who don't agree to it, because if they only monitored people who agreed to it, it would skew their results, because they'd be using self-selected samples! Think of the marketers!
Gimme your biggest, strongest, cheapest drink!
Even better, it won't matter to retrocomputing fans. It'll only matter to those who want to use the code in their own proprietary software.
But there's a very dangerous security vulnerability in Microsoft Word that doesn't have a patch yet, and which will not get patched any time soon either. That means it is very risky to rely on Microsoft file formats!
(In the same way that the OpenOffice's suboptimal support for disabled users means you shouldn't use ODF, that is...)
If that printout of that email message contains a security code, what is the problem?
Your dirt road analogy breaks down because in real life, the government would levy a tax on all ten residents to pay for the paving. Of course, with no-bid contracts and $6000 hammers, this is a little less efficient...
Yes, Windows is pretty bad.
The point is, the OLPC developers don't want to put Windows on it, because it isn't free as in speech. They declined free as in beer OS X already.
Any installations of Windows on OLPC machines would either be done by the users themselves or by the governments distributing them. If Microsoft makes a version of Windows that can run on the OLPC, it's likely that at least some of them will get to run it, legally or illegally. Personally, I doubt that Microsoft will care whether it's properly licensed or not, I think they want marketshare and control above money.
It would be just as much a problem with any other piece of software, Microsoft Windows or not, pirated or not.
To recall the tired (tyred?) car analogy, it is a problem if people start driving cars that are dangerous to other drivers, due to unreliable breaks or parts falling off when driving at high speed.
ISPs need to be more proactive at disconnecting people who can't keep their computer clean.
There are fingerprint scanners that can detect a pulse, so a dead finger won't work, and it might also make forged fingerprints useless.
The fingerprint is a what-you-are item, instead of a what-you-have item like an ATM card. It has the benefit that you can't easily lose it. That is, once it is clear that a cut-off thumb doesn't pay up. Which might take a disappointingly long time.
A PIN code is a what-you-know item, which should be combined with one of the above items, but if the fingerprint reader can reliably detect whether or not the fingerprint is real, you can assume it can detect whether the account holder is at the ATM.
A PIN code would increase the security somewhat, but it is also an additional hurdle, especially for non-literate people. However, they might have a good memory (they can't write down anything, so they'll have to remember things instead), so why not replace the numbers with stylized pictures? Examples would be (imagine the kind of pictures you see on traffic signs):
banana elephant tree house train bird boat sun face fork
Maybe they should make it optional, so that people who do not understand the idea of a secret code to protect their money, don't need to use it. If the scanner is secure, it should add little extra safety anyway, I think. (But, a secure scanner is probably more expensive. Also, a non-secure scanner + password combination can still be defeated through social engineering or coercion.)
I think they should just put a guard next to every ATM, who can verify that the person withdrawing money isn't being coerced, and there are no games being played with fake or dead thumbs. But that is expensive and the guard can be bribed.
All in all, I think using just a thumbprint should be secure enough IFF the scanner is secure.
It'd be disturbing if the Polonium came from the reactor in Petten (which makes medical isotopes for most of Europe), but Russia was already suspected to be behind this assassination, so I'd hardly call this result disturbing.
Well, the agents in the simulation should worship the person running the simulation, because His avatar promised they would be saved! After the current simulation ends, a new simulation will start, which will be populated by those agents that were saved earlier.
No wonder people from 2000+ years ago didn't understand it, it's all technobabble!
But you can only get a maximum score of +5! It says so in the FAQ! How dare you mock the Slashcode authors?
Email delays are because of spam filtering. Spam filtering is necessary due to the immense volume of spam. When will someone tell them that?
Guess why the Xbos (360) doesn't support OpenGL: Microsoft wants developers to use DirectX instead, so they can't easily port to other platforms.
Wow, talk about your viral licences!
Since when is Richard Stallman paranoid?
You can't make this up. Overloop translates to Overflow.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/16/flying_air craft_carrier/
That explains why Dell doesn't spin off a division (Ledd?) selling exclusively Linux computers. It would decrease the number of PCs sold by Dell, and thereby increase the Windows tax per PC, and apparently they think the extra sales generated by their new division aren't enough to offset the tax.
Don't you remember the eastern European crime gangs that threatened UK businesses with DoS attacks unless they paid?
And those that paid were then subsequently threatened by smaller gangs for smaller amounts of money to prevent smaller DoS attacks (down to $0.02 to prevent a DoS attack from an 8088 PC hooked up on a 300 baud modem).
What game developer would develop for a platform that only a few people use? It'll take years before Vista gets a significant marketshare.