That's the "joy" of artificial neural networks (ANNs) - they will focus on the things that change and will learn to ignore the "noise". In your example, the lighting was the "key" that was consistant in the two types of pictures.
My research involved ANNs (specifically, Self-Organizing Maps, but I've worked with the more "traditional" feed-forward-back-prop nets I suspect you were discussing here). From my own experience, what the parent post said is quite probable.
I guess the folks in the Dutch military didn't understand ANNs well enough to guess that. The "ideal" set of photos would have been pictures taken in sequence: take a photo, then drive the vehicle into the scene and take it again, then take a third with a non-military vehicle to help it learn the difference between military and non-military. It can work. I'd use a Self-Organizing Map, though, because it groups things into categories instead of simply giving a "yes/no" answer.
I am not a fan of Microsoft, but I must agree with the parent post.
I have a nice little tablet computer that I use, and I need the handwriting recognition features for the main reason I use it. In this case, it's an HP, not a Dell. However, the drivers for the machine do not exist for XP, or at least HP vehemently deny that they exist. I _need_ the handwriting recognition. Without that, it's just a tiny little laptop.
Vista is a resource hog. This tablet has a 2GHz Core 2 Duo and 4GB of RAM, but it's pathetically slow. I wish I could run XP on it, or anything that would give me the handwriting recognition that I need (Chinese and Japanese).
I'm also not a huge fan of Dell, but I must applaud them for being willing to, in effect, tell Microsoft to smeg off by continuing to offer XP even after MS's official "sell-by" date has past.
I find it amusing that the CAPTCHA for this post is "reoccur".
It may not be a matter of misconfiguration, but of intentional, poor design.
I am one of a very large number of people who have been subjected to using Lotus Notes as an email client at work (fortunately, only at the full-time job and not at the university where I teach part-time).
The Notes client does not contain a configuration option to block return receipts from being sent.
HOWEVER, there is a very easy way to have this exact effect, but it is a minor pain.
1. Once you have replicated your email, switch to "Standalone" in the Location box on the lower right corner of the window.
2. Read your email and watch for the "Return Receipt" notice on the status bar on the bottom of the screen.
3. Click on "Databases" on the list on the left.
4. Click on "Workspace"
5. Click on "Outgoing Mail on Local" on the Workspace.
6. Select the Return Receipt notice and click the "Delete" button. Notice that it doesn't seem to do much. There will be a little mark on the left that indicates that it is slated for deletion.
7. Hit F9. That will refresh the list and then you will see the message deleted from your outbox.
8. Switch back to your "Connected" configuration (often something like "Online" or "ND65" or something like that), and bask in the joy that you have defeated the evil return receipt.
Share and Enjoy!
I have co workers who put return-receipts on EVERYTHING, and even worse are sales people from outside companies who do it.
I know - I shouldn't reply to my own posts, but...
If any of you have recognizable credentials in the field, please try to contact your senator or congressperson and offer your assistance in these matters. I've received a very grateful response from my senator for this offer, and I've been called by his office before with questions about issues.
Here's a chance to have more than your "fair share" of influence in certain matters.
I've contacted mine! I have the distinct pleasure of being on one of my senators' "short list" of people to consult in computer issues, especially computer security issues (due to my Ph.D. in the subject), so I've already told him that this is a bad idea.
While I would greatly appreciate seeing Lt. Col. Bercher's response, being in the computer security industry myself, I strongly suspect that his answer will be something along the lines of "We will utilize all available and appropriate methods necessary to accomplish our mission. These may include, but are not necessarily limited to, known and published techniques and tools as well as special tools, tactics, and vulnerabilities that are not available to the general public. I cannot answer that question in any greater detail for reasons that I believe are obvious."
Or, as a security professonal and academic, I believe the "real" answer is "of course they're working on home-grown exploits, just like anyone else would. The broadly used ones are the ones that the regular IDS/IPS software can detect. They want highly specialized and highly targeted attacks so that they will not be detected by commercial detection software."
Think of it as the "cracker" version of "spearphishing" - highly targeted to reduce exposure, and thus increase the time before it is easily detected.
As a previous poster noted, it is Windows' USB stack that is the problem. My iPod charges just fine on my MacBook Pro even after I "eject" the iPod so it is no longer accessible for data transfer.
The difference here, though, is that they can look at a file folder, see paper, an realize that there is no bomb. In theory, their search should stop there. Unless they have a specific reason to read the documents, they shouldn't.
On the computer, however, they are looking at the content of the files to try to find "suspicious" materials. This is a more difficult situation because, in order to differentiate between "acceptable" and "suspicious", they must examine the contents of the files. This is not as simple as looking for a timer, wires, and a blob of explosive material in a suitcase.
Let me offer a similar, non-computer example.
Your car is pulled over, and the officer has reasonable cause to suspect that you were driving under the influence of alcohol. The officer is allowed, required, and in good common sense would, look around the inside of your car to be sure you don't have any weapons.
What if, in the course of that examination, the officer finds the makings of a bomb, an automatic weapon, a large quantity of clearly illegal drugs, or obvious child pornography? Can the officer act on that discovery even though that had nothing to do with the original reason to search? Yes, I suspect that the officer would be able to act. (IANAL)
When searching a computer for suspicious materials, the contents of files must be examined. During this search, similar to the hypothetical example above, the agent finds something suspicious. Remember, in many Asian countries, the women tend to be smaller in all ways than women of European descent. To someone unfamiliar with Asian women, they _may_ appear to be "underage".
Based on that initial, uninformed assessment, the agent would then proceed under the suspicion that there was "child porn" on the machine.
Unfortunately, this makes sense.
The issue is that the laws were created, and for the most part work, in a world that did not include portable computers and digital media. The laws have not caught up with the current world, and people are suffering for it.
1. No decryption occurs. This would lend credence to the "they're trying to get us to break someone else's private key" theory. Person who paid the extortionist is SOL and also out $100 or whatever they're asking.
2. Decryption occurs, but the "decryptor" installs a sleeper program that does the same thing again, different key.
The problem with people who give in to extortionists is that the extortionists may consider them an easy source of income. Also, as discussed in #1 (above), there is no guarantee that they will do what they promised to do once they have your money. I sincerely doubt they'll agree to an escrow situation, because that would make them traceable.
Ergo, I believe mckmck is correct. It should be clear that anyone who would so something like this should not be trusted. There are too many ways for that person to abuse his/her victims beyond the original violation.
Bottom line: Careful, regular backups. Ideally in two flavours:
A. Software/config backup whenever you install something. This is along the lines of "restore to the bare metal", in that you can restore to a blank hard drive.
B. Data backup. I know people complain about the "My Documents" setup in Windows, but it the general concept of having your data in one area makes backing up just the data much easier. Do you really need to backup Microsoft Office every week if you have the install disks? This one is what you do after the bare metal restore (in the case of the virus), and it can also be handy if someone accidentally deletes a file or two.
I hate to be cynical, but why would Microsoft fund this study? They sell ergonomic keyboards. I wonder if they're coming out with some new ergonomic device, if they are trying to prop up sales of their current line of ergonomic devices, or if their funding of the study was simply an act of generosity (otherwise known as a tax write-off).
Allowing these devices to function autonomously is going to be quite interesting. My research involved such issues, but only in mobile software agents. I've read, and been told by some of my then-fellow-students that autonomous land vehicles are more difficult to control than UAVs.
Combining this type of cooperation with autonomous navigation and the "bidding" system described could have some interesting commercial applications, ranging from autonomous "taxis" and delivery vehicles (such as an office-wide or city-wide version of FedEx) to branching out the bidding algorithms to help automate search and rescue efforts. Imagine if a group of specialized bots could be dispatched to look for signs of life - a large number with basic sensory capabilities that could then call in one of a smaller number of more advanced bots? Perhaps even summoning something similar to the much-chided "buddy bot" discussed earler on Slashdot.
I know the "buddy bot" seemed silly, but if you consider the more basic functions it could be very useful. It provides two-way communication with rescuers, so you can say "I'm alone" or "I'm here with two of my children, and one of them is bleeding badly", to "I'm trapped, but I'm otherwise OK." This could help rescuers better prioritise their efforts, much like triage on the field - if someone's bleeding badly, send help sooner, while the person who is trapped but otherwise safe can hang on a little longer, and then two lives are saved instead of only one. (I fully realize that type of situation may not always work out as desired - people lie, things can collapse further, etc.)
I also have to commend Dr. Howard for her creativity in utilizing what was essentially an "off-the-shelf" component for the main device - the little snow-mobile. Very well suited for the majority of the terrain for which it is designed.
There is much more behind this work than first meets the eye. I'll be quite interested in watching this one develop further. Now where did my 9-year-old put that Mindstorms NXT?
I don't know where Commander Taco lives (or Subcommander Taco, either), but I know that those face masks are quite common in many Asian countries for at least two purposes.
1. to protect others from your cold, etc.
2. to protect yourself from smog in large cities, such as Beijing.
I've been to Beijing, and those masks were quite necessary.:-( I like Beijing other than the smog.
I have visited China twice, and I have several Chinese friends. I do not believe I understand Chinese culture as well as you do, but even I can understand the need for these national days of mourning in the context of Chinese culture.
I have a friend in Shanghai who is still trying to contact a missing friend in Sichuan.
Thank you, Beijing Monster, for making this clear for others to understand.
Just to spare the speculation, etc: I'm caucasian, of Western European descent, so no, I don't look "Middleastern" or "Asian" or anything else. Just your typical "white male".
Having returned from my second trip to China, I still find it amazing that it is easier for me, as a foreigner, to enter China than it is for me, as a US citizen (born a US citizen to parents who were US citizens, etc.) to enter the US after a trip abroad.
I just pretty much walked right through in China - I handed them the entry form (one half of the two part form - the other half you give them when you leave) and they waved me through. Customs in China did not even ask to see my laptop, never mind read files or anything like that.
On returning to the US at Detroit International, I was given the 3rd degree by US Customs agents, and I'm a US Citizen. "How long were you in China?" (as if he couldn't tell by the side-by side entry/departure stamps in my passport) "What were you doing there?" (visiting friends) "What do these friends do for a living?" (A couple of college professors and a financial analyst)
This happened on both of my trips.
And I noticed that they were doing this to EVERYONE, not just me. (The plane had several hundred people on it.) I'd hate to see what they were doing to Chinese citizens entering the US.
I hope they realize that they are going to scare businesses away from the US if they keep this up.
I find it somewhat ironic that the captcha for this post is "undergo".
"...and in China the two are usually indistinguishable."
No.
I just returned from my second trip to China and it is VERY easy to tell the difference. The uniforms are completely different and different colours. Also, there are at least two different types of police forces in China, just like in the USA.
There are the "local" police who wear the blue uniforms like in the little pop-up animations that are only shown in Internet Cafes. I never saw one of those pop-ups. (I wanted to see it, actually.) I've seen local police alone or in pairs, and I've seen male and female officers.
And there is what can be considered the "People's Liberation Army Police". Their uniforms are a light green, different from both the local police and the PLA uniforms. I saw these folks, always in pairs, at various national historical sites. I always saw them in pairs, and it was funny that the two guys (I never saw a female PLA Police officer while I was there) in the pair were always nearly the exact same height. Strange.
Also, the PLA Police are easier to spot because of the bright white holster/harness thing that they wear for their sidearms. It consists of a white belt with a white strap that on a right-handed officer would go over the left shoulder down to the right side to connect to the belt and onto the bright white holster holding what appeared to be a some form of 9mm semi-auto pistol.
The real "Army" uniforms are a different color. The different branches have different color uniforms, dark blue, light blue, and a dark green (sort of like the Marines in the US wear), but none of them have the light green color of the PLA Police.
I will agree that, to the best of my understanding, there is no dispute over Alaska.
I am not going to argue about either Tibet or Taiwan, as those are issues that are still under dispute. I will note, however, that neither of those regions have representation in the UN, and at least the USA does not officially recognize either as a sovereign nation.
I am not aware of the official policies of other countries with regard to Tibet or Taiwan.
Also, it was only an example. I could not come up with anything closer to reality at the moment. I'm sorry. I know people in the area that was hit by the earthquake in China and I'm a little bit distracted.
I do not believe the satellite based images are the main issue here.
The Chinese government objects to maps that depict certain regions as being separate sovereign countries, such as Tibet and Taiwan, which the Chinese government holds are both part of China.
This would be similar to a map being published that showed Alaska as a separate country, or as part of Canada, as opposed to it being part of the USA.
The Challenger exploded on take-off. The crew never had the opportunity to conduct any experiments on that flight. (I watched the explosion happen live on TV when I was in college.)
The Columbia, if you remember, exploded on re-entry, so the crew had time to conduct experiments.
Nice idea. I hate to do this, but I see one significant flaw in your plan: keygens.
Eventually, someone is going to create a keygenerator that will generate the key that you will find in your box next month. Pirate uses the key now, and you, the ligitimate customer, are hosed.
I have an alternative that may reduce this problem. It will not eliminate it entirely, especially when buying a game as a gift for someone else and having it sit in a closet for a week or two, but it will help.
Set up a system similar to those "must be activated by the cashier" gift cards, long distance phone cards, or pay-as-you-go cell phones. There's a two part key - one part is the barcode on a sticker on the outside of the box, and the second part is inside the box as usual. The merchant scans part 1 of the key and it is transmitted to a central game clearinghouse (instead of having multiple devices, one for each game publisher) and the receipt of the "primer key" informs the server that your activation key may now be registered. You go home and register as usual. Ideally, there should be no reversable relationship between the two keys. You should not be able to compute one given the other, but it should be fairly easy to determine that the two belong together. You will need to enter both keys when you register.
This also has the advantage of allowing deactivation. When a game is returned, it will be scanned again and the license terminated. One downside is that the game box will need to be returned in order for a new key set to be generated. However, this will also eliminate the problem of someone buying a game, copying it, using the key to register, and then returning the game.
Obviously, there are drawbacks to this approach. This still requires some form of connection to the outside world, but having the entire thing contained inside of the same box makes it far too easy to reverse engineer.
However, this could work with a single dial-out to connect to register.
Yes, people could still do the old "install and return" rip-off. Stardock answers that one for us by needing the application be able to authenticate to install updates. The update authentication could be handled the same was as the original authentication, either online or on the phone.
That way you have a system that is less intrusive than dialing home every 10 days. Legitimate copies of the game continue to work once activated, and even install and return copies will work. You can still play without a network connection.
However, the "value added" for legit owners who register is updates to content and patches, while pirated versions will not have ready access to either.
I fully realize that even this system would eventually be defeated, but I am trying to find a compromise that will allow the content producers to protect their work within reason without making things too difficult for legitimate, paying customers.
I enjoy the occasional computer game. I don't want the industry to take away my opportunity to access new games because of the actions of a small number of people who want to ruin things for everyone else. Those people exist in boardrooms, lusting over increased revenues, as well as in their mothers' basements, defeating copy protection systems. Both of those types of people contribute to the decline of PC gaming.
Actually, Speed Racer is a Japanese import. In Japan it is known as "Mach Go go go", and no, "go" does not mean the same thing as it does in English.
That also explains the letters on their clothes. The "G" on Speed's shirt is for "Go", which is his name. Trixie is "Michiko", explaining the "M".
Yes, I was one of those kids in the US who grew up watching Speed Racer. I looked up the rest of the stuff when _my_ kids started asking "Why does Trixie have an 'M' on her shirt?".
Yes, it's horridly campy, but younger kids really get a kick out of it, and the idea of the things that the Mach 5 can do certainly can spark a little kid's imagination. I'll wait for the DVD and then get it for the kids, and I'll try not to mourn too much with what they may have done to my childhood memories by remaking Speed Racer.
You are right on target. What we are seeing is the typical US Government arrogance. They expect to be able to require everyone for conform to the USA's rules. They try to force DMCA and RIAA/MIAA-approved copyright laws down the WTO's collective throat. They try to force their own version of "religious freedom" (which is not really religious freedom if you really look at it*) down every other country's throat. This is just another example of the US Government's arrogance.
*religious freedom: yes, in theory people in the USA have "freedom of religion", but in how many ways does that actually mean "freedom to attend any Christian denomination that is considered acceptable."? Why did they make such a big deal on the news when that congressperson or senator from Hawai'i was elected? The news did not discuss the person's qualifications. The big news item was that he or she (i don't remember) was the first Buddhist elected to a federal office. That's pathetic! Why should it matter if the person is a Buddhist? From what I know about Buddhism, I'd much rather a Buddhist president than someone from most other religions.
When was the last time a Muslim was elected to a federal office? How about someone who practices Shintoism? If I remember correctly, it was the intent of the Founding Fathers that the "freedom of religion" only applied to "Christian" beliefs. Granted, you cannot completely fault them for that because they were acting in accordance with their religious beliefs, but in this supposedly more enlightened age one would like to think that we could do better now.
Slashdot Mirror
That's the "joy" of artificial neural networks (ANNs) - they will focus on the things that change and will learn to ignore the "noise". In your example, the lighting was the "key" that was consistant in the two types of pictures.
My research involved ANNs (specifically, Self-Organizing Maps, but I've worked with the more "traditional" feed-forward-back-prop nets I suspect you were discussing here). From my own experience, what the parent post said is quite probable.
I guess the folks in the Dutch military didn't understand ANNs well enough to guess that. The "ideal" set of photos would have been pictures taken in sequence: take a photo, then drive the vehicle into the scene and take it again, then take a third with a non-military vehicle to help it learn the difference between military and non-military. It can work. I'd use a Self-Organizing Map, though, because it groups things into categories instead of simply giving a "yes/no" answer.
I am not a fan of Microsoft, but I must agree with the parent post.
I have a nice little tablet computer that I use, and I need the handwriting recognition features for the main reason I use it. In this case, it's an HP, not a Dell. However, the drivers for the machine do not exist for XP, or at least HP vehemently deny that they exist. I _need_ the handwriting recognition. Without that, it's just a tiny little laptop.
Vista is a resource hog. This tablet has a 2GHz Core 2 Duo and 4GB of RAM, but it's pathetically slow. I wish I could run XP on it, or anything that would give me the handwriting recognition that I need (Chinese and Japanese).
I'm also not a huge fan of Dell, but I must applaud them for being willing to, in effect, tell Microsoft to smeg off by continuing to offer XP even after MS's official "sell-by" date has past.
I find it amusing that the CAPTCHA for this post is "reoccur".
It may not be a matter of misconfiguration, but of intentional, poor design.
I am one of a very large number of people who have been subjected to using Lotus Notes as an email client at work (fortunately, only at the full-time job and not at the university where I teach part-time).
The Notes client does not contain a configuration option to block return receipts from being sent.
HOWEVER, there is a very easy way to have this exact effect, but it is a minor pain.
1. Once you have replicated your email, switch to "Standalone" in the Location box on the lower right corner of the window.
2. Read your email and watch for the "Return Receipt" notice on the status bar on the bottom of the screen.
3. Click on "Databases" on the list on the left.
4. Click on "Workspace"
5. Click on "Outgoing Mail on Local" on the Workspace.
6. Select the Return Receipt notice and click the "Delete" button. Notice that it doesn't seem to do much. There will be a little mark on the left that indicates that it is slated for deletion.
7. Hit F9. That will refresh the list and then you will see the message deleted from your outbox.
8. Switch back to your "Connected" configuration (often something like "Online" or "ND65" or something like that), and bask in the joy that you have defeated the evil return receipt.
Share and Enjoy!
I have co workers who put return-receipts on EVERYTHING, and even worse are sales people from outside companies who do it.
I know - I shouldn't reply to my own posts, but...
If any of you have recognizable credentials in the field, please try to contact your senator or congressperson and offer your assistance in these matters. I've received a very grateful response from my senator for this offer, and I've been called by his office before with questions about issues.
Here's a chance to have more than your "fair share" of influence in certain matters.
Take advantage of it.
I've contacted mine! I have the distinct pleasure of being on one of my senators' "short list" of people to consult in computer issues, especially computer security issues (due to my Ph.D. in the subject), so I've already told him that this is a bad idea.
Please contact your senators!
While I would greatly appreciate seeing Lt. Col. Bercher's response, being in the computer security industry myself, I strongly suspect that his answer will be something along the lines of "We will utilize all available and appropriate methods necessary to accomplish our mission. These may include, but are not necessarily limited to, known and published techniques and tools as well as special tools, tactics, and vulnerabilities that are not available to the general public. I cannot answer that question in any greater detail for reasons that I believe are obvious."
Or, as a security professonal and academic, I believe the "real" answer is "of course they're working on home-grown exploits, just like anyone else would. The broadly used ones are the ones that the regular IDS/IPS software can detect. They want highly specialized and highly targeted attacks so that they will not be detected by commercial detection software."
Think of it as the "cracker" version of "spearphishing" - highly targeted to reduce exposure, and thus increase the time before it is easily detected.
As a previous poster noted, it is Windows' USB stack that is the problem. My iPod charges just fine on my MacBook Pro even after I "eject" the iPod so it is no longer accessible for data transfer.
The difference here, though, is that they can look at a file folder, see paper, an realize that there is no bomb. In theory, their search should stop there. Unless they have a specific reason to read the documents, they shouldn't.
On the computer, however, they are looking at the content of the files to try to find "suspicious" materials. This is a more difficult situation because, in order to differentiate between "acceptable" and "suspicious", they must examine the contents of the files. This is not as simple as looking for a timer, wires, and a blob of explosive material in a suitcase.
Let me offer a similar, non-computer example.
Your car is pulled over, and the officer has reasonable cause to suspect that you were driving under the influence of alcohol. The officer is allowed, required, and in good common sense would, look around the inside of your car to be sure you don't have any weapons.
What if, in the course of that examination, the officer finds the makings of a bomb, an automatic weapon, a large quantity of clearly illegal drugs, or obvious child pornography? Can the officer act on that discovery even though that had nothing to do with the original reason to search? Yes, I suspect that the officer would be able to act. (IANAL)
When searching a computer for suspicious materials, the contents of files must be examined. During this search, similar to the hypothetical example above, the agent finds something suspicious. Remember, in many Asian countries, the women tend to be smaller in all ways than women of European descent. To someone unfamiliar with Asian women, they _may_ appear to be "underage".
Based on that initial, uninformed assessment, the agent would then proceed under the suspicion that there was "child porn" on the machine.
Unfortunately, this makes sense.
The issue is that the laws were created, and for the most part work, in a world that did not include portable computers and digital media. The laws have not caught up with the current world, and people are suffering for it.
Even worse, consider the following two scenarios:
1. No decryption occurs. This would lend credence to the "they're trying to get us to break someone else's private key" theory. Person who paid the extortionist is SOL and also out $100 or whatever they're asking.
2. Decryption occurs, but the "decryptor" installs a sleeper program that does the same thing again, different key.
The problem with people who give in to extortionists is that the extortionists may consider them an easy source of income. Also, as discussed in #1 (above), there is no guarantee that they will do what they promised to do once they have your money. I sincerely doubt they'll agree to an escrow situation, because that would make them traceable.
Ergo, I believe mckmck is correct. It should be clear that anyone who would so something like this should not be trusted. There are too many ways for that person to abuse his/her victims beyond the original violation.
Bottom line: Careful, regular backups. Ideally in two flavours:
A. Software/config backup whenever you install something. This is along the lines of "restore to the bare metal", in that you can restore to a blank hard drive.
B. Data backup. I know people complain about the "My Documents" setup in Windows, but it the general concept of having your data in one area makes backing up just the data much easier. Do you really need to backup Microsoft Office every week if you have the install disks? This one is what you do after the bare metal restore (in the case of the virus), and it can also be handy if someone accidentally deletes a file or two.
I hate to be cynical, but why would Microsoft fund this study? They sell ergonomic keyboards. I wonder if they're coming out with some new ergonomic device, if they are trying to prop up sales of their current line of ergonomic devices, or if their funding of the study was simply an act of generosity (otherwise known as a tax write-off).
Also, first post?
Allowing these devices to function autonomously is going to be quite interesting. My research involved such issues, but only in mobile software agents. I've read, and been told by some of my then-fellow-students that autonomous land vehicles are more difficult to control than UAVs.
Combining this type of cooperation with autonomous navigation and the "bidding" system described could have some interesting commercial applications, ranging from autonomous "taxis" and delivery vehicles (such as an office-wide or city-wide version of FedEx) to branching out the bidding algorithms to help automate search and rescue efforts. Imagine if a group of specialized bots could be dispatched to look for signs of life - a large number with basic sensory capabilities that could then call in one of a smaller number of more advanced bots? Perhaps even summoning something similar to the much-chided "buddy bot" discussed earler on Slashdot.
I know the "buddy bot" seemed silly, but if you consider the more basic functions it could be very useful. It provides two-way communication with rescuers, so you can say "I'm alone" or "I'm here with two of my children, and one of them is bleeding badly", to "I'm trapped, but I'm otherwise OK." This could help rescuers better prioritise their efforts, much like triage on the field - if someone's bleeding badly, send help sooner, while the person who is trapped but otherwise safe can hang on a little longer, and then two lives are saved instead of only one. (I fully realize that type of situation may not always work out as desired - people lie, things can collapse further, etc.)
I also have to commend Dr. Howard for her creativity in utilizing what was essentially an "off-the-shelf" component for the main device - the little snow-mobile. Very well suited for the majority of the terrain for which it is designed.
There is much more behind this work than first meets the eye. I'll be quite interested in watching this one develop further. Now where did my 9-year-old put that Mindstorms NXT?
I don't know where Commander Taco lives (or Subcommander Taco, either), but I know that those face masks are quite common in many Asian countries for at least two purposes.
:-( I like Beijing other than the smog.
1. to protect others from your cold, etc.
2. to protect yourself from smog in large cities, such as Beijing.
I've been to Beijing, and those masks were quite necessary.
Thank you.
I have visited China twice, and I have several Chinese friends. I do not believe I understand Chinese culture as well as you do, but even I can understand the need for these national days of mourning in the context of Chinese culture.
I have a friend in Shanghai who is still trying to contact a missing friend in Sichuan.
Thank you, Beijing Monster, for making this clear for others to understand.
That is an interesting point, Darth. I'll have to see if I can route my next trip there through Los Angeles and see what happens.
Can anyone comment on entry into the US at other airports?
Truecrypt.
There may be others, but I know truecrypt fits your description.
Just to spare the speculation, etc: I'm caucasian, of Western European descent, so no, I don't look "Middleastern" or "Asian" or anything else. Just your typical "white male".
Having returned from my second trip to China, I still find it amazing that it is easier for me, as a foreigner, to enter China than it is for me, as a US citizen (born a US citizen to parents who were US citizens, etc.) to enter the US after a trip abroad.
I just pretty much walked right through in China - I handed them the entry form (one half of the two part form - the other half you give them when you leave) and they waved me through. Customs in China did not even ask to see my laptop, never mind read files or anything like that.
On returning to the US at Detroit International, I was given the 3rd degree by US Customs agents, and I'm a US Citizen. "How long were you in China?" (as if he couldn't tell by the side-by side entry/departure stamps in my passport) "What were you doing there?" (visiting friends) "What do these friends do for a living?" (A couple of college professors and a financial analyst)
This happened on both of my trips.
And I noticed that they were doing this to EVERYONE, not just me. (The plane had several hundred people on it.) I'd hate to see what they were doing to Chinese citizens entering the US.
I hope they realize that they are going to scare businesses away from the US if they keep this up.
I find it somewhat ironic that the captcha for this post is "undergo".
"...and in China the two are usually indistinguishable."
No.
I just returned from my second trip to China and it is VERY easy to tell the difference. The uniforms are completely different and different colours. Also, there are at least two different types of police forces in China, just like in the USA.
There are the "local" police who wear the blue uniforms like in the little pop-up animations that are only shown in Internet Cafes. I never saw one of those pop-ups. (I wanted to see it, actually.) I've seen local police alone or in pairs, and I've seen male and female officers.
And there is what can be considered the "People's Liberation Army Police". Their uniforms are a light green, different from both the local police and the PLA uniforms. I saw these folks, always in pairs, at various national historical sites. I always saw them in pairs, and it was funny that the two guys (I never saw a female PLA Police officer while I was there) in the pair were always nearly the exact same height. Strange.
Also, the PLA Police are easier to spot because of the bright white holster/harness thing that they wear for their sidearms. It consists of a white belt with a white strap that on a right-handed officer would go over the left shoulder down to the right side to connect to the belt and onto the bright white holster holding what appeared to be a some form of 9mm semi-auto pistol.
The real "Army" uniforms are a different color. The different branches have different color uniforms, dark blue, light blue, and a dark green (sort of like the Marines in the US wear), but none of them have the light green color of the PLA Police.
I will agree that, to the best of my understanding, there is no dispute over Alaska.
I am not going to argue about either Tibet or Taiwan, as those are issues that are still under dispute. I will note, however, that neither of those regions have representation in the UN, and at least the USA does not officially recognize either as a sovereign nation.
I am not aware of the official policies of other countries with regard to Tibet or Taiwan.
Also, it was only an example. I could not come up with anything closer to reality at the moment. I'm sorry. I know people in the area that was hit by the earthquake in China and I'm a little bit distracted.
I do not believe the satellite based images are the main issue here.
The Chinese government objects to maps that depict certain regions as being separate sovereign countries, such as Tibet and Taiwan, which the Chinese government holds are both part of China.
This would be similar to a map being published that showed Alaska as a separate country, or as part of Canada, as opposed to it being part of the USA.
Somehow, I find it hard to believe that DARPA INTENTIONALLY planted vulnerable chips into potentially critical military systems.
This sounds like a case of spin worthy of Winston Smith from the Minstry of Truth.
It was the Columbia.
The Challenger exploded on take-off. The crew never had the opportunity to conduct any experiments on that flight. (I watched the explosion happen live on TV when I was in college.)
The Columbia, if you remember, exploded on re-entry, so the crew had time to conduct experiments.
Nice idea. I hate to do this, but I see one significant flaw in your plan: keygens.
Eventually, someone is going to create a keygenerator that will generate the key that you will find in your box next month. Pirate uses the key now, and you, the ligitimate customer, are hosed.
I have an alternative that may reduce this problem. It will not eliminate it entirely, especially when buying a game as a gift for someone else and having it sit in a closet for a week or two, but it will help.
Set up a system similar to those "must be activated by the cashier" gift cards, long distance phone cards, or pay-as-you-go cell phones. There's a two part key - one part is the barcode on a sticker on the outside of the box, and the second part is inside the box as usual. The merchant scans part 1 of the key and it is transmitted to a central game clearinghouse (instead of having multiple devices, one for each game publisher) and the receipt of the "primer key" informs the server that your activation key may now be registered. You go home and register as usual. Ideally, there should be no reversable relationship between the two keys. You should not be able to compute one given the other, but it should be fairly easy to determine that the two belong together. You will need to enter both keys when you register.
This also has the advantage of allowing deactivation. When a game is returned, it will be scanned again and the license terminated. One downside is that the game box will need to be returned in order for a new key set to be generated. However, this will also eliminate the problem of someone buying a game, copying it, using the key to register, and then returning the game.
Obviously, there are drawbacks to this approach. This still requires some form of connection to the outside world, but having the entire thing contained inside of the same box makes it far too easy to reverse engineer.
However, this could work with a single dial-out to connect to register.
Yes, people could still do the old "install and return" rip-off. Stardock answers that one for us by needing the application be able to authenticate to install updates. The update authentication could be handled the same was as the original authentication, either online or on the phone.
That way you have a system that is less intrusive than dialing home every 10 days. Legitimate copies of the game continue to work once activated, and even install and return copies will work. You can still play without a network connection.
However, the "value added" for legit owners who register is updates to content and patches, while pirated versions will not have ready access to either.
I fully realize that even this system would eventually be defeated, but I am trying to find a compromise that will allow the content producers to protect their work within reason without making things too difficult for legitimate, paying customers.
I enjoy the occasional computer game. I don't want the industry to take away my opportunity to access new games because of the actions of a small number of people who want to ruin things for everyone else. Those people exist in boardrooms, lusting over increased revenues, as well as in their mothers' basements, defeating copy protection systems. Both of those types of people contribute to the decline of PC gaming.
Actually, Speed Racer is a Japanese import. In Japan it is known as "Mach Go go go", and no, "go" does not mean the same thing as it does in English.
That also explains the letters on their clothes. The "G" on Speed's shirt is for "Go", which is his name. Trixie is "Michiko", explaining the "M".
Yes, I was one of those kids in the US who grew up watching Speed Racer. I looked up the rest of the stuff when _my_ kids started asking "Why does Trixie have an 'M' on her shirt?".
Yes, it's horridly campy, but younger kids really get a kick out of it, and the idea of the things that the Mach 5 can do certainly can spark a little kid's imagination. I'll wait for the DVD and then get it for the kids, and I'll try not to mourn too much with what they may have done to my childhood memories by remaking Speed Racer.
Tom,
You are right on target. What we are seeing is the typical US Government arrogance. They expect to be able to require everyone for conform to the USA's rules. They try to force DMCA and RIAA/MIAA-approved copyright laws down the WTO's collective throat. They try to force their own version of "religious freedom" (which is not really religious freedom if you really look at it*) down every other country's throat. This is just another example of the US Government's arrogance.
*religious freedom: yes, in theory people in the USA have "freedom of religion", but in how many ways does that actually mean "freedom to attend any Christian denomination that is considered acceptable."? Why did they make such a big deal on the news when that congressperson or senator from Hawai'i was elected? The news did not discuss the person's qualifications. The big news item was that he or she (i don't remember) was the first Buddhist elected to a federal office. That's pathetic! Why should it matter if the person is a Buddhist? From what I know about Buddhism, I'd much rather a Buddhist president than someone from most other religions.
When was the last time a Muslim was elected to a federal office? How about someone who practices Shintoism? If I remember correctly, it was the intent of the Founding Fathers that the "freedom of religion" only applied to "Christian" beliefs. Granted, you cannot completely fault them for that because they were acting in accordance with their religious beliefs, but in this supposedly more enlightened age one would like to think that we could do better now.