If I had mod points, I would mod the parent up. As it is, I will just grumble that Thud457 posted this before I did.
For those with short memories, in the 90s Motorola proposed a similar project with 77 LEO satellites (thus Iridium with atomic number 77). I thought it was such a cool idea that I bought a bunch of Motorola stock. Things didn't pan out very well.
The point is, the phone is a terrible choice for security related matters, because it wasn't specifically designed to be an e-wallet from the ground up.
If you actually look at the design of iOS4 you might find that security has been built in very deeply with a hardware key among other things the OS. If you have access to Apple's WWDC 2010 sessions, take a look at session 209.
You can never, ever just bolt-on security.
As a shameless plug, I believe that we have 1Password for iOS (a password management system) well designed to use both our own security layer on top of what is built into iOS.
...I'd say the new media law is deeply disturbing and it's certainly a step away from democracy, however comparing Hungary to Russia, Belarus or Venezuela does a disservice to describe the state of opression in those countries.
Igazad van. (You're right). Although I emphatically oppose the current government, those sorts of comparisons are hyperbolic.
Overall, I think this media law and the government itself will fall, on the medium term (~4 years). This new law and the governing party is already a subject of widespread mockery and nothing corrodes support for a party more than being subject of ridicule.
My limited understanding of the situation is that the mockery, while loud, is still coming from exactly same the people who would have always opposed such a regime. I've been out of touch with my friends who supported Fidesz back in 1990.
Hungary regained press freedom not long enough ago to have forgotten how precious it is. The governemnt doesn't understand the internet or the state of media.
I hope you are right. But according to Fidesz, Hungary only achieved proper freedom when they were (overwhelmingly) elected last year. Do people believe that?
I work in customer support for Agile Web Solutions, the makers of 1Password (a password management system) for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. Agile development seems to work well for us.
I think that there are two reasons why this has worked well for us while not for others.
Our managers and our coders are the same people. So this isn't some management fad that is used to place unwanted demands on our coders.
We are not rigid in our adherence to agile principles. We plan ahead where it makes sense to.
There are drawbacks, of course. What we like to think of as "surprising and delighting" and delighting our customers usually works, but sometimes we have to take steps back from something visible which we've tried. I think that over all this still is a "win" for us and our customers, but it can sometimes be disappointing.
A perceived (but imaginary) drawback is "wasted effort". We put a great deal of effort into getting data syncing among machines and devices to work via webDAV (and in particular, MobileMe). For a variety of reasons we had to abandon that approach and go with Dropbox (with which we are very very happy). To some this might seem like wasted effort, switching to a different approach after a great deal of effort has gone into the first one. But in fact, agile principles in this case simply mean that we don't fall victim to the sunk cost bias.
Probably Debian would have been OK, but I was finding admin of most Linux distros a pain for exactly these reasons. I couldn't find a layer where I could do everything that I needed to do without worrying about one thing stepping on another. No doubt there are ways that I could manage a Linux system without running into different layers of management tools stepping on each other, but it was a struggle.
There were other reasons as well (although there is a lot that I miss about Linux), but I think that this was one of the leading reasons.
(NB: I realize that this is flamebait (I've got karma to burn), but that isn't my intention here.)
In the late the late 80s, Motorola had a scheme to launch 77 LEO satellites to provide global satellite coverage.
I thought it was a great idea at the time, and bought a bunch of Motorola stock. It didn't work out very well. They eventually launched 66 satellites, but didn't change the name of the project to whatever has atomic number 66.
I was disappointed in it because of the location they shot from. It's taken from János hegy. Although this is the highest point in Budapest, it is so far from the city itself that there isn't much to see.
There is some waffle on the page about why they chose that point. They say it is the highest point and that the observation platform there will have its 100th anniversary in September. But then there is mention of the support and cooperation that they had from the district council for that district of Budapest.
So presumably the authorities responsible for the other more reasonable vantage points were less cooperative.
But Moldova should, by every right, be a part of Romania
So by the same logic would you say that Transylvania should be part of Hungary?
I'm sure that you will be able to come up with some contorted rationalization that justifies only the particular border changes that support your national views, but the rest of us would laugh if it weren't so tragic.
I would say that the latest OMG action was an unstylish and rough joke.
As I suggesting in another comment, it looks like another attempt to humiliate the opposition. And, as I said, with such a resounding electoral win, Fidesz can afford to be more gracious.
I left Hungary in late 1994. The (two) websites were terrible back then.
First of all, we've all been operating under the incorrect assumption that the prior content is down. It isn't down. There's a link at the bottom of the OMB page that takes you to the old site. So there is nothing really pernicious here (just bad design)
This "unworthy" business is an attempt to humiliate the previous government and plays into the tone of the campaign. Considering that Fidesz won so overwhelmingly in the elections, they could afford to be more gracious now. But no doubt they want to continue with the message that the parties to the Left of them are unworthy to be considered Real Hungarians.
Still, I wish Fidesz well. They have an enormous task ahead of them. This is where the real test lies. Will they do what is necessary but unpopular or will they just work to stay in power? Certainly they will be able to go after local government spending (where the largess and patronage of the previous government really was), but will they get rid of the various child support programs (which give a lot more money to rich mothers than to poor ones). Will they get serious about property taxes (which will end up sending pensioners out of their big empty nests in the countryside)? Maybe if they keep picking symbolic fights with Slovakia and Romania so they'll be able to maintain their True Hungarian credibility as they swallow the IMF pill.
And I've overlooked something very important. There is a link on the bottom of the OMG pages that takes people to the regular sites. Nothing has been removed. This stuff is just an intro page.
or whether this is just an attempt to limit access to embarrassing data
WTF? You mean FIDESZ wants to cover up the previous government's failure?
As I said, this is not what I'm betting on. But if asked to speculate in this area, suppose that a government website had information on poverty among Gypsies. That might be the kind of thing that the new government may not wish to emphasize.
There is another things as well. Fidesz will have to implement enormous and extremely painful budget cuts. If the MSzP run sites had bragged about social programs and how many people they helped, Fidesz may well want those squirreled away.
But on the whole, I take their OMG message at face value. The previous websites were a mess. It's just disturbing that at the moment for those ministries there is no online information. It's like when the radio news is replaced with Beethoven.
Yeah, but today is the day that the new government (elected in April) run by Fidesz takes over control of government ministries from the old MSzP-SzDSz coalition. So it will be interesting to see whether they actually quickly get useful information on to those sites or whether this is just an attempt to limit access to embarrassing data (Fidesz is more than a bit nationalistic). I suspect that this is an honest attempt to transition to presenting information more clearly, but I wouldn't be too surprised if I were wrong.
In this case it mean OMG. The page, even the Hungarian language version, has wikipedia links explaining that OMG is an English abbreviation meaning something like "Istenem!" (My God!) or "Te jo eg!" ("Oh, great heaven!").
I never would have thought that Fidesz (the new ruling party) still had anyone in it with a sense of humor. Back in the day (1990) they had the best campaign posters. I guess when you have complete control of parliament (more than 2/3) you can take a few risks. Also keep in mind that in Hungary, the Internet is used mostly by the young.
Among the many questions that I want answered is whether the credentials used to access that system (presumably obtained via long standing Adobe Reader or IE zero-day vulnerabilities) belong to a Google employee or someone else who had access to that system.
Why on earth do you think you should be told the answer to that? Unless you work for Google or the cops I dare say it's none of your business.
I'm not asking the name of the individual. But surely it is relevant to know for anyone dealing with security issues whether this particular part of the attack could have been prevented by Google.
Thanks, but I think that people are being too hard on Schneier. The Computer World article that I cited is based on an "unnamed source" who is "not authorized to speak to the press." Obviously that article should have been cited, but I that oversight in citation is a blunder, not something that challenges the integrity of Schneier.
But it is consistent with the official report out of Google, which stated that the Gmail accounts themselves were not compromised, and that the information stolen was subject lines and account creation date. The only purpose I can see for having a system that would just have access to that kind of information is would be for some kind of "pre-scanning" for law enforcement.
Among the many questions that I want answered is whether the credentials used to access that system (presumably obtained via long standing Adobe Reader or IE zero-day vulnerabilities) belong to a Google employee or someone else who had access to that system.
When I blogged about this the week before last, I was relying on an article in Computer World which talked about the intruders gaining access to "a system used to help Google comply with search warrants by providing data on Google users."
Slashdot Mirror
I have every confidence in the research program.
If I had mod points, I would mod the parent up. As it is, I will just grumble that Thud457 posted this before I did.
For those with short memories, in the 90s Motorola proposed a similar project with 77 LEO satellites (thus Iridium with atomic number 77). I thought it was such a cool idea that I bought a bunch of Motorola stock. Things didn't pan out very well.
The point is, the phone is a terrible choice for security related matters, because it wasn't specifically designed to be an e-wallet from the ground up.
If you actually look at the design of iOS4 you might find that security has been built in very deeply with a hardware key among other things the OS. If you have access to Apple's WWDC 2010 sessions, take a look at session 209.
You can never, ever just bolt-on security.
As a shameless plug, I believe that we have 1Password for iOS (a password management system) well designed to use both our own security layer on top of what is built into iOS.
...I'd say the new media law is deeply disturbing and it's certainly a step away from democracy, however comparing Hungary to Russia, Belarus or Venezuela does a disservice to describe the state of opression in those countries.
Igazad van. (You're right). Although I emphatically oppose the current government, those sorts of comparisons are hyperbolic.
Overall, I think this media law and the government itself will fall, on the medium term (~4 years). This new law and the governing party is already a subject of widespread mockery and nothing corrodes support for a party more than being subject of ridicule.
My limited understanding of the situation is that the mockery, while loud, is still coming from exactly same the people who would have always opposed such a regime. I've been out of touch with my friends who supported Fidesz back in 1990.
Hungary regained press freedom not long enough ago to have forgotten how precious it is. The governemnt doesn't understand the internet or the state of media.
I hope you are right. But according to Fidesz, Hungary only achieved proper freedom when they were (overwhelmingly) elected last year. Do people believe that?
Indeed, I came here to duplicated your informative comment. Loops would have been more impressive than rolls, but this was still very very cool.
Thank you very much, e4ge!
I work in customer support for Agile Web Solutions, the makers of 1Password (a password management system) for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. Agile development seems to work well for us.
I think that there are two reasons why this has worked well for us while not for others.
There are drawbacks, of course. What we like to think of as "surprising and delighting" and delighting our customers usually works, but sometimes we have to take steps back from something visible which we've tried. I think that over all this still is a "win" for us and our customers, but it can sometimes be disappointing.
A perceived (but imaginary) drawback is "wasted effort". We put a great deal of effort into getting data syncing among machines and devices to work via webDAV (and in particular, MobileMe). For a variety of reasons we had to abandon that approach and go with Dropbox (with which we are very very happy). To some this might seem like wasted effort, switching to a different approach after a great deal of effort has gone into the first one. But in fact, agile principles in this case simply mean that we don't fall victim to the sunk cost bias.
Probably Debian would have been OK, but I was finding admin of most Linux distros a pain for exactly these reasons. I couldn't find a layer where I could do everything that I needed to do without worrying about one thing stepping on another. No doubt there are ways that I could manage a Linux system without running into different layers of management tools stepping on each other, but it was a struggle.
There were other reasons as well (although there is a lot that I miss about Linux), but I think that this was one of the leading reasons.
(NB: I realize that this is flamebait (I've got karma to burn), but that isn't my intention here.)
In the late the late 80s, Motorola had a scheme to launch 77 LEO satellites to provide global satellite coverage. I thought it was a great idea at the time, and bought a bunch of Motorola stock. It didn't work out very well. They eventually launched 66 satellites, but didn't change the name of the project to whatever has atomic number 66.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation
... they hate it when you do that.
... garbage throws out you.
I was disappointed in it because of the location they shot from. It's taken from János hegy. Although this is the highest point in Budapest, it is so far from the city itself that there isn't much to see.
There is some waffle on the page about why they chose that point. They say it is the highest point and that the observation platform there will have its 100th anniversary in September. But then there is mention of the support and cooperation that they had from the district council for that district of Budapest.
So presumably the authorities responsible for the other more reasonable vantage points were less cooperative.
So by the same logic would you say that Transylvania should be part of Hungary?
I'm sure that you will be able to come up with some contorted rationalization that justifies only the particular border changes that support your national views, but the rest of us would laugh if it weren't so tragic.
I would say that the latest OMG action was an unstylish and rough joke.
As I suggesting in another comment, it looks like another attempt to humiliate the opposition. And, as I said, with such a resounding electoral win, Fidesz can afford to be more gracious.
I left Hungary in late 1994. The (two) websites were terrible back then.
First of all, we've all been operating under the incorrect assumption that the prior content is down. It isn't down. There's a link at the bottom of the OMB page that takes you to the old site. So there is nothing really pernicious here (just bad design)
This "unworthy" business is an attempt to humiliate the previous government and plays into the tone of the campaign. Considering that Fidesz won so overwhelmingly in the elections, they could afford to be more gracious now. But no doubt they want to continue with the message that the parties to the Left of them are unworthy to be considered Real Hungarians.
Still, I wish Fidesz well. They have an enormous task ahead of them. This is where the real test lies. Will they do what is necessary but unpopular or will they just work to stay in power? Certainly they will be able to go after local government spending (where the largess and patronage of the previous government really was), but will they get rid of the various child support programs (which give a lot more money to rich mothers than to poor ones). Will they get serious about property taxes (which will end up sending pensioners out of their big empty nests in the countryside)? Maybe if they keep picking symbolic fights with Slovakia and Romania so they'll be able to maintain their True Hungarian credibility as they swallow the IMF pill.
And I've overlooked something very important. There is a link on the bottom of the OMG pages that takes people to the regular sites. Nothing has been removed. This stuff is just an intro page.
or whether this is just an attempt to limit access to embarrassing data
WTF? You mean FIDESZ wants to cover up the previous government's failure?
As I said, this is not what I'm betting on. But if asked to speculate in this area, suppose that a government website had information on poverty among Gypsies. That might be the kind of thing that the new government may not wish to emphasize.
There is another things as well. Fidesz will have to implement enormous and extremely painful budget cuts. If the MSzP run sites had bragged about social programs and how many people they helped, Fidesz may well want those squirreled away.
But on the whole, I take their OMG message at face value. The previous websites were a mess. It's just disturbing that at the moment for those ministries there is no online information. It's like when the radio news is replaced with Beethoven.
I mean like 2 months ago?!
Yeah, but today is the day that the new government (elected in April) run by Fidesz takes over control of government ministries from the old MSzP-SzDSz coalition. So it will be interesting to see whether they actually quickly get useful information on to those sites or whether this is just an attempt to limit access to embarrassing data (Fidesz is more than a bit nationalistic). I suspect that this is an honest attempt to transition to presenting information more clearly, but I wouldn't be too surprised if I were wrong.
What does OMG stand for in Hungarian then
Te jo eg.
In this case it mean OMG. The page, even the Hungarian language version, has wikipedia links explaining that OMG is an English abbreviation meaning something like "Istenem!" (My God!) or "Te jo eg!" ("Oh, great heaven!").
I never would have thought that Fidesz (the new ruling party) still had anyone in it with a sense of humor. Back in the day (1990) they had the best campaign posters. I guess when you have complete control of parliament (more than 2/3) you can take a few risks. Also keep in mind that in Hungary, the Internet is used mostly by the young.
I agree entirely. GoDaddy wouldn't do something hard because it is right, but (like most businesses) would do something easy because it saves money.
Back in the 80s, I remember someone saying that a paperless office would be about as useful as the paperless toilet.
I'm not sure why I feel that this is true. But I'm hoping this discussion will provide insight.
As long as its freshly caught. ... Best option, go haggis hunting yourself and get a nice big one.
And although they are difficult to find, they are easy to catch on account of their left legs having a different length than their right legs.
Among the many questions that I want answered is whether the credentials used to access that system (presumably obtained via long standing Adobe Reader or IE zero-day vulnerabilities) belong to a Google employee or someone else who had access to that system.
Why on earth do you think you should be told the answer to that? Unless you work for Google or the cops I dare say it's none of your business.
I'm not asking the name of the individual. But surely it is relevant to know for anyone dealing with security issues whether this particular part of the attack could have been prevented by Google.
Thanks, but I think that people are being too hard on Schneier. The Computer World article that I cited is based on an "unnamed source" who is "not authorized to speak to the press." Obviously that article should have been cited, but I that oversight in citation is a blunder, not something that challenges the integrity of Schneier.
But it is consistent with the official report out of Google, which stated that the Gmail accounts themselves were not compromised, and that the information stolen was subject lines and account creation date. The only purpose I can see for having a system that would just have access to that kind of information is would be for some kind of "pre-scanning" for law enforcement.
Among the many questions that I want answered is whether the credentials used to access that system (presumably obtained via long standing Adobe Reader or IE zero-day vulnerabilities) belong to a Google employee or someone else who had access to that system.
When I blogged about this the week before last, I was relying on an article in Computer World which talked about the intruders gaining access to "a system used to help Google comply with search warrants by providing data on Google users."