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3301

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 22, 2013, 06:39 AM »

Even more from the NYT <article here>...

Web’s Reach Binds N.S.A. and Silicon Valley Leaders
By JAMES RISEN and NICK WINGFIELD
Published: June 19, 2013

WASHINGTON — When Max Kelly, the chief security officer for Facebook, left the social media company in 2010, he did not go to Google, Twitter or a similar Silicon Valley concern. Instead the man who was responsible for protecting the personal information of Facebook’s more than one billion users from outside attacks went to work for another giant institution that manages and analyzes large pools of data: the National Security Agency.

Mr. Kelly’s move to the spy agency, which has not previously been reported, underscores the increasingly deep connections between Silicon Valley and the agency and the degree to which they are now in the same business. Both hunt for ways to collect, analyze and exploit large pools of data about millions of Americans.

The only difference is that the N.S.A. does it for intelligence, and Silicon Valley does it to make money.

A Skype executive denied last year in a blog post that recent changes in the way Skype operated were made at the behest of Microsoft to make snooping easier for law enforcement. It appears, however, that Skype figured out how to cooperate with the intelligence community before Microsoft took over the company, according to documents leaked by Edward J. Snowden, a former contractor for the N.S.A. One of the documents about the Prism program made public by Mr. Snowden says Skype joined Prism on Feb. 6, 2011.

Microsoft executives are no longer willing to affirm statements, made by Skype several years ago, that Skype calls could not be wiretapped. Frank X. Shaw, a Microsoft spokesman, declined to comment.

Here's the Skype blog post referenced in the NYT article. I pulled a copy because I expect it to disappear or be 'edited' "real soon now."

It's long...

What Does Skype's Architecture Do?

07/26/2012 in Big Blog by Mark Gillett

In the last few days we have seen reports in the media we believe are inaccurate and could mislead the Skype community about our approach to user security and privacy. I want to clear this up.

At Skype, we continue to be humbled and grateful for the commitment to our product that we see from our truly global user community. We focus every day on building the best possible product for sharing experiences whenever people are apart. We want Skype to be reliable, fast, easy to use, and in most cases – free. It works for Moms and Dads, teachers, soldiers, kids and sisters, brothers, grandparents, lovers and old friends all over the world. Our growth during the last nine years shows we are on the right path, and to our entire community, we say “thank you.” We are privileged to serve 250 million active users each month and support 115 billion minutes of person to person live communications in the last quarter alone. We believe that communication is a fundamental human need and that while we’ve been privileged with tremendous success we are just scratching the surface of the communications experiences that we plan to create.

Of course, this doesn’t happen by magic. It is no small technical challenge to make sure that people can connect whenever and wherever they wish. It requires investment, innovation and commitment to using new technology and capabilities. In addition to solving the challenges of scaling and providing reliable, dependable communications that people love, we operate globally and have an obligation to operate responsibly. We are committed to doing a great job at both – providing a phenomenal experience for all users, and acting as a responsible global citizen.

Despite these efforts, some media stories recently have suggested Skype may be acting improperly or based on ulterior motives against our users’ interests. Nothing could be more contrary to the Skype philosophy.

Let me restate some of the allegations and provide the facts.

It has been suggested that Skype made changes in its architecture at the behest of Microsoft in order to provide law enforcement with greater access to our users’ communications.

False.

Skype’s architecture decisions are based on our desire to provide the best possible product to our users. Skype was in the process of developing and moving supernodes to cloud servers significantly ahead of the Microsoft acquisition of Skype. Skype first deployed ‘mega-supernodes’ to the cloud to improve reliability of the Skype software and service in December 2010. These nodes have been deployed in Skype’s own data centres, within third-party infrastructure such as Amazon’s EC2, and most recently within Microsoft’s data-centers and cloud. The move was made in order to improve the Skype experience, primarily to improve the reliability of the platform and to increase the speed with which we can react to problems. The move also provides us with the ability to quickly introduce cool new features that allow for a fuller, richer communications experience in the future.

Early this year we completed our move of all of our supernodes into Microsoft’s global data-center footprint so we and our users can benefit from the network connectivity and support that powers Microsoft’s other global scale cloud software including Xbox Live, Bing, SkyDrive, Hotmail and Office 365. This provides a real benefit to our users and to our ability to continue to scale the Skype product.

It has been suggested that Skype has recently changed its posture and policies with regard to law enforcement.

False.

The move to supernodes was not intended to facilitate greater law enforcement access to our users’ communications. Skype has had a team of Skype employees to respond to legal demands and requests from law enforcement since 2005. While we are focused on building the best possible products and experiences for our users, we also fundamentally believe that making a great product experience also means we must act responsibly and make it safe for everyone to use. Our position has always been that when a law enforcement entity follows the appropriate procedures, we respond where legally required and technically feasible. We have a policy posted to our main website that provides additional background on our position on this matter.

It has been suggested that as a result of recent architecture changes Skype now monitors and records audio and video calls of our users.

False.

The move to in-house hosting of “supernodes” does not provide for monitoring or recording of calls. “Supernodes” help Skype clients to locate each other so that Skype calls can be made. Simply put, supernodes act as a distributed directory of Skype users. Skype to Skype calls do not flow through our data centres and the “supernodes” are not involved in passing media (audio or video) between Skype clients.

These calls continue to be established directly between participating Skype nodes (clients). In some cases, Skype has added servers to assist in the establishment, management or maintenance of calls; for example, a server is used to notify a client that a new call is being initiated to it and where the full Skype application is not running (e.g. the device is suspended, sleeping or requires notification of the incoming call), or in a group video call, where a server aggregates the media streams (video) from multiple clients and routes this to clients that might not otherwise have enough bandwidth to establish connections to all of the participants.

We believe that servers are the best way to solve these technical challenges, and provide the best possible experience to our user community.

As has always been the case, SkypeOut calls and incoming telephone calls to Skype on-line numbers (PSTN calls) do flow through gateways of our PSTN partners as this is required in order to connect them to the traditional telephone network.

It has been suggested that the changes we have made were made to facilitate law enforcement access to instant messages on Skype.

False.

The enhancements we have been making to our software and infrastructure have been to improve user experience and reliability. Period.

In order to provide for the delivery and synchronization of instant messages across multiple devices, and in order to manage the delivery of messages between clients situated behind some firewalls which prevent direct connections between clients, some messages are stored temporarily on our (Skype/Microsoft) servers for immediate or later delivery to a user.

As I have outlined above, if a law enforcement entity follows the appropriate procedures and we are asked to access messages stored temporarily on our servers, we will do so. I must reiterate we will do so only if legally required and technically feasible.

Some commentators have suggested that Skype has stopped protecting its users’ communications.

False.

Skype software autonomously applies encryption to Skype to Skype calls between computers, smartphones and other mobile devices with the capacity to carry a full version of Skype software as it always has done. This has not changed. The China-only version of the Skype software provided locally through our joint-venture partner tom.com contains a chat filter in accordance with local law.

As I described at the outset, our users and their Skype experience is our first priority.

We have an amazingly loyal and committed global user community and we believe that our users deserve the best products we can build.

Every day we focus on connecting Skype users to the people who matter to them, whether they are in Moscow, Miami or Mumbai and whether they are on PCs, iPhones, televisions, Windows Phones, Macs or Android devices. We constantly strive to design and deliver effective, safe and reliable communications software that is easy to use. We hope you will continue to love Skype.

Thank you for your continued support, use and passion about our products.

- Mark

I particularly appreciate the spin doctoring when they chose to use the weasel-worded phrase: "It has been suggested..."  when it would have been far more accurate, and in keeping with the the nature of the original concerns to say: "Skype has been accused..."
 

3302

Living Room / Re: clever and easy music distribution ideas

« Last post by 40hz on June 21, 2013, 12:32 PM »

Keith Urban has that touch. I'm not much into his music either - but my older sister loves him and dragged me to a small concert he was doing before he got big.

I have seldom seen a performer connect with an audience better than him. And he did it within the first few minutes of the first set. Very down to earth and open guy.

About the only thing in music I've seen that was quicker is how fast Chic Corea can get into 'the groove.' (Note: for those who don't already know, that's within the first pico-second of the first beat of the first song on his set list. )

3303

Living Room / Re: clever and easy music distribution ideas

« Last post by 40hz on June 21, 2013, 12:02 PM »

^FWIW I'm not a super big Dead fan myself. I like some of their songs and some of their lyrics. But I could never get into the whole mystical experience and tribal dimension many of their followers work their way into. (If I wanted to get that crazy I'm more the type who sunscreens up and heads over to Burning Man.)

But I do admire their non-business business model. And the way they treated their fans.

And apparently their fans did too. Because the GD had to be one of the longest running and most consistent of all music phenomenons.

Don't know if their band model could be reproduced since it was definitely a product of the era that spawned it. In many respects it was a living fossil of what I consider a more gentle and civilized time in America - even if many who lived through it thought the US was coming apart at the seams at the time. Little did they know of how bad it would get once all that "peace and love hippie bullshit" finally got laid to rest and the "New Economy-Regan-Return to Conservatism and Traditional Values" Era kicked into high gear.

Still...a lot of the ferment that led to the creation of the counter-cultures of the 60s and early 70s (there actually were several btw) is beginning to be felt again. Largely because many of the same government and institutional abuses that sparked the original "60s" mindset are coming back with a vengeance - along with a raft of entirely new ones. So who knows? Maybe the Dead's operational model could be used again...



The catch is you'd have to realize that, when it came to the Grateful Dead, it wasn't just about the music. It was mainly about the vibe. (see above  )
 

3304

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: GOG major sale underway

« Last post by 40hz on June 21, 2013, 11:34 AM »

i know I'm self-bumping here, but the deal just got better for today. All their previous daily package specials are again available for 6/21/2013 only. I spotted one I missed that I had wanted.

Check it out. Some extremely good bargains to be found today. 

3305

Living Room / Re: clever and easy music distribution ideas

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2013, 09:32 PM »

What if I do something where I put teaser tracks online (which is me doing all the parts), and then I record an album with all the parts played by the respective musicians, and that's the one I sell?

-superboyac (June 20, 2013, 06:02 PM)

Can't speak for the industry as a whole (not that I'm qualified to anyway) but my feeling is you can only have one product if you're a musician. Doing a "lite" version and a formal one sends mixed messages. Which might work for software. But I don't think it works for music.

From my experience, your real listeners are looking for a relationship. They want to go on a trip with you - and you're the explorer they're gonna follow. The Grateful Dead understood that. They embarked on a musical journey and invited their fans to come along for the ride.

And it worked. Whether you love them or could care less about their music, nobody can dispute that they probably did more for their fans than anybody in music before or since. Because regardless of where they played, they offered only one thing: the opportunity to hang with and listen to them. And the shows were pretty much identical. As was their music whether live or recorded. Album or concert, you got the whole shebang. You got The Dead.

You can't really do that by offering two tiers of product in music. It's sorta like accepting a date from an admirer, and then saying "Ok. You'll get a kiss good-night...and I'll buy dinner. But you won't be hearing any of my best jokes - and I'm not getting all dressed up for this date tonight. Maybe later on, if it gets more serious, I will. Are you ok with that for now?"

So...I'd recommend only going public with your absolute best. Nobody but hipsters want to know how you work your magic. At least not in my experience. (There's a lot of truth behind the magician's advice to never tell an audience how a trick is done because it only disappoints them.)

Most listeners want to hear something really good they can relate to. And if there's enough of it - and you keep it coming - then they'll become your fans.

About the only listeners I've ever found, who can be counted on to really get into watching all the little steps in the process of creating music or a band, are the parents of the kids who are doing it. Them and the occasional deranged and obsessive stalker - which some parents remind me of.

If I were doing a band right now...or even a solo project (double basses at twenty paces anyone?) I'd do a couple of things. First, clearly understand what the primary initial major goal is: get signed, just have fun, start my own label, get invited to perform and cut an album with Dana Fuchs, impress my workaholic friends, create some "real music" for a change, get rich, get wasted, get laid...whatever. It doesn't matter what the goal is. Because it will probably change once you get rolling. Bands are like battle plans. Few ever survive contact with the target unchanged.

Hmm...maybe they are battle plans?

Anyhoo...once that is sorted, move toward it and start lining up like minded musicians to participate, and set up a "reality check" composed of a very few trusted friends and knowledgeable supporters to honestly help you assess how well you're meeting your goals, and to be people you can occasionally bounce things off.

Because where they really come in handy is in letting you know when something just isn't working.



By example: the group I most enjoyed being in had a song Put the Shame on Me that I and the rest of the band absolutely loved. Problem was...it didn't work. There was just something about it that prevented it from ever coming completely together even if the three musical ideas in it were all very solid. We worked on it for about a year without ever getting it completely right. It just sounded rough no matter what, in marked contrast to all our other original numbers - of which we had 25 finished at that point.

Finally, one of our cadre of insiders told us it just wasn't happening with that song - that it kinda lost the audience somewhat - and definitely spoiled the "vibe" - every time we performed it. So with heavy heart (and red faces) we abandoned it as written, recycled the usable pieces of it into other songs (which did work) and freed up rehearsal and composition time for more promising new tunes. And once we were cut free from the anchor of that one unworkable song, our creative output went into overdrive. We had a second hour of new music (14 songs total) written, arranged, and ready to play out less than two months later.

Apparently, that miserable song was actually holding our entire group back. Good thing somebody pointed it out to us.

So what does all this have to do with your original question? This: decide what you want it to be. And then create the organization and infrastructure to accomplish it.

Live performance group, studio group, solo act? Major label, indy label, own label, no label? Get rich, make money, break even, work for beer, work for free? New career, full professional, semi-pro, patron of the art, hobby, an excuse for a night out?

That determines the next step. If it's purely for fun, it doesn't matter what you do next. And if money isn't a concern, or even a factor, it doesn't matter much either. You can play for free seven nights a week if you want to. And give away recordings for as long as you can afford to pay the bandwidth.

But...if you're approaching it as a professional rather than as a serious amateur (or an artiste) then you have to focus on quality and finish. You have to release everything to one standard - your absolute best and only allow fully finished product out the door.

Because, unlike a live club performance, a bad recording lives forever. And if it's put up on the web (which it will be whether you want it there or not) it can be heard by a virtually infinite audience. Blow a club date and a few hundred people will hear and maybe remember it. But probably only for a little while. Release a song like In the Year 2525* and you'll never live it down.

So...I'd suggest following some of Tao's advice. Get a solid group of songs (say 5 or 6) cut to whatever the final standard is you want to release them as. Setup a free Bandcamp account and get them up where they can be heard. Maybe offer one for free and have the rest as "pay whatever you want." But I'd set some minimum - like a buck each. Bandcamp and the CD Baby websites have some very good practical advice and tips for musicians jut starting out releasing their own recordings. Well worth a visit.

There's tons more, but it's getting late here so I'm gonna stop typing for a while. Till later!

------------------------------
*Note: the ironic thing about that song was that it actually topped the charts in the US and UK when it was first released. But a scant few years afterwards, the oddest thing happened. Not only was the song universally laughed at (and deservedly so IMO) - but for some strange reason nobody you spoke to ever seemed to recall they ever liked it to begin with.

Weird! Somebody must have been buying it for it to make it up to #1. Must have been some other people apparently.


In the Year 2525 is now regarded in many quarters as the absolute worst song ever written and recorded. Now there's a distinction any musician can aspire to!

So it goes.

3306

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2013, 05:28 PM »

You know what? I have to stop posting on this stuff for awhile. I'm getting too disgusted.

I'll join back in when I feel less overwhelmed. 40hz over and out for now.

3307

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2013, 04:35 PM »

This isn't about party.  It's about the whole government.  And unless we can/are willing to throw them all away and start over

-wraith808 (June 20, 2013, 12:07 PM)

wraith, I don't know your party affiliation, and it's none of my business. But whatever it is (assuming you have one), are you willing to vote entirely against that party to ensure that the jerks who perpetrated these things are kicked out?

And will you be willing to vote in that other guy even if his platform is anti-[your favorite sacred cow]?

And will you be willing to do so one year, or even three years from now, when you've cooled down a little (and maybe even forgotten)?

-CWuestefeld (June 20, 2013, 01:55 PM)

As a "party:unaffiliated" voter (and lifelong "political non-Euclidean") I'd have no problem dumping 99% of them on unemployment and allow them to roam free on their own recognizance while awaiting trial! And all without the tiniest doubt, or a hint of regret, on my part.
 

But here's the rub...when voting someone out...who steps in to fill the void?

In some cases they'll be appointed by the same politicos you're trying to toss out the door. Otherwise, they'll be slated for 'free election' by the same political party machines that put the people in office you just got rid of.

You're looking at a systemic failure of representative government here. So I have scant hope it will be able to be corrected by rational discussions among "men of goodwill." I think the entrenched powers have already dug in. And whatever reforms take place won't come quickly or without some very heavy pushback.

I think it's also instructive to note the huge build-up of surveillance, police power, and military technology in the last ten years. And even more chilling, the emphasis on remote control capabilities for same. Who exactly are they so worried about? An occasional terrorist cell that might succeed on generating a few dozen casualties? Another commandeered airliner suicide pact? That's the justification for treating every American who boards a plane these days as a potential security threat? That's the justification for handing every single police department in the country, no matter how small, an arsenal of overpowered weapons and a crash course in paramilitary operations?

Have you ever seen how local police respond these days to even a minor complaint? Time was a single squad car would show up. Maybe with backup if it were a robbery in progress or a domestic dispute. But now, the smallest complaint from a neighbor results in at least half a dozen 20-something "tactical" police officers armed with HK-G36s in stand-down/ready position showing up to do some of the "overwhelming force" and "fear and awe" stuff they were taught at that 5-day training session they went to. Here's an example of happened in my own state when the "boys with their toys" showed up half-cocked and "ready for trouble" in about as rural an area as you can find around here. (Note: The town where it happened has a population of only 7490 people (7150 white). Median age is 41. The town is 27 square miles and is "gentrified country" in the extreme. It has a median household income of $132,000 for approximately 2500 households. So as you can see, this is not the type of place that requires the sort of presence the police elected to show up with on that occasion.)


But it gets worse...

Time was when you could hopefully count on the discretion and ethical judgment of field personnel to mitigate some of the most egregious attempts at abuses of official power. But with the direction this government want to go with tech (drones, field robotics, etc.) it's rapidly reaching the point where a moderately small cadre of "loyal Americans whose patriotism doesn't get reelected every four years" could easily hold much of this country under the yoke from "undisclosed secure locations" in places like Colorado, Utah, Maryland, or Virginia. Because they've certainly demonstrated it's possible to locate and kill somebody via a drone they're controlling by satellite from half way around the world that way. They're even proud enough they've boasted about it.

Not that you'd need t hat kind of tech...

Look how successful Nicolae Ceaușescu's secret police, the Securitate were in Romania. And all they had was basic wiretaps and bugs (plus a scared populace) to help them.

From Wikipedia:

In the 1980s, the Securitate launched a massive campaign to stamp out dissent in Romania, manipulating the country's population with vicious rumors (such as supposed contacts with Western intelligence agencies), machinations, frameups, public denunciations, encouraging conflict between segments of the population, public humiliation of dissidents, toughened censorship and the repression of even the smallest gestures of independence by intellectuals. Often the term "intellectual" was used by the Securitate to describe dissidents with higher education, such as college and university students, writers, directors and scientists who opposed the philosophy of the Communist party. Assassinations were also used to silence dissent, such as the attempt to kill high-ranking defector Ion Mihai Pacepa, who received two death sentences from Romania in 1978, and Ceauşescu decreed a bounty of two million US dollars for his death. Yasser Arafat and Muammar al-Gaddafi set one more million dollars reward each.[5] In the 1980s, Securitate officials allegedly hired Carlos the Jackal to assassinate Pacepa.[6]

Forced entry into homes and offices and the planting of microphones was another tactic the Securitate used to extract information from the general population. Telephone conversations were routinely monitored, and all internal and international fax and telex communications were intercepted. After coal miners' unions went on strike and several leaders died prematurely, it was later discovered that Securitate doctors had subjected them to five minute long chest X-rays in an attempt to have them develop cancer.[7] After birth rates fell, Securitate agents were placed in gynecological wards while regular pregnancy tests were made mandatory for women of child-bearing age, with severe penalties for anyone who was found to have terminated a pregnancy.[7]

The Securitate's presence was so ubiquitous that it was believed one out of four Romanians was an informer. In truth, the Securitate deployed one agent or informer for every 43 Romanians, which was still large enough to make it all but impossible for dissidents to organize. The regime deliberately fostered this sense of ubiquity, believing that the fear of being watched was sufficient to bend the people to Ceausescu's will. For example, one shadow group of dissidents limited itself to only three families; any more than that would have attracted Securitate attention.[8

Is any of the above starting to sound strangely familiar?

Uh-huh!

3308

Living Room / Re: clever and easy music distribution ideas

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2013, 01:29 PM »

Note: if your goal is to "get signed" by a label, be careful about using Creative Commons.

Publishers (books music.etc.) want clear lines of ownership and title. They understand and like copyright laws and copyright assignments - probaby because they are also pretty successful (to date) whenever they choose to abuse them. Your having something under CC can muddy the waters and screw the deal.

Not saying to skip CC if thats where you're coming from. Just be aware it may have unexpected repercussions at some future time. Had a buddy lose out on a publishing deal because he released his comic book on the web under a CC two years before one of the biggies got interested. Because they couldn't be given exclusive distribution rights purely under copyright law due to that CC, they backed out.

Sad part was, if he just posted it and didn't do a CC on it, it would have been ok because he automatically had copyright, and retained full rights, just by virtue of being the creator of the work. But not after he CC'ed it.

All CC does for the creator is reduce *their rights*. Because each CC term chips away at what rights you already have under existing law. CC primarily protects the consumer - not the creator. That's important to realize.

3309

Living Room / Re: clever and easy music distribution ideas

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2013, 01:03 PM »

Take a look at bandcamp.com
 

Also - if you plan on eventually selling - it's wise to start managing fan expectations early  to avoid midunderstandings down the road.

Offer no more than one or two songs for free  If you'll be doing much more, set the rest up for "pay whatever you like", allow for generous free audition listening times for everything, and optionally set the bottom figure at $0 if you still feel that strongly about it.

It's not so important what you charge as you make a statement that you believe it's worth something up front. Otherwise many people feel resentful down the road when a price tag gets sprung on them. It's a common if somewhat irrational attitude - but so it goes.
 

3310

Living Room / Re: 34K-word sample of my sci-fi ebook, due on Amazon and B&N in October

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2013, 10:42 AM »

Stylistic and structural suggestions are welcomed.

-kyrathaba (June 20, 2013, 07:03 AM)

Thanks! I was wondering.

Stylistic and structural suggestions are welcomed.

-kyrathaba (June 20, 2013, 07:03 AM)

Are the suggestions above OK, it might be just me but I felt like my tongue was getting tripped up on some of sentence structure.

Don't want to go trampling through your book with my big feet though.

-4wd (June 20, 2013, 07:14 AM)

Indeed. That was my concern too.

3311

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2013, 09:29 AM »

I think it's reached the point where the only way to get the message across is to seriously consider impeachment proceedings and removal from office 

Problem is, who exactly in our government is really qualified to honestly conduct such a trial?

Because from where I'm sitting it looks like virtually our entire Executive and Legislative brances are guilty of staging what amounts to a coup d'etat in the wake of 9/11. And our Judicary has been asleep at the wheel pretty much throughout.

Kruchev was right. We did destroy ourselves from within

3312

Living Room / Re: 32K-word sample of my sci-fi ebook, due on Amazon and B&N in October

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2013, 06:43 AM »

@K - did you also want stylistic and related structural suggestions this early in the game - if at all?

And if so, do you feel it would still be better to have us primarily focus on the "mechanics'" (i.e. spelling, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary) for this read through?

3313

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2013, 06:35 AM »

Maybe that's just a natural consequence stemming from a lifetime of looking squarely at reality and not being too easily bedazzled? :Thmbsup

-40hz (June 20, 2013, 06:26 AM)

Or observing the tiny but important details that others often miss.

-app103 (June 20, 2013, 06:30 AM)

LOL!

I guess it would work out the same either way huh?

3314

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2013, 06:34 AM »

Russian Tampon Commercial
Your puny western ads don't work on russian women.

http://www.liveleak....iew?i=95c_1371654375

-wraith808 (June 19, 2013, 08:20 PM)

OMG! Wraith! Damn!!!

And to think these guys have access to nukes!

(That's almost as scary as knowing we have access to them.)

3315

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2013, 06:26 AM »

So with this text based one you can point out what I am supposed to be seeing and then I can see it.

But for the normal ones, I have tried all the suggestions over the years that involved defocusing, looking at it cross-eyed, looking at it from certain angles, or from a certain distance, with my glasses off, etc. And even when you tell me what it is that I am supposed to be seeing, even when you take your finger and point it out to me, all I see is the noise.

-app103 (June 15, 2013, 11:34 PM)

Maybe that's just a natural consequence stemming from a lifetime of looking squarely at reality and not being too easily bedazzled?

3316

Living Room / Re: Safe Harbor Law Amendment

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2013, 06:11 AM »

Mike Masnick posted an excellent article on this at TechDirt:

States Attorneys General Want Special Exception To Blame Sites For Actions Of Users
from the that-would-be-a-very-bad-idea dept

One of the most important laws that has enabled innovation on the internet to thrive is Section 230 of the CDA. We've written about it many times. What it says is fairly basic: a website cannot be held liable for actions by its users. There are a few exceptions and caveats, but that's the basic premise. And it makes perfect common sense -- so much so that it's almost amazing that you need a law to say it. But, we do, because when grandstanding and moral panics come around, politicians and people with pitchforks love to blame third parties and intermediaries as if they're the problem. And, having intermediaries be liable for how users are using their services creates all sorts of problems. It makes it that much more difficult for companies to innovate, because they're taking on tremendous potential liability if anyone misuses their service. So, they then either don't develop an open service, or they have to invest heavily in services to filter/monitor/block any potential misdeeds (which also will lead to blocking legitimate uses as well).

Of course, the grandstanding politicians who jump on moral panics absolutely hate Section 230. They always have. As we've discussed in detail over the years, the type of politician that focuses on grandstanding on moral panics the most is always a state attorney general. They make grand public pronouncements against companies they don't like, often with absolutely no legal basis, and then browbeat them into a "settlement" just so the companies can stop having to deal with the AGs lying about them in public all the time. Chris Tolles, the CEO of Topix, gave a great detailed explanation of how various AGs ganged up on him, basically issuing a press release accusing him of doing horrible things, totally misrepresenting what the company did, but without naming a single law they violated (because they hadn't). In response, Tolles did what most people would think you should do in that case: explain to the AGs what Topix actually did, and why it was perfectly reasonable. In response, the AGs (more of them this time) issued another press release, taking direct statements that Tolles had told them further out of context, and making the company sound even worse. Eventually he "settled" because fighting them was costly.

We've seen this over and over and over again...

<more>

3317

Living Room / Re: Interview with Philip K. Dick

« Last post by 40hz on June 19, 2013, 02:08 PM »

I was always amazed by the beginning of Valis where the character Horselover Fats unsuccessfully attempts suicide and winds up in a state mental hospital for half a year because of it.

When he comes out he learns his wife has since divorced him; now has exclusive custody of their children; that he is no longer allowed to have any contact with any them because the courts have decided he poses a "material risk to their safety"; his home has been repossessed because his wife took all their belongings and then abandoned the property - and for the coup de grâce he has received a bill from the state of California for his medical expenses while in their care since he was employed, and had money and medical insurance, at the time of his suicide attempt. (His wife never sent in any of the hospital bills to his insurance - and they would now be outside the grace period allowed for filing a claim - even if he hadn't already lost his insurance because she stopped paying his bills when she filed for divorce.)

He remarks that it's rather ironic that - after losing everything he ever had - and then getting a very large bill on top of it all (with warnings he would face prosecution for failure to pay) - he is now beginning to feel very depressed again. Which was, he notes, exactly what made him attempt suicide in the first place.

PKD! What a writer!

----------------------------
PKD fans rejpice!

Radio Free Albemuth is now a motion picture!

Here's the skinny on the movie:

Kickstarter campaign here to get the movie distributed. (It's already made - they're just trying to get it into theaters.)



the trailer:

and a clip:

Looks cool! Come Join the Party hey?

How undisturbed, the sleep of the foolish. ― Philip K. Dick, Radio Free Albemuth

 

3318

Living Room / Re: Microsoft to take over entire BestBuy computer section in 600 stores

« Last post by 40hz on June 19, 2013, 01:39 PM »

^Such a high price to live "in a world without sin." 

3319

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 19, 2013, 01:33 PM »

Like I said, this wasn't intended to be a GOP/DEM thing at all, but rather a "look how absurd the guy at the top is, trying to justify this nonsense with obvious double-talk". I would have said the same thing regardless of what party he came from.

-CWuestefeld (June 19, 2013, 01:26 PM)

  Bingo! There is where CW hits the nail right on the head about what the real problem (and danger) is with something like PRISM and the NSA.

Anything in government that is allowed to operate (or even exist) without real oversight and legal scrutiny inevitably abuses the power entrusted to it. And over time, unsupervised power almost always takes on a life of its own totally divorced from the intent that originally created and authorized it.

And please note I say power entrusted rather than given it.

That's because I'm still enough of an American to remember what this country is supposed to be about and stand for.

3320

Found Deals and Discounts / GOG major sale underway

« Last post by 40hz on June 19, 2013, 08:11 AM »

Don't know if this was mentioned previously, but GoG.com has a major sale underway right now,

Big reductions on something like 500 DRM-free titles - plus daily special offers good for 24-hours. Example: yesterday the combo Alan Wake  and Alan Wake's American Nightmare could be snapped up for $4.99 for both. (Today, they will set you back over $22.)

Definitely worth a daily visit if you're a gamer. Check it out at www.gog.com

3321

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by 40hz on June 19, 2013, 08:00 AM »

I'm currently reading Kyrathaba Rising and enjoying it very much.

Check it out here. 

3322

Living Room / Microsoft to take over entire BestBuy computer section in 600 stores

« Last post by 40hz on June 19, 2013, 07:55 AM »

So it begins...

In the movie Serenity, the utterly amoral hatchet-man for big government justifies his 'scorched earth' destruction of everybody who ever aided (or even knew) the crew of Serenity by saying: If your enemy goes to ground, leave him no ground to go to.

Apparently Microsoft has grokked the pragmatic wisdom of that approach with this recent move as reported by eweek (full article here).

Microsoft, in a new take on the store-within-a-store model, will take over the entire computer section of 600 Best Buy stores.

Microsoft, tweaking the store-within-a-store concept, has announced plans to build Windows Stores inside of 500 Best Buy stores in the United States and another 100 in Canada.

Unlike the traditional store-within-a-store model—boutique sections, such as those Samsung announced in April it will set up in 1,400 Best Buy stores and Apple already has in place at the retailer—Microsoft's will be a "department-level takeover," Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer Chris Capossela said in a June 13 blog post.

Taking over the entire computer departments, the Windows Stores will range from 1,500 square feet to 2,200 square feet and be the "premier destination for customers to see, try, compare and purchase a range of products and accessories, including Windows Phones, Microsoft Office, Xbox and more," wrote Brandon LeBlanc, the author of the post... <more>

Soon to be arriving at a BestBuy near you! Wait for it....

3323

Living Room / Re: Raspberry Pi's $35 Linux PC

« Last post by 40hz on June 19, 2013, 07:29 AM »

It just keeps getting better!  

Want your slice of Pi super-sized?

From the Linux and Life website comes this:

Glassgow University built a cloud platform from Raspberry Pi's and Lego
Thursday, June 13, 2013


The University of Glasgow has created a working model of a multi-million pound cloud computing platform using Lego bricks and Raspberry Pi mini-computers.


The project, which is called Raspberry Pi Cloud, is the idea of four lecturers at the University’s School of Computing. The four doctors believed that the knowledge about the cloud will play a very important role in their students’ future as IT professionals. But it was hard for researchers and students to develop a good practical knowledge due to the secrecy nature of how cloud computing infrastructure works.

According to one of the lecturers, “For an initial investment of less than £4,000, we’ve been able to build a Linux-based system which allows researchers and students complete access to a working cloud computing infrastructure at a tiny fraction of the cost of its commercial equivalent,”
...
<more here>

Awesome!



NOTE: A better and more detailed write-up on this project can be found on the University of Glasgow's own website. Read all about it here.
 

3324

Living Room / Re: 29K word sample of my sci-fi ebook, due on Amazon and B&N in October

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2013, 07:36 PM »

So where is the app that is going to come out of this regarding the facilitation of exchange and management of change suggestions in written works?

-ewemoa (June 17, 2013, 06:35 PM)

Um...I think that's called a version/revision control system?

Seriously. A couple of writers I know who collaborate and co-author scripts for graphic novels use TortoiseSVN.

I suggested they also use a wiki to keep track of their ever evolving story universe - which they since have. 

This wiki has evolved over time to become a comprehensive encyclopedia which they may someday release as its own thing - or be the core of a website - if their series ever catches on big.
 

3325

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Kingsoft Office 2013 PRO giveaway

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2013, 03:39 PM »

oh yeah, the advertised price was not the full $70, but merely $30. Yet another important detail missed. I am beginning to be really embarrassed...

-Curt (June 18, 2013, 02:08 PM)

Dear Curt:

With all you have brought to the party over the years here at DoCo, you should have no reason whatsoever to feel embarrassed about anything. Your contributions are far more appreciated than you seem to think.

So just so there's no mistake, I'd like to say: Thank You!