Comment Artists' right to choose (Score 1) 148
Please, someone think about the artists' right to choose the rights associated with the rights associated with their work.
Comment Re:Hack (Score 5, Interesting) 170
Mod parent up. A company I used to work for used Earthlink as their provider for everything (web, email, ISP). I pretty much had to take on the IT admin role there. They had lost all of their passwords and logins. I could not believe how easy it was for me to take control of everything in ONE DAY without even getting my boss on the phone with the support guy at Earthlink. Security at Earthlink is a joke. The support people there seem to choose one piece of your information at random to verify that you are the account holder. They will often ask you to tell them your password over the phone and other similar nonsense.
Comment Re:WTF (Score 1) 709
I'm not. There's no reason why there shouldn't be toplessness on American TV as seen on European TV. I routinely what Euro TV and I'm amazed how much is blurred by the FCC censors. Instead we get to see Jack Bauer slitting people's throats which is far more harmful than a naked chest.
I really don't mean to nitpick, but the FCC does not actually censor anything. The process works like this; a broadcaster in the us is not allowed to broadcast pornographic material, or they will face harsh fines, which are levied by the FCC, assuming someone actually bothers to report the questionable material. Once reported the five FCC commissioners (all political appointees) then decide if the material was fit to be viewed by the public in the context that it was broadcast. If they decide it was unfit, they issue a fine. Broadcasters are forced to censor their own material, at cost.
If a tv station thought that they would be fined for a Jack Bauer throat slit scene, they could play it safe and blur it.
Comment AMX and Crestron (Score 1) 409
I've been built many systems based on AMX and Crestron platforms. They are pretty much state of the art as far as I know. They are expensive, but if you know what to look for you can find some cheap second hand controllers on the online auction sites.
One drawback is that both of these systems require knowledge of their proprietary languages and protocols. There is another company called Aurora that makes the WACI series of controllers that are more standards compliant, but I have never built a system using their controllers.
One drawback is that both of these systems require knowledge of their proprietary languages and protocols. There is another company called Aurora that makes the WACI series of controllers that are more standards compliant, but I have never built a system using their controllers.
Comment Re:Old Style Meters (Score 1) 863
Hmm...anyone got $84 in quarters?
Comment Re:Race Condition? (Score 2, Informative) 863
They write you a ticket. You send in your ticket with your a copy of your parking reciept. This system is used in many parking lots on the Metro North here.
Comment Just started using DirSyncPro... (Score 1) 421
DirSyncPro is FOSS, I just started using it a few months ago, and I love it. My company now uses it to keep our two programmers synced(sp?) to the server. Works great, I hope they package it better for MS soon, there is no installer yet, just an executable.
Comment Re:useful energy is not free (Score 1) 404
Homer: [scoffs] I know. And this perpetual motion machine she made today is a joke! It just keeps going faster and faster...Lisa! Get in here.
[Lisa walks in, chuckling nervously]
In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!
Comment Who is in control? (Score 1) 252
Maybe I'm nuts, but I worry about the possibility of the wrong person gaining control of a military network containing killer robots. It's not a new problem or anything, but if lots of these things are deployed, then you just know security will be less stringent in some situations than others.
Comment Re:The dirty way (Score 1) 695
There's a dirty, and illegal way to do it.
First, if you follow these instructions, remember this KEY STEP TURN OFF THE MAIN SWITCH. Also, NEVER turn that main switch on if the generator is running. Finally, the main switch MUST be double throw.
Forget to follow these instructions, and you can very easily kill a lineman or blow up your generator.
Anyways, you just need a three pronged dryer plug, 2 of them, and sufficient length of heavy gauge wire. You create an illegal male - male 3 pronged plug, and connect your generator socket into the 3 pronged plug in your house used for the clothes dryer.
The reason it is illegal is because this form of installation does not prevent you from connecting your generator to the wiring outside your house. If you left the main switch on, you can energize the dead lines outside with 12,000 volts and kill a lineman.
The advantage? As long as the main switch is double throw, and you don't turn it on when the generator is connected, it is pretty safe. And cheap : a double throw switch and circuit box is $200-$500, while this method can be done for $10.
I'm pretty sure the lineman would be killed with 120vac, no?
NH Signs Bill That Rejects Federal Real ID 231
jcatcw writes "New Hampshire is part of a trend to oppose the federal Real ID act. The governor this week signed a bill that forbids state agencies from complying with the controversial federal regulation. The Real ID law, first passed by Congress in 2005, currently requires that all state driver's licenses and other identification cards include a digital photograph and a bar code that can be scanned by electronic readers. Such a federally approved ID card or document would be required for people entering a federal building, nuclear power plant and commercial airplane. The New Hampshire bill, which labeled the Real ID Act as "contrary and repugnant" to the New Hampshire and U.S. Constitutions, was passed in the state Senate by a 24-0 vote in late May."
Thieves Using Stolen Credit Cards to Make Donations 104
JagsLive writes with a link to a Newsday.com article about 'philanthropist identity thieves'. Credit card thieves appear to be donating to charity with their stolen goods. While it may sound like a strange form of generosity, it's really a method to determine whether a stolen card is valid. "The verification method has become popular because the monitoring software at credit-card companies may not question donations to charities, according the Symantec blog. Santoyo said the schemers usually donate less than $10. American Red Cross spokeswoman Carrie Martin said, 'This happens all the time. We have people at the Red Cross who deal with this type of activity.' Last month alone, the Red Cross refunded 700 fraudulent credit-card transactions, Martin said. That figure doesn't include the transactions the charity blocked because they appeared fraudulent."
Ancient Robot Was Programmed with Rope 141
Pingu93 writes "New Scientist has a feature about the 'worlds first' programmable robot, dating from 60AD. It was designed by a Greek inventor who was, appropriately enough, called Hero. He designed his rolling machine so that it could be programmed using rope and pegs in different configurations. Some of the writers at New Scientist went so far as to build their own version of the robot and the technology blog has some video of it in action."
Matt Groening to be Final Boss in New Simpsons Game 112
eldavojohn writes "Announced at E3, Mr. Groening will be the final boss in the Simpsons game. Mr. Groening commented on the game: 'They did a send-up of videogames. It's a videogame about videogames; and I'm in the videogame. I'm a boss that you have to fight at the end of the game. It was really fun recording a million ways of dying, going "UGGH, ARGGH, EUURGH!"'"
