Many PLCs don't run .nix, they run their own proprietary version of ladder logic. PLCs aren't playing MP3s, don't need any drivers for printers, and run under 500 MHz. Many use proprietary networking protocols, or some version of CANbus or TCP/IP to communicate with other PLCs in the network, and they use RS-232 or RS-485 to communicate with a host computer for program uploads. In fact, the vast majority of PLCs out there don't even have a display device.

Now, having said that, Siemens and other industrial controls builders use Windows (I presume Windows CE) because HMI devices (which are sometimes also PLCs) are becoming highly graphical in nature, and it becomes easier to develop system screens with "drag and drop" technology than it is to try and code those screens in hex. If the user wants a screen changed or added, it's a 30 second affair instead of an 8 hour task.

The article does not say that this worm had anything to do with Windows, only that the Siemens HMI device was running Windows. It did say that someone had to duplicate a Siemens industrial network to research the worm. What this means to me is that the worm was developed to spread over one of the proprietary industrial networking protocols, probably by someone with some decent Siemens experience.

Does not follow.

There are lots of individuals out there with lots of poorly researched conspiracy theories. (The earth is flat, faked moon landings, etc.) They tell their audiences what they really believe, regardless of trying to please as many people as possible. Some even offer "proof" and "independent research." Is that still a good thing? Sure, it's freedom of speech; and sure, people have the right to buy into it if they choose. Some do, because it's easier to just accept it and follow the rest of the sheep than it is to do the research for yourself. If more and more Americans bought into a flat-earth theory because it was explained in a way that made sense to them using a white board and lots of gesticulating, do I still get to weep for my countrymen? I should hope so.

I choose to get the occasional political commentary from Rachel Maddow and Jon Stewart, the twice a month I care to look for it.

By the way, I should be thanking you for posting so late in the game; because of your comment I happened to see my "-1 troll" mod, the first time I think I've ever received that distinguished honor.

Sorry, I posted farther below you, but you sound like you already know the story.

I had to re-read your last sentence to make sure you weren't saying that Glenn Beck is embraced by the mainstream. Because if you were (and if, somehow, that were true) I would weep for my countrymen.

And then I'd slap the shit outta 'em.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/06/monticello-appeals-court-win.ars

Then, http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/want-50mbps-internet-in-your-town-threaten-to-roll-out-your-own.ars

And finally, http://monticellofiber.com/

Wishing I had mod points to give you today, even though you're only an AC... Excellent critical thinking skills, solid "A" material.

See, I think that would "turn on" more than it would "turn off."

IMHO, this is the kind of inventive tinkering that should be pushed forward in today's schools. It takes a lot of different skills from across several disciplines to be able to crank something like this out, but once you see it, you realize how simple it really is. It takes imagination and perseverance as well, and that's hard to teach.

I don't mean to start a "Public schools are apathizing our youth!" thread, but I wonder how many kids would really enjoy classes geared towards making useful projects out of surplus crap - a combining of wood shop, metal shop, and electronics classes.

1) Because no one in charge really gives a crap about a station that barely appears on a country's military budget
2) Because the aforementioned station is just a repeater
3) Security thru obscurity = not having to pay guards with guns

Just some thoughts. There is an unmanned 100kw FM transmitter and 305m tower not far from where I grew up in the farm fields of central MN. Huge Pirate Radio can be yours by picking a 7-pin lock.

I don't think it's German... but it IS on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-x9ygQEGA

You're totally trolling and I should be using my points to mod you down, but instead I'll provide a different outlook for your consideration.

Many people in this country still access the internet using a dial-up 56K modem - many of _them_ are achieving only half that speed, due to physical distances and line quality. They cannot access many of the web's features in any kind of timely manner. However, I don't see a requirement in the bill for broadband access to be made available in gratis to all people regardless of creed, color, marital status or disability. In fact, providing any form of internet or multimedia access is not a requirement laid out anywhere in our laws. People of all disabilities still have to pay for their computers, pay for their internet access, and pay for everyday items to maintain their quality of life. So yes, money is a very important factor.

Innovations in multimedia have been made by consumers spending money in that segment (aka Capitalism), not by the government requiring technology companies to make devices to service a minority. If there is a gaping hole in the way information and multimedia is distributed, you would think there would be companies trying to capitalize on providing services to that minority. Because that's the way it has worked in the past. The future is going that way too, on it's own. It does not need help from soon-to-be-outdated government bills.

It's hard. It's expensive. It won't please everyone. But it is totally worth it for future generations. It takes vision, vision beyond the end of our noses, to realize that.

I was unconsciously filling my diapers half a planet away when Margaret Thatcher was in office; please enlighten me with the specifics and the correlations and I will happily entertain and debate them.

Because from what Wikipedia tells me about the mass privatization that occurred in the UK under Thatcher version 2.0, it doesn't directly compare whatsoever. The Chinese are basically telling 2000 factories that they're outdated inefficient dinosaurs and that they no longer deserve to consume energy, whether they can afford it or not. In effect, industrial eugenics. Thatcher turned a bunch of state-owned utilities and industries over to private companies and let them compete, to whatever end they would. In effect, industrial Darwinism.

These are different concepts with different end results.

From a different perspective, China is only able to get this done because they aren't a democracy. If they had to put it up for discussion and a vote, it would be years of delay, but meanwhile an insane amount of energy would be lost during that delay. In this case their government is swift and able to make decisions promptly "for the greater good."

This. Mod. Up. This is what I'm taking away from everything I've seen.

Newsweek can allude to one death "being caused by" the information release, but that's only because it comes in chronological order.

Coincidental and inevitable.

Let's look at this in a different direction: here we have an (informant?) to the US military, presumably native to the area, who must have chosen sides, and his side was against the Taliban. He knew what the consequences of his actions could be, and instead of sticking his head in the sand and saying nothing to nobody, he stuck up for what he believed in. It's unfortunate that he died, but I wonder how many American Revolutionary War vets would have done the exact same thing. It's truly the personification of the Patrick Henry quote, "Give me Liberty, or give me death!"

The information release doesn't change the fact that he made his choice knowing the possible consequences. It only puts a face on the faceless Afghans who are fighting against the Taliban.