Comment Re:Different pockets, same taxpayers' money (Score 1) 1026
I ought to throw a boot at you for that. Wait, no two of them!
Comment Re:Different pockets, same taxpayers' money (Score 1) 1026
Actually, it will be many moons before the taxpayers foot the bill- we've got to pay off Bush's overspending *first*.
Well, it's more like the government to sweep that under the rug and just keep on spending the same exorbitant amount they have for years, without actually paying anything.
If our great grandchildren are paying taxes to pay off Obama saving Capitalism from itself, we'll be damn lucky to have paid it down to that level so soon.
I would say more like if our great-grandchildren still have a market and banking system left (with credibility) we'll be pretty lucky.
Comment Re:Belkin are dodgy (Score 2, Insightful) 369
This company should be avoided where possible.
I couldn't agree with the parent more. I bought a cheap wireless router from them when I moved into my current apartment, and about 3 months later it just stopped working altogether. I called tech support on it and got someone from India who didn't have the slightest clue what I was saying and didn't understand the fact that I was using vista and not XP. To say I had a frustrating experience with them is a gross understatement. The end result of this story: I will never buy anything from Belkin ever again. Seriously, what kind of company has to turn to fake user reviews to get people to buy their product. They might as well be selling it on TV and offering a free sham-wow with it or something. Although, I guess I shouldn't have expected more from a company who charges $30 dollars for a 10 foot cat5 cable or $50 for an fm transmitter that is white, so that it can work with an iPod.
Comment Re:Site seems to break (Score 1) 848
It requires an oh-so-insecure ActiveX control, which then asks you to download a program from some company that I've never heard. I'm just hoping I don't have to de-virus my computer after this whole ordeal is done with.
Comment 1,100 Megawatts? (Score 3, Funny) 275
1,100 megawatts, eh? Why, that's almost 1.21 gigawatts! Now we just need to come up with a flux capacitor and find an old Delorian!
California's Wireless Road Tolls Easily Hackable 354
An anonymous reader writes "Nate Lawson, a researcher at RootLabs, has found a way to clone the wireless transponders used by the Bay Area FasTrak road toll system. This means you can copy the ID of another driver onto your own device and, as a result, travel for free while others foot the bill. Lawson also raises the interesting point of using the FasTrak system to create false alibis, by overwriting one's own ID onto another driver's device before committing a crime. Luckily, Lawson wasn't sued before he could reveal his research, unlike those pesky MIT students."
Terror Watchlist "Crippled By Technical Flaws" 324
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The database used by the government to generate lists like the No-Fly List is 'crippled by technical flaws,' according to the chairman of a House technology oversight subcommittee. And the upgrade may be worse than the original. Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) says that 'if actually deployed, [the upgrade] will leave our country more vulnerable than the existing yet flawed system in operation today.' It seems that the current database doesn't have any easy way to do plain-text matching, forcing users to enter SQL queries. That might not sound so bad until you learn that the database contains 463 poorly indexed tables. How long until there's a terrorist named Robert'); DROP DATABASE; —?"
Software Quality In a Non-Software Company? 308
Nicros writes "I work for a publicly traded biotech company that happens to write software that is, in fact, kind of critical for the business — without it no data would ever be read from our instruments, and no analyses would be performed on that data. The problem is that as a 'biotech' company, we are not taking software quality seriously. We have no senior management with any history of commercial software development — our C level has really no clue whatsoever what software really is, much less what is going on in software development. All of our quality processes are related to manufacturing our system (not software), so we are constantly forced into ad-hoc development since there is no real process for our development. Repeated requests to hire someone with some real commercial software development experience have gone unanswered. I have been to the CEO directly one-on-one and although he agreed this was an issue, thanked me, and said he would look into it, that was the end of it. He has bigger things to worry about. So the question: Is this just a fact of life and I need to deal the best I can? What else can I do to get some attention on software quality in the company?"
IE8 Will Contain an Accidental Ad Blocker 437
JagsLive sends in a Washington Post blog post reflecting on one privacy-enhancing feature of the upcoming Internet Explorer 8, the so-called "InPrivate Blocking" that has privacy advocates quietly cheering, and advertisers seriously worrying. Here is Microsoft's description of the feature. From the Post: "The advertising industry is bracing for trouble from the next version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer, details of which were announced today, because it will offer a feature that blocks some ads and other content from third-parties that shows up on Web pages. A Microsoft spokesman said that the feature, to be known as 'InPrivate Blocking,' was never designed to be an ad blocker, though 'there may be ads that get blocked.' Instead, it was designed to stop tracking 'pixels' or pieces of code that could allow third-party sites to track users as they move around the Web."
Websites Still Failing Basic Privacy Practices 205
DigitAl56K writes "Large companies still can't seem to get the basics of privacy and security on the Web pulled together. Today I went to enter a competition from Duracell to win a Nintendo Wii by filling out an online form. It requires entering your full name, address, and date of birth, and then proceeds to submit it via an unencrypted HTTP POST. The ultimate irony is the message at the bottom of the page that reads: 'Trust is a cornerstone of our corporate mission, and the success of our business depends on it. P&G is committed to maintaining your trust by protecting personal information we collect.' Which websites have you found to be lacking in their basic privacy practices?"
