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Comment Terrible idea (Score 4, Funny) 111

by Dega704 (#47785477) Attached to: How Big Telecom Smothers Municipal Broadband
Municipalities providing a critical infrastructure? What Lunacy! That will never work! What other crazy ideas do these municipalities have in store for us? Electricity? Running water and sewage? Gas heating? Paved roads? Balderdash! Best to leave these things to the large corporations and eliminate all of the regulations since they have nothing but the public's best interests at heart. To the free market fairy we pray for forgiveness. Amen.

Submission + - Edward Snowden: NSA was responsible for 2012 Syrian internet blackout. (theverge.com)

Submitted by Dega704
Dega704 writes: When Syria's access to the internet was cut for two days back in 2012, it apparently wasn't the fault of dissenting "terrorists," as the Syrian government claimed: according to Wired, it was the fault of the US government. In a long profile of Edward Snowden published today, Wired writes what Snowden says is the truth about the internet outage. An elite hacking unit in the National Security Agency had reportedly been attempting to install malware on a central router within Syria — a feat that would have allowed the agency to access a good amount of the country's internet traffic. Instead, it ended up accidentally rendering the router unusable, causing Syria's internet connection to go dark.

Comment Gives an interesting look.... (Score 4, Insightful) 234

by Dega704 (#47565535) Attached to: Comcast Confessions
At first glance this may seem completely irrelevant to debates about Net Neutrality and data caps, but now I think it tells us a lot about just how unscrupulous Comcast and other big ISPs are. When their greed trumps even the most basic tact and professionalism, how can anyone in their right mind expect us to believe that the best thing for everyone is to let them run amok unchallenged and unregulated with a virtual monopoly? It boggles the mind.

Submission + - Cable companies: We're afraid Netflix will demand payment from ISPs (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Dega704
Dega704 writes: While the network neutrality debate has focused primarily on whether ISPs should be able to charge companies like Netflix for faster access to consumers, cable companies are now arguing that it's really Netflix who holds the market power to charge them. This argument popped up in comments submitted to the FCC by Time Warner Cable and industry groups that represent cable companies. (National Journal writer Brendan Sasso pointed this out.) The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), which represents many companies including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Cox, and Charter wrote to the FCC:

"Even if broadband providers had an incentive to degrade their customers’ online experience in some circumstances, they have no practical ability to act on such an incentive. Today’s Internet ecosystem is dominated by a number of “hyper-giants” with growing power over key aspects of the Internet experience—including Google in search, Netflix and Google (YouTube) in online video, Amazon and eBay in e-commerce, and Facebook in social media. If a broadband provider were to approach one of these hyper-giants and threaten to block or degrade access to its site if it refused to pay a significant fee, such a strategy almost certainly would be self-defeating, in light of the immediately hostile reaction of consumers to such conduct. Indeed, it is more likely that these large edge providers would seek to extract payment from ISPs for delivery of video over last-mile networks."

Submission + - Deaf advocacy groups to Verizon: Don't kill net neutrality on our behalf (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Dega704
Dega704 writes: No company has lobbied more fiercely against network neutrality than Verizon, which filed the lawsuit that overturned the FCC's rules prohibiting ISPs from blocking and discriminating against Web content. But the absence of net neutrality rules isn't just good for Verizon—it's also good for the blind, deaf, and disabled, Verizon claims.

That's what Verizon lobbyists said in talks with congressional staffers, according to a Mother Jones report last month. "Three Hill sources tell Mother Jones that Verizon lobbyists have cited the needs of blind, deaf, and disabled people to try to convince congressional staffers and their bosses to get on board with the fast lane idea," the report said. With "fast lanes," Web services—including those designed for the blind, deaf, and disabled—could be prioritized in exchange for payment.

Now, advocacy groups for deaf people have filed comments with the FCC saying they don't agree with Verizon's position.

Comment Limitations (Score 0) 98

by Dega704 (#47509819) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Linux Login and Resource Management In a Computer Lab?
As much as I would like to see Linux displace Windows in these kinds of environments, there really aren't any systems that give you the same kind of management functionality as Userlock, or even Active Directory and Group Policy. It's possible of course, but only if you have the time, skill, and manpower to rig something together yourself. I'm sure I'll get flamed for saying this, but the Linux desktop has a long way to go before it can even hope to be a viable alternative to Windows in the enterprise. Even then it will not be possible unless that particular segment unifies around a specific distro. Not saying I like it; just being realistic. It certainly doesn't stop me from going all Linux at home, but it makes it an unthinkable idea to try and sell to management. Hopefully this changes in the future, but it's a long way down the road.

Comment Re:Infotainment? Don't Care. (Score 1) 88

by Dega704 (#47363669) Attached to: Automotive Grade Linux Released For Open Source Cars
The problem was with everyone developing their own proprietary system, by the time they get the vehicles to market it looks horrendously outdated compared to iOS and Android, to say nothing of trying to get developers interested. Standardizing around the same open platform will allow them to get their infotainment systems up to par and keep pace with the rest of the technology world. Not that it matters much for me and my car right now. I never imagined having a six-disc CD changer would seem so behind the times.

Submission + - Protestors Launch a 135-Foot Blimp Over the NSA's Utah Data Center (wired.com)

Submitted by Dega704
Dega704 writes: Plenty of nightmare surveillance theories surround the million-square-foot NSA facility opened last year in Bluffdale, Utah. Any locals driving by the massive complex Friday morning saw something that may inspire new ones: A massive blimp hovering over the center, with the letters NSA printed on its side.

Activist groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Greenpeace launched the 135-foot thermal airship early Friday morning to protest the agency’s mass surveillance programs and to announce the launch of Stand Against Spying, a website that rates members of Congress on their support or opposition to NSA reform. The full message on the blimp reads “NSA: Illegal Spying Below” along with an arrow pointing downward and the Stand Against Spying URL.

Comment Always found it amusing (Score 2) 283

by Dega704 (#47301453) Attached to: Perl Is Undead
Especially considering that the Linux job market is red-hot, and almost all Linux sysadmin job listings I see list Perl as a wanted skill. What exactly causes a language to be declared dead, anyway? Would you say that Fortran or Cobol are dead? Because they are still going strong in their respective niches.

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