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Comment Re:News flash (Score 2) 470

I have never seen a compiler that does that, and I seriously doubt if is really common.

I'm a bit depressed to find a /.er who's never seen GCC :-P
I once wrote an overflow check wrong -- I tried to write an `if' that would check whether the preceding operation on signed integers had overflowed. Overflow on signed integers is undefined behavior, so once it happens, it is legal for the program to do anything. "Anything" includes updating the variable with the overflowed value and then skipping the condition check, which is what GCC's output code did.

Comment Re:Technology is hard and dangerous (Score 1) 610

The jury heard the testimony from all the witnesses. They saw and heard all the evidence. THEN they wanted to punish Toyota. Yes? So what's wrong with that?

The jury's function is not to mete out punishment. It is to determine whether the defendant committed the wrongdoing they are accused of. When a juror expresses desire to punish, it makes me wonder whether the verdict was motivated by epistemologically sound consideration or by that desire.

Comment Re:packet radio? (Score 1) 371

Maybe the problem then is that the business radio systems are (it would seem from the above) much more expensive than ham gear?

I haven't looked into pricing of business band radios, but it is fairly common for hams to get business radios and modify them for use on amateur bands. I suspect the difference would come out in licensing.

Comment Re:So.... (Score 1) 531

If something happens to your car while it is parked there, the fact that the owner of the garage has disclaimed responsibility does not mean you have not had your property damaged/stolen. If the police went through a garage searching people's vehicles without warrants on the basis that the people who parked the cars there no longer owned them, they'd get laughed out of court.
Security

Submission + - Security consultants warn about PROTECT-IP Act (nationaljournal.com)

epee1221 writes: Several security professionals released a paper (PDF) raising objections to the DNS filtering mandated by the proposed PROTECT-IP Act. The measure allows courts to require Internet service providers to redirect or block queries for a domain deemed to be infringing on IP laws. ISPs will not be able to improve DNS security using DNSSEC, a system for cryptographically signing DNS records to ensure their authenticity, as the sort of manipulation mandated by PROTECT-IP is the type of interference DNSSEC is meant to prevent. The paper notes that a DNS server which has been compromised by a cracker would be indistinguishable from one operating under a court order to alter its DNS responses. The measure also points to a possible fragmenting of the DNS system, effectively making domain names non-universal, and the DNS manipulation may lead to collateral damage (i.e. filtering an infringing domain may block access to non-infringing content). It is also pointed out that DNS filtering does not actually keep determined users from accessing content, as they can still access non-filtered DNS servers or directly enter the blocked site's IP address if it is known.

A statement by the MPAA disputes these claims, arguing that typical users lack the expertise to select a different DNS server and that the Internet must not be allowed to "decay into a lawless Wild West."

Paul Vixie, a coauthor of the paper, elaborates in his blog.

Comment Re:No snow days (Score 1) 223

I'm a few hours' drive north of 45 (at 47 or so). Local k12 schools call it a snow day when there's enough snowfall to make it unsafe to drive (for reference, people here are used to driving on snow-covered roads). The few times I've seen the university declare a snow day, visibility has been short enough that when I looked out my front window, I could not even see as far as the street. At some points visibility has been too short to even see my car in the driveway. There was also that one weekend when we were temporarily stuck in a town 100 miles away, as the antifreeze had frozen. Had this been during the week, I wouldn't be surprised to see schools close for the day.

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