I am helping convert GEs DASH locomotives to being remote controlled (for a corporation that owns a private fleet).
GE decided that Y2K could be solved by changing UTC to 1/Jan/1987 (from 1/Jan/1970), thus delaying Y2k for another 17 years. Graet forward thinking....
The train protection system (ATP) and engine monitor (PULSE) can't remember what year it is, they also 'forget' to record data.
Time is not controlled from a central unit (as fas as any engineer I have spoken to knows) so each loco has to be updated manually (by the diver randomly entering the time). Pity they are so busy and can't be recalled for the update.
This is not to mention the Track Side Monitoring equipment used to locate hot/cold wheels and bearings (thus preventing derailments). Last time I was there the sites were registering ambient temperatures of >46 to 52 C! These devices are located in the middle of nowhere, 100's Km from the nearest person (here is FOUR times larger than Texas).
If one of the systems falls over, and there is a derailment, then the corporation will lose aprox Au$100mill a DAY!
I am helping make trains remote controled. We use XPe based PCs for data collection/track side monitoring.
A few minutes error can be a disaster when dealing with two 2.5Km long trains moving at 80-100 Kmh. They do not stop very quickly when loaded with over 25,000 tonnes of iron ore.
Glad we got two weeks notice to implement the changes to the onboard and the track side monitoring systems....
It is disturbing that the creator of the event (Promoter) can not set the conditions on the product they sell.
EBAY refused to withdraw tickets when asked to by the promoter.
This case is all about the change from 'MAY' to 'WILL'.
If you buy a ticket from EBAY to the Big Day Out it 'may' be canceled at the gate. My feeling is, that after/because of this ruling, it is going to be 100% of tickets re-sold on EBAY will be canceled.
As it was bought with the scalpers details (CC) the refund goes to the scalper, not the ticket holder.
So I would be VERY wary of buying a BDO ticket from EBAY.
Region restriction is very annoying if you have to travel across regions.
When I travel with my laptop I have to be careful not to use any local DVDs to install software (needed for my work as a SE) or as entertainment.
Even though I have purchased these disks locally, or have rights to install the software from the client, I can not use them as they consume one of the region changes in my DVD drive.
Then you would be told by a smaller ISP that it is not viable for them to supply you with broadband because you are on one of the 13% of lines that are faulty.
They could then tell you that;
only Telstra techs are allowed to work on your (any) lines,
getting a Telstra tech to fix your line will cost more than the ISP will make off your contract in two years
so your best chance of getting braodband is to sign up with Telsra for two years.
Testra charges twice the price, charges for excess use (was at Au$0.17/Mb!) and counts uploads and downloads in your quota. Most contracts are for two years and must be signed before Telsta will consider fixing your line. You could sign up and then find that you can not get broadband.
Not to mention that Telstra's fastest ADSL is 1.5Mb/s (crippled ADSL1), while the other ISP's offer up to 20Mb/s......
Once upon a time both parents did not have to work full time to earn a living, nor worry that their job would not exist tomorrow or that they will not get enough hours this week.
In that fantasy period one parent could stay home and do some 'parenting'.
>>If we regulate free-to-air TV broadcasts, why not regulate free-to-internet TV broadcasts?
Because we (Australia) has no right (legal, moral or practical) to regulate the content on the internet.
Any attempt to do so will be an (expensive) failure.
>>It just shouldn't be something that kids who are hooked to the regulated free TV show should be able to lookup on the internet ...
As opposed to hard core pornography which is currently freely available on the internet to kids if they decide to look?
Or the extreme violence shown all over free to air TV?
Or the massive advertising bombardment kids are subjected to each day?
If you realy wanted to protect the children you could start by replacing the current broadcasting voluntary code of conduct with enforceable legal penalties.
This is just a publicity stunt gone too far.
Now the politicians are jumping on board to get some of the publicity. It will disappear as soon as a better chance to get their mugs on the tube shows up.
I would be astounded if anything changed, as then broadcasters like Alan Jones would have to be responsible ie not identify children involved in court cases.
No Austrailan government would dare create any actual laws that Alan Jones may not like, in case he turns on them.
If it gets Big Brother ect off the air then something good has come of this.
>>Nice to know there are least a few MPAA/RIAA shills who read this site.
And everybody who thought (and spoke up) that we should not attack Iraq four years ago was a 'terrorist'.
I will accept your 'right' to download software I have written, without paying for it.
You will do this because;
you would not have paid for it in the first place,
you don't like my business model
or its not theft to obtain a digital good without payment.
You will have to accept that I am going to 'protect' my software with code to damage your PC and your reputation.
Rainman.
I take issue with your post. Please provide evidence of your assertions that physical modification of the vote machines EPROM and seal is required.
I would say it was very much a real world hack as Accu Basis is not protected, not even with a CRC, and is capable of modifing the machines functionality.
EPROM != Memory card.
>> in order to hack the machine, someone had to break the physical seal on the machine and change an eprom
Actually the Harry Hursti Hack was using only a modified memory card or via remote access to the GEMS server through TCP/IP.
The memory card is loaded with a modified .abo (AccuBasic exe file) and this modified exe can change vote totals, install a 'cheat code' ect, ect. This can be done months in advance and turned off and on as required.
The other approach of attacking the AccuBasic version on the GEMS server requires no physical access.
Niether of these approaches require physical access to the actual vote machine.
My cars 'DRM' (alarm and immobiliser) makes the battery go flat if not driven often as well.
The alarm is not 100% effective and would not even slow a professional down if they wanted my car. It will stop the inexperienced opportunist though.
Do you think we should remove that protection as it inconveniences legitimate users of my car and is ultimately ineffective?
Or do you agree that the alarm is an essential requirement to stop as much unauthorised use as is possible?
How about the bank that has a token generator, required as a third validation when logging in? This won't stop a 'man in the middle' attack and is annoying when the token changes between entry and validation (resulting in a login fail).
As a Software Engineer I understand no DRM can be effective (for long) but understand the increase in both the use and severity of DRM today.
The bottom line is that if people did not take and/or distribute what they are not entitled to, these type of protections would not be required.
>that money should be in the pockets of artists NOT labels
When you download the artist's hard work for free, who do think misses out on the money, the artist, the label or RIAA?
Do you think the label or RIAA will fund another work by the artist if they did not make money from the previous work?
Do you think the label or RIAA will forget about the artist's debts because their work did not make money as it was downloaded for free?
So you realy think you are hurting RIAA by downloading for free? Think again, the labels and RIAA have very strong contracts to ensure they have little to no exposure to risk.
On the post: The Daily Show Takes On The Daylight Savings Bug: Aclockalypse Now!
Embedded systems that are not accessable?
GE decided that Y2K could be solved by changing UTC to 1/Jan/1987 (from 1/Jan/1970), thus delaying Y2k for another 17 years. Graet forward thinking....
The train protection system (ATP) and engine monitor (PULSE) can't remember what year it is, they also 'forget' to record data.
Time is not controlled from a central unit (as fas as any engineer I have spoken to knows) so each loco has to be updated manually (by the diver randomly entering the time). Pity they are so busy and can't be recalled for the update.
This is not to mention the Track Side Monitoring equipment used to locate hot/cold wheels and bearings (thus preventing derailments). Last time I was there the sites were registering ambient temperatures of >46 to 52 C! These devices are located in the middle of nowhere, 100's Km from the nearest person (here is FOUR times larger than Texas).
If one of the systems falls over, and there is a derailment, then the corporation will lose aprox Au$100mill a DAY!
It is a big deal to us.
On the post: Los Alamos Highlights Real Danger Of Early Daylight Savings: Mistimed Coffee Brewing
Not all of this is hype...
A few minutes error can be a disaster when dealing with two 2.5Km long trains moving at 80-100 Kmh. They do not stop very quickly when loaded with over 25,000 tonnes of iron ore.
Glad we got two weeks notice to implement the changes to the onboard and the track side monitoring systems....
On the post: How Many Australian Politicians Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb?
Nothing to do with saving Energy
It is simply politial posturing by Malcom Turnbull.
Soon John Howard will resign or have to leave if he loses the next election (in 9 months).
Abott, Costello and Turnbull will fight it out to become the new leader of the Liberal party. (no joke with the names BTW....)
Turnbull is new and needs to catch up, hence the photo ops with kids showing how his policy will make the world greener for them.
On the post: Australian Court Says Putting Event Tickets On eBay Is Perfectly Legal
No so clean cut...
EBAY refused to withdraw tickets when asked to by the promoter.
This case is all about the change from 'MAY' to 'WILL'.
If you buy a ticket from EBAY to the Big Day Out it 'may' be canceled at the gate. My feeling is, that after/because of this ruling, it is going to be 100% of tickets re-sold on EBAY will be canceled.
As it was bought with the scalpers details (CC) the refund goes to the scalper, not the ticket holder.
So I would be VERY wary of buying a BDO ticket from EBAY.
On the post: Why Competition Is Important In Broadband
Re: Re: Broadband In Socialist France
Or the 'oldies' invading a country on misinformation and getting the "youths" killed/maimed/wounded en-mass?
Yes, you really have the high moral ground in the good 'ole USA....
On the post: Diebold e-Voting Machines Can Be Opened With Standard Hotel Key Available Online
Can you tell me where I can buy a key for one of those?
Diebold can obviously create a machine secure enough to dispense money and keep a paper trail the bank can follow.
So Diebold is not incompetent.
Why do they have difficulty with vote machines then?
The obvious answer, in my opinion, is that Diebold is corrupt.
On the post: Attention All PR People: Stop Sending Us Press Releases
Their job is to not take NO for an answer, regardless of the amount of irritation or embarrasment they cause.
On the post: If At First Your DRM Doesn't Succeed, Try, Try Again
When I travel with my laptop I have to be careful not to use any local DVDs to install software (needed for my work as a SE) or as entertainment.
Even though I have purchased these disks locally, or have rights to install the software from the client, I can not use them as they consume one of the region changes in my DVD drive.
On the post: Media Making Sure You Know That Montreal Shooter Played Violent Video Games
Not going to like this.....
Our do kids do not go on rampages like this.
Why???
Because we heavily restrict access to guns.
Take the gun away and this guy would still be just an angry young man.
On the post: Ma Bell's About Face On Muni-WiFi
Its TELSTRA
Pity I can't type......
On the post: Ma Bell's About Face On Muni-WiFi
Could be worse....
Then you would be told by a smaller ISP that it is not viable for them to supply you with broadband because you are on one of the 13% of lines that are faulty.
They could then tell you that;
only Telstra techs are allowed to work on your (any) lines,
getting a Telstra tech to fix your line will cost more than the ISP will make off your contract in two years
so your best chance of getting braodband is to sign up with Telsra for two years.
Testra charges twice the price, charges for excess use (was at Au$0.17/Mb!) and counts uploads and downloads in your quota. Most contracts are for two years and must be signed before Telsta will consider fixing your line. You could sign up and then find that you can not get broadband.
Not to mention that Telstra's fastest ADSL is 1.5Mb/s (crippled ADSL1), while the other ISP's offer up to 20Mb/s......
On the post: BellSouth Adds New Fee To Pay For The Non-Fee They No Longer Need To Collect
Does it mean...
Is this the cost incurred by the telco when they illegally tap your phone for the government?
On the post: Congress Now Blaming MySpace For Troubled Children
Once upon a time
In that fantasy period one parent could stay home and do some 'parenting'.
Just to be picky....
>>even when they're actions
'they're' (they are) should be 'their'
See, my parents taught me good.....
On the post: Australia Wants To Regulate YouTube As Well
Re: Why let internet TV be different?
Because we (Australia) has no right (legal, moral or practical) to regulate the content on the internet.
Any attempt to do so will be an (expensive) failure.
>>It just shouldn't be something that kids who are hooked to the regulated free TV show should be able to lookup on the internet ...
As opposed to hard core pornography which is currently freely available on the internet to kids if they decide to look?
Or the extreme violence shown all over free to air TV?
Or the massive advertising bombardment kids are subjected to each day?
If you realy wanted to protect the children you could start by replacing the current broadcasting voluntary code of conduct with enforceable legal penalties.
On the post: Australia Wants To Regulate YouTube As Well
Don't worry...
Now the politicians are jumping on board to get some of the publicity. It will disappear as soon as a better chance to get their mugs on the tube shows up.
I would be astounded if anything changed, as then broadcasters like Alan Jones would have to be responsible ie not identify children involved in court cases.
No Austrailan government would dare create any actual laws that Alan Jones may not like, in case he turns on them.
If it gets Big Brother ect off the air then something good has come of this.
On the post: Apparently, Vote Tampering Is Only Acceptable If It's Done By Americans
Diebold also makes...
Do you think the banks would put up with the security system (or lack thereof) in these machines?
On the post: Germany Says File Sharers Deserve Plenty Of Jailtime
And everybody who thought (and spoke up) that we should not attack Iraq four years ago was a 'terrorist'.
I will accept your 'right' to download software I have written, without paying for it.
You will do this because;
you would not have paid for it in the first place,
you don't like my business model
or its not theft to obtain a digital good without payment.
You will have to accept that I am going to 'protect' my software with code to damage your PC and your reputation.
On the post: How Dare You Actually Want Secure And Valid Elections?!?
I take issue with your post. Please provide evidence of your assertions that physical modification of the vote machines EPROM and seal is required.
I would say it was very much a real world hack as Accu Basis is not protected, not even with a CRC, and is capable of modifing the machines functionality.
EPROM != Memory card.
>> in order to hack the machine, someone had to break the physical seal on the machine and change an eprom
Actually the Harry Hursti Hack was using only a modified memory card or via remote access to the GEMS server through TCP/IP.
The memory card is loaded with a modified .abo (AccuBasic exe file) and this modified exe can change vote totals, install a 'cheat code' ect, ect. This can be done months in advance and turned off and on as required.
The other approach of attacking the AccuBasic version on the GEMS server requires no physical access.
Niether of these approaches require physical access to the actual vote machine.
There is a report on BlackBoxVoting.org detailing the testing.
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/BBVreport.pdf
Rainman, Please post a link to your version of the hack.
>>Does Gov. Jeb Bush know anything about this and if so is he prepared to do the right thing by backing a public servant doing his job very well?
Yes. Sancho got a letter from J Bush threatening to take over Leon County elections.
http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/2197/sanchothreat-19504.pdf
>>And another thing, this country isn't a "Democracy", It's a Republic.
Republic being a subset of Democracy...
On the post: DRM Hurts In More Ways Than One
The alarm is not 100% effective and would not even slow a professional down if they wanted my car. It will stop the inexperienced opportunist though.
Do you think we should remove that protection as it inconveniences legitimate users of my car and is ultimately ineffective?
Or do you agree that the alarm is an essential requirement to stop as much unauthorised use as is possible?
How about the bank that has a token generator, required as a third validation when logging in? This won't stop a 'man in the middle' attack and is annoying when the token changes between entry and validation (resulting in a login fail).
As a Software Engineer I understand no DRM can be effective (for long) but understand the increase in both the use and severity of DRM today.
The bottom line is that if people did not take and/or distribute what they are not entitled to, these type of protections would not be required.
On the post: Band Banned From Charts For Being Too Well Liked
When you download the artist's hard work for free, who do think misses out on the money, the artist, the label or RIAA?
Do you think the label or RIAA will fund another work by the artist if they did not make money from the previous work?
Do you think the label or RIAA will forget about the artist's debts because their work did not make money as it was downloaded for free?
So you realy think you are hurting RIAA by downloading for free? Think again, the labels and RIAA have very strong contracts to ensure they have little to no exposure to risk.
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