zibit

The OP should start hacking:

http://www.sleuthkit.org/

Could you give examples of recent terrible communications from the developers? I use Grails - based on Groovy - and I feel like I've been in the loop.

Have you helped improve the docs? It is an open source project.

"consumer protection mechanisms that benefit all of us"

If it's all about consumer protection why doesn't the Virginia DMV do something about all the sluglines throughout Virginia and DC. Sluglines are the practice of one stranger giving one or more other strangers a ride so that the car can get on the HOV.

Are those slugline cars safe? Are the drivers safe? Have they received proper training?

Maybe, maybe not. But they don't disrupt the powers that be

Here's a Virginia DMV page with a link to a slugline page:

http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/hov-rulesfaq.asp

Let me give all the non Virginians a quick glimpse into how unfair this is. DC has a thing called slug lines. Traffic is so bad here that drivers will offer strangers a ride so they can get on the HOV lanes. Lots of people do this. There are lines all over DC and Virginia of people doing this.

Does the Virginia DMV say anything about slug lines and how unsafe they may be? Or how the drivers may or may not have training? Or how the cars may not have been properly inspected?

NO, in fact they encourage it (see below)

Why? cause it doesn't disrupt the powers that be

They actually link to slug lines - again a popular practice of allowing strangers into the car of another stranger - on this page:

http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/hov-rulesfaq.asp

Sometimes, but not this time

Folks at Uber, how best should I protest this?

It's nice to see these thoughts at the top of the thread. I get tired of hearing people in the security industry constantly smirking at "dump developers". They don't have a clue what it's like to develop real code with deadlines. They point fingers at others and call that an accomplishment.

Check out this list of 14 Rules of Management by Kelly Johnson. It was true back then for building fighter jets and it's true now for basic software development projects:

"Johnson's famed "down-to-brass-tacks" management style was summed up by his motto, "Be quick, be quiet, and be on time." He ran Skunk Works by "Kelly's 14 Rules":

The Skunk Works manager must be delegated practically complete control of his program in all aspects. He should report to a division president or higher.

Strong but small project offices must be provided both by the military and industry.

The number of people having any connection with the project must be restricted in an almost vicious manner. Use a small number of good people (10% to 25% compared to the so-called normal systems).

A very simple drawing and drawing release system with great flexibility for making changes must be provided.

There must be a minimum number of reports required, but important work must be recorded thoroughly.

There must be a monthly cost review covering not only what has been spent and committed but also projected costs to the conclusion of the program. Don't have the books 90 days late, and don't surprise the customer with sudden overruns.

The contractor must be delegated and must assume more than normal responsibility to get good vendor bids for subcontract on the project. Commercial bid procedures are very often better than military ones.

The inspection system as currently used by the Skunk Works, which has been approved by both the Air Force and Navy, meets the intent of existing military requirements and should be used on new projects. Push more basic inspection responsibility back to subcontractors and vendors. Don't duplicate so much inspection.

The contractor must be delegated the authority to test his final product in flight. He can and must test it in the initial stages. If he doesn't, he rapidly loses his competency to design other vehicles.

The specifications applying to the hardware must be agreed to well in advance of contracting. The Skunk Works practice of having a specification section stating clearly which important military specification items will not knowingly be complied with and reasons therefore is highly recommended.

Funding a program must be timely so that the contractor doesn't have to keep running to the bank to support government projects.

There must be mutual trust between the military project organization and the contractor with very close cooperation and liaison on a day-to-day basis. This cuts down misunderstanding and correspondence to an absolute minimum.

Access by outsiders to the project and its personnel must be strictly controlled by appropriate security measures.

Because only a few people will be used in engineering and most other areas, ways must be provided to reward good performance by pay not based on the number of personnel supervised."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Johnson_(engineer)

When you say shutdown are talking about issuing commands from the command line like 'shutdown now' or 'reboot'? Because with Digital Ocean you DO NOT lose your data when you issue those commands. I know from experience.

"Local ephemeral stores are retained unless you terminate your instance"

That sentence makes no sense to people with no AWS experience. But if you give someone with Linux experience secure shell access to a DigitalOcean server they can hit the ground running.