Domain: apcmag.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to apcmag.com.
Comments · 166
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"KMD....control"': but Kazaalite has no KMD
from the report it says:
"Altnet documents reveal KMD control
When a Kazaa user gets an Altnet file, the KMD tells Altnet where to put the file on the users computer, and the file is delivered by Altnet.
"KMD uses other Altnet functions to periodically determine the status of the download and report the download progress to the user. Additional Altnet functions are used to pause, cancel, or resume a download - features available to the user inside KMD....
TopSearch ensures that the sponsored file appears in preference to the hundreds of other files that might also be returned as part of the user's search," writes Rose, before detailing that sponsored files will need preferential treatment by being displayed before non-sponsored files, with an icon, and an additional hyperlink to the sponsors site, as well as any additional DRM info that needs to be displayed. ."
So this is all about what they can do with users who HAVE KMD (Kazaa Media Desktop) AND TOPSEARCH installed, and download a file from altnet.
Kazaalite, and especially the old hacked version DO NOT HAVE KMD INSTALLED, and DO NOT HAVE THE TOPSEARCH DLL file.
kazaa is a PEER TO PEER system. The kazaa server does not act as a server for files. Only the KMD spyware can tell kazaa what you downloaded from a peer. If you do not have the spyware, they do not know what you downloaded. They know what you searched for, but not what you downloaded--unless spyware you installed tells them that.
Kazaalite does not have that spyware installed. Kazaa does. If you have KMD installed, then they COULD tell what you downloaded from another peer. But these docs seem to relate to files downloaded from altnet, which is not a peer, it seems. but a service that sells files for download. At least that it what it appears to be....
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Is it legal?A quick google lead me to: here
select "Frequently Requested Software Files" .... nothing for XPSP2 yet, but there's some stuff for previous service packs. It seems you are allowed to point people to the microsoft web site, but not necessarily to distribute the files.
It would seem the answer is NO, unless you ask for permission, possibly in writing.Mind you I have seen service pack's on magazine cover CD's before.
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My Linux career.
1998 - Finished high school. Was career-minded kinda guy. Decided I'd rather get an exciting job than go to University (I'd done some tertiary stuff in year 12, but three years of Uni just wasn't my thing).
1999 - I'd already had a lot of experience playing with Windows NT out of interest, so I got an MCSE to try and prove my skills to potential employers. Volunteered to assist my local 1300-member LUG at an IT show. Met my future boss, Con Zymaris from Cybersource *. Ended up being the 'Windows guy' at a Linux / Unix / BSD shop. Spent most of my time learning Linux.
1999 - Began career as Linux journo - was initially asked to do Linux software for APC magazine's CD ROM, but I went beyong the brief and wrote a 2 page article on Linux gaming. They liked it and put it in the mag. I then worked on Linux workshop, a couple of Linux features, wrote a little under half of the Linux Pocketbook Third Edition, more than half of the Advanced Linux Pocketbook, became PC Authority magazine's Linux columnist, and then was poached back to APC briefly before the editor that got me there left and mag and me went in different directions. **
During this time, I still got half my income from Linux consulting for Cybersource.
2002 - Wrote and began teaching a Linux training course for Advanced Training, Melbourne. Again, still worked consulting for Cyber.
2003 - Got poached by Red Hat Asia Pacific. Teach RHCE courses, and the nifty new RHCA type courses (which cover clustering, packaging, cross platform authentication, etc).
Spending the weekend learning about Kerberos, LDAP and Active Directory to teach the 423 course.
* Yes, the current Cyber web site looks terrible in Moz. It used to work ok in every browser - then Moz changed its rendering technique. Since I was respomsible for the original non-standard code, there's a fully XHTML version I templated just before I left here. Hopefully Cyber wil start using that one soon.
** I've been told that APC's readers want to do 'the hard stuff'. I disagree - people want to do interesting, useful cool things, regardless of whether they're hard or not. These guys are mbasically Windows power users, who want the basic stuff (installing, setting up a web server) to be easy, so they can focus on doing the cool stuff - anything that's cool or easier / cheaper / better than Windows. I reckon showing people how to do practical stuff with cool apps like QEmu, MythTV, Liferea, etc. is more interesting than yet another guide to installing Apache (including a page of how to compile it, for no other reason than Compiling Makes You Leet).
If I was gonna wrote about Apache, I'd write about creating a blog or CMS using Movabletype, or show people how to get Apache serving ASP 1.1 with mod_mono.
I had a great time at APC, and met some cool people, including Ashton Mills (who's now the editor of Atomic) and David Flynn (an editor who's simply damn good at his job). But the mag's editors don't want what I have to offer anymore, and I don't want to write what they offer me. Pity. -
Re:Trojans
I agree with you, but I don't think Borland does anymore. There new BuilderX license requires people who buy the product to register at their website, and log in every 30 days to renew it. This review states the process, unfourtanetly I can't find a link to the actual license =(
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Re:Mods, kindly put down the crackpipe for a secon
and please mod this person up. (S)He is correct in stating that the AMD model numbers are derived NOT from the Pentium 4, the Athlon classic, the Centrino, Celeron, PIII, Crusoe, 8088, or any other God-forsaken chip, but from the Thunderbird core Athlon CPUs.
That's just as laughable as the notion that the "Athlon XP" name was merely a coincidence, and not directly related to the release of Windows XP. It couldn't be any more transparent. They only make up these silly stories for the benefit of their most loyal (and gullible) fanboys. -
Niche markets have their place too.
Just because Debian is for a niche market doesn't mean it has to die if it doesn't go after the mainstream we-don't-care-how-it-works market. "Turn-key" solutions are not for everyone.
My current favourite magazine has several debian articles including this one updating debian
Unfortunately I cannot find the web link for the July issue workshop article about setting up Debian. I expect they'll make it available in August. They're very enthusiastic, and have included the install files on CD in the July 2003 issue. If I had a spare PC I might try it. Especially as they say you can use it to resurrect a pentium 100 (So I guess my pentium 133 would be ok).
I think Debian will survive as long as the guys who are building it now continue to be interested and new programmers take up the quest for the perfect OS, where perfect is defined more in terms of reliabilty, stablility and security than easy good looks.
What will get the mass market but never the geek market, are cheap (reliable) computers that are more compatible with people. They're still years off true user friendliness in hardware, software and people interfaces. Imagine no pain switching versions, or upgrading. Imagine not needing "training" to learn how to use the latest word processor, or to get the best out of animation software or video editing or being able to play the newest adventure game without having to read 300 pages of the manual, and learn lots of weird keyboard or mouse tricks to control the interface. Imagine computer games that you could play and keep fit at the same time. Hmm, I remember a rowing machine that had a video game of a shark chasing your rowing boat, and you had to row to keep ahead of the shark. That was nearly 10 years ago, but the gym I went to most recently didn't have it. Just numbers. Boring. Imagine having to pedal to keep your aeroplane off the ground in flight simulator?
Hmm got a bit carried away there.
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Aussie POV Re:Buy from reputable sources
Buying a monitor.
If you're worried about unit to unit variance, discuss, and if you feel it's necessary, get in writing, that your shop will let you bring the unit back if you're not happy. Don't buy from the elcheapo that is on the TV, buy from somewhere you or your friends have done good business before.
I like the reviews (and the classifieds) from this magazine: australian pc magazine. They have good list of what to look for and why.
Benq TFT review
I bought a Sony 17" LCD SDM S71R. It has no speakers or usb port. Sony wanted nearly $1500 aus for it, my local pc shop wanted $1395 for it, but I got it at mates rates from the same people that supply most of my friends and my work for $1329. The shop I think likely to be most difficult with the returns would have been the sony shop, parking for starters, a complete nightmare, but they're also very inflexible, and couldn't budge on the price even though they were the most expensive.
Of course I found several other brands at better prices later, but not so sure about their specs. And the main pain is about a month after you buy, all better specs come out anyway.
Need to pay attention to the
refresh rate (the higher the better 75 and up...)
native resolution (on 17" should be able to do 1280 x 1024 and still be able to read it)
pixel pitch (this comes under a lot of different names, the smaller the better eg .3 is thick, .26 is good, .25 is fine, clear, precise, and .24 beautiful, unavailable and expensive.)
Lots of LCDs on test
I also like Mitsubishi CRT monitors. My first one used to deguass by itself, but I got it replaced. My Mum has never had any problems with hers.
I like the LCDs better, because I don't need a crane to lift one and I can fit more on to the screen and my desk. The Sony unit is brilliant. I got it out of the box sight unseen (although I did look at one similar in the sony shop). Not a single dead pixel anywhere. The main problem was finding drivers to work it with win98 and my graphics card. But it is happy now. -
Aussie POV Re:Buy from reputable sources
Buying a monitor.
If you're worried about unit to unit variance, discuss, and if you feel it's necessary, get in writing, that your shop will let you bring the unit back if you're not happy. Don't buy from the elcheapo that is on the TV, buy from somewhere you or your friends have done good business before.
I like the reviews (and the classifieds) from this magazine: australian pc magazine. They have good list of what to look for and why.
Benq TFT review
I bought a Sony 17" LCD SDM S71R. It has no speakers or usb port. Sony wanted nearly $1500 aus for it, my local pc shop wanted $1395 for it, but I got it at mates rates from the same people that supply most of my friends and my work for $1329. The shop I think likely to be most difficult with the returns would have been the sony shop, parking for starters, a complete nightmare, but they're also very inflexible, and couldn't budge on the price even though they were the most expensive.
Of course I found several other brands at better prices later, but not so sure about their specs. And the main pain is about a month after you buy, all better specs come out anyway.
Need to pay attention to the
refresh rate (the higher the better 75 and up...)
native resolution (on 17" should be able to do 1280 x 1024 and still be able to read it)
pixel pitch (this comes under a lot of different names, the smaller the better eg .3 is thick, .26 is good, .25 is fine, clear, precise, and .24 beautiful, unavailable and expensive.)
Lots of LCDs on test
I also like Mitsubishi CRT monitors. My first one used to deguass by itself, but I got it replaced. My Mum has never had any problems with hers.
I like the LCDs better, because I don't need a crane to lift one and I can fit more on to the screen and my desk. The Sony unit is brilliant. I got it out of the box sight unseen (although I did look at one similar in the sony shop). Not a single dead pixel anywhere. The main problem was finding drivers to work it with win98 and my graphics card. But it is happy now. -
They're targeting the ISP's proxy
I reread an old Australian computer magazine article recently - it was an interview with the head of Australia's equivalent of the RIAA. In the article, he accused Australian ISPs of being in the piracy business on the grounds that their proxies were being used to store illegally downloaded music locally. He also said that the police's current priority was the war on terror, but when they got a little more free, they would raid ISPs.
I think the interview appeared in Australian Personal Computer magazine a couple of months ago. Don't have a direct link to the article handy, sorry. -
Re:Biased or not...
I have spent only a little time using Final Cut Pro on a friend's Mac and though it was immediately and obviously a well-realized product, it was not enough time for me to full opinion. Most of my Mac-using friend who enjoy editing video rave about it, so it must really pass muster.
If one was interested in a sub $1k NLE, I would endorse the product Vegas Video 3.0 from Sonic Foundry as being an excellent tool for pc users at an incredible price considering its feature set. It is the only reason I have to boot Windows, but it is also my favorite reason for powering any computer I own: it is that much fun.
The product can be purchased for $300-$400 dollars, and if you are a student, there is a handsomely discounted academic version available. I strongly recommend anyone who hasn't tried it to download the demo and see how good it is, and I am not alone in my opinion. -
Re:How to get permission from Creative Computing?
I would like to see modern computer magazines provide their back issues online. I mean surely they don't derive income from issues over 1-2 years old.
It would certainly clear some room in my cupboard, 'cause one day my life may depend on knowing which brand of 386 won the editors choice in APCmag. -
ADSL is DUPLEX
ADSL is duplex.
ADSL works by dividing the usable range of frequencies on your phone line into segments.
Lets say that your analogue phone line can support transmission to the local exchange of frequencies from about 0 to 1100 Khz (or there abouts) over copper. The bottom 4Khz is reserved for voice. (I dont know if voice is compressed, I suspect there is some sort of companding in action to give a wider actual response but I dont know.. but the frequency range is adequate.) Then there is a band from about 30Khz to 140 Khz that is used to support the upstream channel, and then frequencies above that out to about 1100Khz are used to support downloads. There is a gaurd band between each band that eliminates crosstalk induced by imperfect transmission conditions.
This arangement gives you 256Kbps Up and 1500kbps down. Filters are used to isolate the appropriate channels at either end for voice, upload, and download. But the point is that its duplex by design, singnals go both ways SIMULTANEOUSLY over the wire. Remember that ADSL transmission is analogue, thats why you have a MODEM (its an acronym, not a noun!)
So as has already been explained by previous posters, the most likely problem is that as you flood the upstream channel, your ACK packets are being queued, the network devices upstream then start to throttle back your downstream feed, as the ACKs are taking too long to come back. This is done to minimise the number of packets that will be dropped and resent to your address. Of course you arent dropping any packets , but the upstream devices dont/cant know that.
Anyway hope that helps. The July 2002 edition of Australian Personal Computer has a lovely graphic that explains how ADSL works and why you can use your phone and have a nice broadband connection at the same time. Unfortunately this article isnt on their site http://www.apcmag.com
Cheers
Micko -
No real banning...As has been said, there is no real banning of internet sites. I still have access to everything. If I wanted to look at illegal sites, I could. The law only prevents illegal data from being hosted in Australia.
From The Age Under the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Bill, the public will be able to lodge complaints about offensive material with the Australian Broadcasting Authority, which will have the power to direct Internet service providers to remove it or face hefty criminal penalties.
As quoted from Australian Personal Computer The government has a rather interesting interpretation of 'success' when it comes to Internet censorship. When the first (decidedly rubbery) figures on the Internet censorship scheme were released a mere nine months after it started, officials decreed that a system which had only managed to identify and shut down 62 'offending' sites was an outstanding success. When APC did a quick check using a search engine, we found roughly 7 million potentially offensive sites. Drop in the ocean anyone?
What's worse about this is the laws were passed to gain the support of two independant senators so that the government could press ahead with the second sale of Telstra. (Telstra is the federally owned telco company, of which the government has sold 49% of). 62 sites, most of which hosted porn without AVS controls, or bomb-making instructions, isn't something to get up-in-arms (excuse the pun) about.
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And the luck 69 users are...
This is the forum where the usernames were posted. Apparently it only affects teltra bigbond ADSL users.
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l33t cl0wnZ -
Re:Americans think they're special
The thing is... you don't get those to yourselves. The
.US domain has a place on the net now more than ever, as the .net .org .com .edu's are being used globally rather than just by the US!
You're right about the US not settling for a .US domain, but it seems that some non-US sites are also not settling!
For example:
http://telstra.com/ & http://www.telstra.net/ - An Australian Telco
http://apcmag.com/ - An Australian PC Mag.
http://www.freedom2surf.net/ & http://www.f2s.com/ - An English ISP.
"How much truth can advertising buy?" - iNsuRge - AK47 -
Maybe A Little Background Would Help?
Here read this article. It has a history of Jennicam and how it became famous plus a few emails from flame wars Jenny got in over her webcam site.
Anyway, her site was the first webcam site, so this makes her a pioneer of something that's now a common aspect of Net culture. I would call that geek news.