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Injunct me, bitches.

http://hackphreak.org/decss/

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Accipiter writes: "Here's my Quickie Reply Post."

The Plasma shoelaces look really interesting. The thing that gets me, is the Website says they have a 13 hour battery life (and the blinking slows down drain...), but can you turn them OFF? And how hard can you tighten your laces before a rupture sprays plasma in your eye? Or, what if the dog gets ahold of your shoes, and thinks the blinking laces look tasty?

The SkyBird doesn't look that cool. It would be niftier if it was physiologically correct against a REAL bird, and flew like a real bird.

Reading the WebGuide was a trip back, but this section gave me pause:

How was the Web created?

The Web began in March 1989, when Tim Berners-Lee of CERN (a collective of European high-energy physics researchers) proposed the project to be used as a means of transporting research and ideas effectively throughout the organization. Effective communications was a goal of CERNs for many years, as its members were located in a number of countries.

1989? Jeez, Al Gore must have just been getting started. (The document has no mention of ARPANET that I could find whatsoever.)

Pokemon Butts: WHY GOD, WHY?!

CmdrTaco: That's GEEK pride. PLEASE make sure you show up at the correct festival. GEEK pride. GEEK.

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Yerr gore schmer dayooom, gadeesh gadoo........ye boorm da hurd dayam booo BORK BORK BORK!

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That's funny.

So not only are their Booth people (executives?) very uninformed, so are their phone staff.

The following URL has a quick wrap-up of the LinuxOne situation, as well as a call I placed to them. I spoke with a salesperson who frankly, didn't know a damn thing about what she was pitching. That's quite evident in the transcript that's on the same page.

http://hackphreak.org/~accipiter/

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Their phone staff isn't too informed either. Check out this link:

http://www.hackphreak.org/~accipiter

This is a transcript (mp3 included) of a call I made to them.

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I wrote a letter to several local TV news stations, as well as newspapers. This letter, as well as the DeCSS source code will be mirrored at the following URL this evening. (Not sure of the time, but the page is done. Just a matter of getting the directory.)

http://www.hackphreak.org/decss (Note: You'll get a 404 immediately, but it'll be there tonight.)

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Ok, normally I'll sit back and watch the interviews, maybe ask a question if I have an interest in what is being discussed. Also, let me take the time to say that I am a longtime reader of Slashdot, and it is easily my favorite website on the internet.

But John Vranesevich?

He is arguably the most despised figure in the h(cr)acker community, with Carolyn Meinel neck and neck. Both of them follow the same ideals and public image. What's that? Being a FAKE. Vranesevich has shown many many times that he has absolutely no clue about real computer security, and has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt in my mind that he goes to disgusting lengths to get a story, i.e.: "Hey, here's some cash. Hack that site, and let me cover it." (Attrition's site has remarkable backing for this theory.)

What's more, Vranesevich absolutely cannot stand being criticized. Any site which puts up content that criticizes, parodies, or shows Vranesevich to be a fraud, he throws a fit, cries, and threatens legal action. Attrition, Innerpulse, PacketStorm all have received threats. (At one point, Slashdot ran a less-than-flattering story about him, and I E-Mailed CmdrTaco letting him know that he quite possibly might get possible legal action from JP. (Nothing happened, but everyone knew it could have.)

You may be wondering how I know all of this. Well, a long long time ago, JP was an operator in a very large IRC channel on undernet. I happened to be an op too. The difference is, I still am. He knows I know him, as does everyone in the channel. We knew him when he was a small time loser. He's still a loser, but now just big-time.

Which is why I'm puzzled, amazed, and quite frankly disappointed that Slashdot chose him for an interview. He's not at all insightful, and can't offer any kind of intelligence to this forum.

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I'll be the first to say that most of the members of gH were probably sloppy, and some did some things to deserve what they got. However, being someone who talks to mosthated on a regular basis (he's a fellow op in #HackPhreak), I know that he probably didn't do anything major. Although I don't personally know the details of what the members are being charged with, I think the news agencies like ZD Net and Antionline are making more of this than it really is. I think it's to prey on the public's fear of the "media image" of hackers. It seems that Antionline, and websites like it enjoy blowing a story out of proportion, and making it bigger than it really is. (Notice ZD quoted Antionline.) But hey, that's journalism, right? I don't think so.

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