Domain: xs4all.nl
Stories and comments across the archive that link to xs4all.nl.
Comments · 733
-
Re:This is being done by Republican-SUPPORTERS, ri
Wouldn't eliminating the Republican's "free speech" on the web via DDOS attacks basically amount to cyber-terrorism?
Apparently the rationale is that another person is only open-minded if they think the same way as the first open-minded person. And if that isn't the case then, well, they're a bigoted Nazi and warrant being shouted down.
Hint! Hint! You wouldn't want Bush to go for more governmental control of the Internet in order to fight all kinds of cyber-terrorism, wouldn't you?
Too late. That was already planned at the last Rightwing Conspirary meeting.
And - if this really hits the Republicans, it won't be long before Bush's spin-doctors claim the whole idea was, in fact, initiated by Al Qaeda members....
...remember how, in front of the UN in the run-up to the Iraq war, a couple of trucks in the middle of the desert were "mobile bio weapon research/development platforms"? (Exactly those that, like all the weapons of mass distruction, can't be found now)...
Throwing together Al Qaeda and Iraw randomly like that is what throws Democrats into a tizzy. As for Iraq's chemical weapons capability we should ask the Iranians who were on the receiving end of chemical attacks during the Iran-Iraq war. Or the Kurds, Iraqi citizens, in Anfal. It can't be disputed that even if at D-Day Saddam didn't have piles of chemical warheads there's still 1) the ability to manufacture chemical weapons, and more importantly 2) the willingness to use them either on other nations or Iraq's own people.
And if this is any indication of the extents they'll go to in hiding multi-ton aircraft I'm curious as to how far they'll go to hide a few hundred pound drums?
-
Re:One question: Why?
If you don't want all the widgets, why not use kmplayer?
-
Re: get bored, not just games
Reminds me of a joke:
From: dhein#NoSpam.onramp.net
An Engineer, a Physicist, and a Mathematician all go the same
Conference. University budgets being what they are, they all stay in
the same cheap hotel. Each room has the same floor plan, has the same
cheap TV, the same cheap bed, and a small bathroom. Instead of
a sprinkler system, the hotel has opted for Fire Buckets.
The Engineer, Physicist, and Mathematician are all asleep in bed. At
about 2AM, the Engineer wakes up because he smells smoke. He looks in
the corner of the room and sees that the TV set is on fire! He dashes
into the bathroom, fills the Fire Bucket to overflowing with water, and
drenches the TV set. The fire goes out, and the Engineer goes back to
sleep.
A little while later, the Physicist wakes because he smells smoke. He
looks in the corner and sees that the TV set is on fire. He grabs a
handy envelope, estimates the BTU output of the fire, scribbles a quick
calculation, then dashes into the bathroom and fills the Fire Bucket
with just enough water to douse the flames. He puts the fire out and
goes back to sleep.
In a little while, the Mathematician wakes up to the smell of smoke.
He looks in the corner and sees the TV on fire. He looks into the
bathroom and sees the Fire Bucket. Having determined that a solution
exists, he goes back to sleep. -
Re:What the hell?
What's your address again? Is it spaarvarken@xs4all.nl?
-
Try using a "CD replacement" like WCD instead...
This CD command replacement acts much like the well-known ACD utility used to under DOS -- it allows the user to move to a subdirectory even if only part of that subdirectory name is entered (regardless of its position in the tree), it shows an interactive picklist of options if more than one subdirectory matches the entered string, and it also provides a nice ncurses-bases interactive interface for traversing the directory tree in a visual manner.
Information, source, and binaries for various OSes can be obtained here:
WCD Wherever Change Directory -
Re:where are the IPv6 native ISPs?
Move to Europe.
The AMSix is a major IPv6 peering point, where many of their clients offer IPv6 to customers.
Nerim is a major provider in France. They offer IPv6 natively to all their home users, just enable it on your router/firewall.
The UK has any number of IPv6 capable ISPs (blech, puke), you just have to keep an eye on their internal support groups for help from those who have managed to make it work. Tunnels are always a way around broken providers, but are not an answer to your question.
There are a number of other transit and peering providers all over Europe who provide IPv6, and the ISPs are all starting to follow along. Demand only started when a handful of providers realised their was a large enough market for extra added services, even though very few customers made it an important item. The problem with IPv6 is that there is no WOW! factor, it just works as well as IPv4, transparently, and currently doesn't bring any new features to the internet that users can see.
Completely off topic...
I had a great time at CeBit this year, talking to the chinese ADSL modem makers. After asking if thier boxes supported IPv6, I then told them I needed 20,000 boxes right away for a small scale test, but only with a product with IPv6 enabled right out of the box, no upgrades allowed. Once I started talking about the 20-40 million unit market over the next year, you could see their eyes light up. But if they offered an upgrade within a few weeks (in other words, they'd have their coders pull some all-nighters), I'd walk off to find another with IPv6 already built in. I have a feeling that next year there will be dozens of small ADSL routers with IPv6 capability. Once we can get cheap ADSL routers with IPv6 as a checklist item, ISPs will start offering it.
In the U.S., the term for your situation is TSOL.
the AC -
Re:where are the IPv6 native ISPs?
Not for dgp, but perhaps some of the Dutch users might be interested. XS4ALL offers IPv6 for ADSL connections since october 2002. http://www.xs4all.nl/nieuws/overzicht/IPv6.html (in dutch)
-
Re:Yeah... and?
This is the exact same reason why I love my provider. From their general conditions:
4.4 Without prejudice to article 4.3, customers are permitted to hack the
XS4ALL system.
The first customer who succeeds in attaining a position equivalent to that
of the XS4ALL system administrator will be offered six months' free use of
the system, provided that the said customer explains how he or she succeeded
in hacking the system, has not damaged the system or other customers and has
respected the privacy of other customers. Each customer hereby gives consent
for other customers to attempt to hack the system under the aforementioned
conditions. -
From little acorns...
Well, who would have known that such a great oak would grow from such as small acorn
Maybe it was due to all those electrons and atoms with a little help from archimedes. -
wxWidgets
I've been using wxWidgets for quite a while. I must admit that it took a little getting used to, but I don't think the parent post does wx justice. Sure wx isn't as mature as Qt, but it is Open Source (which
/. ers should like), it can be used in commercial apps (which people that like selling software should like), and the guys working on it put in a ton of time making a great library. The differences between wx 2.4.2 and 2.5.2 are quite impressive, and their current MacOS guy seems to be making an effort to bring wxMac along by leaps and bounds.
Resizing isn't as tough as you think, look into wxSizer objects. If you want a more robust basic tree control, take a look at wxTreeMultiCtrl, or sub-class wxTreeCtrl and make your own. It's the beauty of the system. I've used tree controls in several applications without such pains.
It's always a bit of a trip learning a new GUI toolkit, but the sheer volume of great tools included in wxWidgets overshadows any pitfalls found right now.
Just MHO. -
Re:New features
What's the difference between kplayer and kmplayer?
-
Re:Inducing Children to Steal.
Hate groups banned in Europe move their servers to the states.
I dont know about that (dont visit these sites) but people hosting "copyrighted" (as in "to embarasing to be copied to a critical public") tend to move to europe. Which is proudly hosting excerpts of scientology papers for years now. On a on-topic side note, creating and hosting peer-to-peer applications which have amongst other a populair use involving breaking copyright law has been ruled legal as well. Compare kazaa`s fate with napsters fate.
Now ask them if they want GM foods banned because they might not have the willpower to leave them on the supermarket shelves.
Apparently a label will do for EU consumers. A democraticly elected european pairlement decided so. Ofcourse if "distributing" exspensive patented genetics by means of seeds across the fields of unsuspecting farmers falls under the freedom of speech I really dont know. I guess if you were to ask the right people they will say so. Somehow I am not convinced US elected leaders didn`t listen to their electorat when they decided against regulation.
Given the "(genetic)code is free speech" idea I might even agree. Personaly I think even the labels are stupid.This is a very very intresting and scary but troll-only discusion, Especially considering the US president doesn`t need congresional permission to invade this country.... not that getting that would be that hard.
I better shut up now... -
Re:Canadian Do-Not-Call list?
I just pick up and hang up the phone
I find it's much more fun to "play" with them for a while, ala EGBG Anti-Telemarketing Counterscript. Feel free to invent your own pointless and inane questions.
Or you could do the "can you hang on a second?" routine and leave the phone off the hook while you go do something else. Come back every few minutes and try the same thing, and see how long they remain on the phone.
-
Ring!
Some thing like this:
Me: Hello?
Them: Hi, I am calling to let you know that I have some great deals for you.
Me: Oh, I'm sorry, I'm busy right now, if you give my your home number I'll be sure to call you back.
Them: I'm sorry sir, I wouldn't like you calling me at home.
Me: Now you know how I feel *click*.
Telemarketer Counters -
Re:But we're not done with Venusforming Earth....
the top-selling 2050 Ford Evacuate super-SUV......
dont forget the 2050 Hummer H6
-
Re:Wait a minute!
Humm. Did they remember kvikkalkul ?
-
base64- and qp-decoding in 'just procmail'
base64- and qp-decoding in 'just procmail' (see a.o. bq_demo.rc)
-
Re:Why would they stop working?
And to avoid the risk of launching rockets with nuclear material, this would be perfect for basing this on a lunar base that extracts nuclear materials, process it and launch rockets with nuclear-powered rovers, probes etc.
This lunar base should probably be based somewhere around Mare Imbrium where there most likely are concentrations high enough.
-
Re:The more you know.......
There are bigger nightmares in that scenario than a few allergic reactions.
Hah, like the super plants growing out of control and killing everyone? Sounds crazy right? There is a good write up about it here Interesting stuff. -
Really small 3-key PC keyboard from Microsoft
If I made a really really small PC, could I patent the "Enter" key? How about the "shift " or "control" keys?
-
Re:Area 51 is a hoax by the goverment
More plainly, there's such an abundance of things we don't know that a mere strongly-worded assertion about any one of them can set off the kooks, and the increasingly kook-friendly media. (Mumble mumble Fox mumble.)
I don't think fox is any worse than any of the other channels when it comes to this. They are kook friendly because kook friendly = ratings. It's like the history channel, you wouldn't say that the history channel is Hitler friendly because they run so many WW2 shows. It's just that WW2 is what history channel viewers like to watch.
I don't believe government employees are not any more fanatical about keeping secrets than ordinary employees, though on some levels they are much more indoctrinated.
I would bet they are. Just for the simple fact that they want to keep their clearance never mind other motavating factors. Loyalty to their country comes to mind.
But still, the thing about Area 51 rumors that have always bugged me is the number of people who would have to be "in" on it, and not talk. And in these days of near-instant communication, it gets a lot harder to prevent leaks.
I doubt there are little green men running around in there. It would be hard to keep something like that quiet. It's probably an advanced air force research facility like other people have suggested. Keeping that quiet isn't too hard, you just tell your employees it's for national security. I think people could shut up about the Aurora and it's no big deal. If (Darth Vader, ET, Alf, whichever Alien) were in there, someone would leak it.
But the thing that bugs me about Area 51 the most is that the culture of secrecy that some sectors of the government enjoy makes possible a rich environment for spurious stories to flourish.
I think the government officials have come to the point where the enjoy doing this to the kooks. Look at the whole planet X thing. There was some kind of internet cult that spammed the newsgroup sci.astronomy for a long time that "Planet X/Nibiru" was returning on May 15 2003 to (bring peace, kill everyone, balance my checkbook, whatever else). They contended that there was one world government that was conspiring not to tell the people they were all going to die. Someone in the military obviously caught wind of the kooks, and to drive them batty named one of their operations in Iraq "Operation Planet X" and launched it on may 15 2003. I think the government likes playing with these people, it's got to be fun to mess with their heads.
Much worse, to me, than the stories is the secrecy itself, especially since it's alegedly *our* government that's so tightlipped about so much, and Bush and company have made it a lot worse.
That is just kookery in my opinion. I doubt there is that many secrets going around, except in the military where there is a need for them. I really don't think George Bush is holding satanic rituals underground with his nazi armys and the illuminati planning to take over the world and enslave humanity when ET lands. I guess I could be wrong.
So I almost want to wish the conspiracy mongers well on their propaganda efforts -- anything that causes the public to distrust that air of secrecy, and the actions of spooky secret people supposedly in their interest, for there is no force on Earth so horrifying as that of people willing to do wrong things for what they think are right reasons,
Do you really think the US government is doing "the wrong things". What exactly do you think they are doing in secret that is so bad for the general population of the US?
things like that that work towards increasing that distrust are somewhat positive in my book.
Do you think there are some things you should trust a government to keep secret (ie, new weapons of mass destruction) so they don't fall into the wrong hands? -
Here are some people with experience:
ask some of those guys, so have experience. In the wiki you might even be able to find the info you were looking for. You'll find a lot of people to ask, anyway.
The CCC Camp 2003 was a really cool event, and i really hope there are going to be more camps like this in the future (thanks, guys!). -
64bit AMD only benched with 32bit OS and software?One shouldn't compare apple with pears. So a shootout between 32bit only Xeon's and 64bit AMD's (ok which do 32bit) is a weird exercise. The testers only ran a 32bit version of Windows XP. That should be obvious. Still the Opteron 150 and 250 seem to win many shooutouts.
Robert
For real 64bit performance visit VooDoo software tuning and download the 64bit 2004 Longsword Gamez Demo. The Download of UT2004 64-bit English Linux Demo is around 200Mb. -
Re:Laptop-mode
Laptop mode does nothing that could cause this. This problem is probably related to other changes in 2.6.6. If you want to use laptop mode without the DMA problems that are apparently present in 2.6.6, use 2.6.5 with the laptop mode patch from my laptop mode web page.
-- Bart Samwel -
Re:Oh no!
I have a solution. Download LiVES, install it, make some cool videos, share away !
-
Laptop-mode
Check out the now merged laptop mode. Allows you to really save that battery. It is also good on my home server that uses hostap - there is not too much to write on disk, so I'll set the timeout to something like once a week...
A definite must for laptop users that want a little more operating hours from their batteries. -
Re:Not troll, insightful.
Where on the CD-ROM (READ ONLY) did you expect Knoppix to save it?
Well with Morphix (see above post).You can use the CD Persistant MiniModule. With a LiveCD burnt as a multisession CD you can then to save you setting/files back to the LiveCD, Not bad hey ?
See the How To
-
Some links for youSee these links:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~hanb/documents/quotingguide
. html
http://dui.debian.net/dui/TopPosting
http://www.caliburn.nl/topposting.htmlOne of the most irritating things for me is when somebody asks me a question and quotes my e-mail, which contains the answer. The original message is always at the bottom, which indicates that the topposter didn't read it.
-
Here's all you need to know
-
Re:CN Tower...
> the CN Tower is
.. the World's Tallest Building
The experts disagree: (I don't agree with them, but that is besides the point.)
What is the 'tallest building in the world'?
But then why do so many people not recognize CN Tower as the 'worlds tallest building'? Because, so they say, CN Tower is not a building. Constructors and architects argue that a building is a frame structure made of walls and floors. Now CN Tower houses some occupied floors indeed, but most of the structure is no more than a concrete shaft housing elevators, and therefore it is not a building, one could argue. This is the reason why Jeff Herzer, and the Council on tall Buildings and Urban Habitat do not recognize CN Tower as the tallest 'building' in the world.
Peace
--
"Necessity is the Mother of Invention,
but Curiosity would be its Father." -
Re:Not News
What this sounds like is a form of bubble memory, a "miracle" technology that was going to take over the world back in the day.
There were actully commercial parts made. But somebody killed it with their idea to have battery cmos ram. Then eeprom and flash memory came along.
They could actually make this work better with the refined manufacturing processes we have today. So I would not discount it out of hand. -
STRONG EVIDENCE
on another not, i have found strong evidence
that linux was build by fanatic to support war and other evil dids.
Since the Beging of the Age
Linux served the evil side, it is
Loaded with big guns
To not say RBG(Really Big Guns)
All this because of little and violent pingun (which bite linus) -
Measuring global temps over time
-
Songs in Reverse, and other things
When I purchase an Album, I usually play the whole thing in order a few times, then dump it into my MP3 Collection.
Certain Songs which are good, and an Album which is Cohesive (like The Fire This Time.
Also, with certain Electronic and Instrumental Tracks, I like Playing the Track in Reverse (with SoundPlay), just for the variety. I get better Milage out of a track, because it always sounds like a completely different track. About Half the time they sound as good, or better than the original Track...
-
Re:Well, I for one...
(I posted the overlord-joke.)
Normally, I agree. The joke is way overused, often in situations where it does not apply. However, I decided to go ahead and post it because it seemed appropriate, given some people's borderline-phobia of genetically engineered anything.
This story immediately made me think of http://www.xs4all.nl/~mke/gmfood.htm, from Exit Mundi. Get it now?
Besides, somebody must have thought it was funny. It was at +4 for a while. -
Yes, it works with Linux!
For those who use Linux, try Mplayer, and The kmplayer plug in for konqueror!
-
Re:Spaf... hacked .. ????
Spaf is mentioned in an online book called Underground about a group of hackers from Melbourne, Australia. Back in they 80's they apparently hacked his machine in order to steal something he had on there. Its mentioned in chapter 5.
-
Laptop Mode
It would be great if they would include this laptop mode patch, like they did in 2.4. It really prolongs battery life on my laptop, not to mention that with quick spindown times (using hdparm) it kinda solves the heat problem on my Dell D600 laptop.
-
Freeware windows security 101
"firewalls create problems while performing daily business tasks on the server from home"
Not a well-configured software one. It's not as safe as a hardware firewall, but it is a heck of a lot safer than running around with your pants down, not knowing when your machine is connecting and what it is sending. It makes it difficult to connect *to* the machine, but your home winbox shouldn't be a remote server anyway.
Grab ZoneAlarm NOW, and put up with a few extra dialog boxes until it is trained.
Furthermore, good Antivirus software will detect many trojans. Get AVG if you have alredy abandoned your AV of choice.
This must sound like free windows security 101 by now, but get AdAware and / or Spybot, and schedule a regular download / check for once every week.
For encrypting sensitive or old data, you can either use windows built-in encryption (which uses your user password, enable this now if your machine is fast enough) and / or pick up a (non-free) copy of Dekart Private Disk, AKA The Bat! Private Disk, a simple encrypted virtual disk creator. Anything you really don't want people to see should go here... Just remember to shut it down when you're done.
Furthermore, don't use I.E. and don't use Outlook. What many people refer to as "computer" viruses or "windows" exploits are really just I.E. exploits or Outlook viruses. Firebird, I mean, Thun... Firefox is a powerful little internet surfer, which while not as flexible as my beloved Opera (ducks), does render pages faster, is more beginner friendly, and is free. Thunderbird is a good mail replacement, though pegasus mail, Opera's built in e-mail client, and the non-free The Bat! are all good choices. If you want the most security possible, try Secure Bat. At 140 dollars per copy, it isn't cheap, but it does encrypt all of your personal files and utilizes hardware token authentication to ensure that you really are who you say you are.
Finally, don't forget to regularly back up your disks to something not normally connected to the computer. For simplicity's sake, I'd attach an external USB drive and run Polder Backup once a week, removing the drive when done. For a more automated approach, get a PC controllable X10 unit, and have it turn on and off the external USB drive, so that backups can be completely automatic.
-
Re:Good luck
I agree with you on this. I manage the IT infrastructure for the four European branch offices of an American company, and I take advantage of the cheap, fast DSL lines in these offices to route outgoing SMTP mail, instead of routing it over expensive, slow WAN lines back to corporate headquarters in California to be distributed out our "official" pipe. So far so good. Unfortunately, many of our European customers have subscribed to blacklists banning the dynamic IP ranges given out by many ISPs, like Deutsche Telekom. There goes my great solution.
At the same time I was going through all this frustration, my colleagues back in in California actually configured our incoming mail server to use just the kind of dynamic-IP blacklist that was giving me a headache! Not too funny. Well, they've removed the blacklist now, which is good.
Still, I do wonder what the incentive is for the ISPs to use dynamic addresses. Are they oversubscribing their IP ranges? That seems stupid. Otherwise, why not give all customers their own, single, static address? Some of them are reserving this for a higher-cost "business DSL" service, but it would be up to the customers to put pressure on them to remedy this situation.
Deutsche Telekom, for example, makes it very expensive to get a static IP address. My ISP in the Netherlands, on the other hand, XS4ALL (an outstanding outfit, IMHO) on the other hand, provides me with a static IP address for my business-class connection at work, but also for my entry-level connection at home. Customers should flock to the savvy XS4ALLs of the world and force the change.
Maybe I'm too hard on Telekom and their likes. Maybe they have a good reason. I'd like to hear it. -
Re:Xine? Mplayer?
If you want to do more than just watching, try this...
-
Morphix Game CD
-
Re:That, ADMIRAL to you, punk!
There've been people doing this earlier, kids.
-
Re:Interesting
In the mean time, you can try Morphix Gamer bootable CD... I think it's a good start...
From the Game module Page:
listing of games:
Enemy Territory (in seperate minimodule, but in the default iso)
BZflag
Frozen Bubble
Freeciv
Freecraft
pysol: solitaire
xmame (non-free): arcade games.
ZSNES: SNES games.
and heaps, heaps more. help me out and add to this list (ideas & suggestions are welcome too!)
Other games available as minimodules:
q3a demo
ut2k3 demo
Iso Download -
Re:Screw you, government! You pay for the upgradesNetherlands: Apparently anti-encryption government?
Man, I wish some hacker would grab email from a couple of important figures in the Netherlands and post said data all over.
Encryption is not illegal in the Netherlands (yet?), it's just that the ISP's are not allowed to interfere with the wiretap systems installed. They're not yet braindead enough to prohibit secure http, but it wouldn't surprise me when they did.
I also hear there are plans to force all traffic to be logged and keep those logs for some years. Would be heaven for storage media manufacturers...
Luckily, my fantastic ISP XS4All offers SSH access to their FreeBSD shell servers, still allowing me to access my mail securely. Apparently SSH usage is not widespread enough for the government to care.
-
Dutch supreme court rules that ISP may forbid spamThe Dutch supreme court (Hoge Raad) ruled today (March 12) that an ISP can forbid a spammer to make use of their machines. (press release in Dutch). "XS4ALL has exclusive rights on its computer capacity" and "Freedom of expression doesn't allow infringement on the rights of others".
Summary of the verdict: An ISP can demand that a spammer stops (ab)using the computer systems of the ISP for sending unsollicited email to its customers. If he continues after that, the spammer is infringing the ISP's rights.
-
Sorry but....
ISP's provide a service, allowing people infected with a virus to spread that virus to hundreds and thousands of other people on the internet.
ISP's provide a general service, which includes that possibility. Fuel includes the possibility of it being in a car while the car has an accident and it being partly ""responsible"" (I wouldn't call it that).
Terrible analogy. Unlike the gas station, the ISP is continuously providing you with the service that allows you to cause harm (i.e. send viruses).
Hrmm without fuel, a car doesn't drive, hence can't (in any practical sense) cause accidents. Same as the ISP, it 'includes that possibility'.
Really? I very rarely see anyone mention the blocking of viruses by ISP as a solution. Please point out a few of these people that recommend the same thing.
There was a large research by the XS4All ISP in the Netherlands with a huge percentage(85%!) of the people saying a blunt yes to the question whether they think ISP's are responsible for keeping them safe. I would say that qualifies.
I am not blaming the ISP's for stupidity of their users. I am blaming the ISP's for allowing their stupid users to spew viruses across the internet, when it could EASILY be foiled with a very simple filter. Hell, just block port 25 outgoing entirely, and make them send mail through your mail servers or proxies, and do the filtering there, even easier.
Please think and know that that's impossible. Virusses spread within hours, even before an ISP has a chance to update their scanners because there is no update to apply yet... This is a great sense of false security and if applied, should only be applied as a second line of defense, not the last line. Hence, ISP's shouldn't be held responsible. They may be helpful but can never be expected to be responsible. -
It's better than bad, it's GOOD!
It's new! It's Log for Girls!! -
Some little hacks
The most recent actual "hack" I've been involved with is the single-use (Dakota) camera. So far, the 25-picture disposable camera has been made to also support time-lapse computer-controlled photography, continuous video (i.e. Webcam) modes, and been able to store (in my brief, informal test) 58 pictures.
The rest of these might not be considered hacks per se, just projects.
A project that never got finished would have put a high-power subwoofer amplifier in my car, complete with an authentic '60s fluorescing vacuum tube as a level display. Much classier than the usual LED-bargraph arrangements popular with the kiddies these days. Unfortunately, in the middle of building this I got offered a job and moved 'cross-country, but didn't have room to pack the unfinished bits+pieces and all my electrical test equipment in my little 2-door.
In my college years, I had the position of running an underground student newspaper. An issue was released 'every few weeks' when its dedicated editors were free/bored enough to put one together, but one thing everyone thought would be nice would be to commandeer the University (dorm) cable system after-hours for a student-run movie and wierd footage channel. Starting at about midnight or so, this would replace a lame "information channel" text marquee (which was always several weeks out of date and advertising events whose deadlines had come and gone), that was currently occupying a perfectly good cable channel.
We had obtained keys to the main hub room (also the cable feed room), so inserting the signal was not a problem. The student TV footage was intended to begin late at night, when university officials were guaranteed not to be watching, and would be pre-recorded. This presented a minor problem, however: everyone on the 'staff' had early classes and poor memories, and could not be counted on to get into the hub closet after hours to insert the day's programming and press 'play'. Also, while some students (volunteering for the Computer center) did legitimately have access to these areas, students going in and out of there after hours would arouse unnecessary suspicion from campus security.
It was decided that the best solution was to equip the VCR with a 'remote control' of sorts that would allow it to be controlled over the dorm network via the abundant Ethernet connections available in the room. This would allow for automated starting and stopping as well as manual intervention as necessary; footage could then be loaded during the daytime hours at the convenience of those involved.
Making a VCR Internet-ready is not has hard as it sounds. I simply built a board with eight simple Darlington transistor circuits (corresponding to 8 data pins on a parallel port) to drive the important VCR function buttons via this port. A simple Web server (disposable '386) running a perl-based CGI interface allowed Web-based control of the parallel port bits, which in turn operated the disposable VCR with wires soldered into the appropriate front-panel switches.
The tricky part then became finding controversial/interesting/non-stupid, but legal, student-produced content worth displaying, but that's another story. -
Thanks, WebmasterFor that pure generic mpg clip.
I can't say how frustrated I get when people put something on the web - which requires some special proprietary thing to view it.