Slashdot Mirror
Slashback: Bass, Bomb, Deluxitude
Make that fish say what you want it to say! vonmar writes: "Full details of the Boogie Bass Hack are now available, including schematics, sourcecode, and documentation. All the information should be there now for anyone with a soldering iron to make the Bass do their bidding!"
Here's the original story we ran about that crazy fish.
These are the things that go BOOM. Paul Jones of ibiblio writes: "To follow up on your nsa star hut story, take a look at this: a 40-year-old abandoned hydrogen bomb in eastern NC."
North Carolinians (Carolingians?) can sleep relatively easy though: according to the article, when a pair of hydrogren bombs went down with the plane which was carrying them, "Safety mechanisms designed to prevent unintended or unauthorized detonation served their function, and a historic nuclear catastrophe was averted. But published sources disagree on how close the people of Wayne County came to suffering fiery annihilation." Please don't retrieve this, anyone.
And EMlNEM writes with a cool addition as well: "Here are some pictures of the NSA station you had a story about."
Not so deluxe after all ... bluephone writes: "Well, it's been a while since the news of the Dulux DVD player hit Slashdot, and my question for my fellow /. inmates is can anyone post some FIRST HAND information about it? No more marketroid tripe, I'm talking about someone who ordered it, received it, played with it, etc. Was the company responsive? Did you actually get it? Is the playback quality good? Are the features promised actually there and functional? Currently, they claim to be out of stock, and will have more on the 15th of January, which could mena they've folded shop and run with the money, or that they sold like hotcakes. I want to know which it really is. A quick Google search revealed no actual post-testing reviews."
Adam Alexander writes: " Late in November, I read the ask slashdot article about the Dulux DVD/MP3/Game player and followed the link (http://www.gamedvdplayer.com) to purchase the item. I paid with PayPal (extremely hard to get a refund) and it turns out that I have never received the item, and although the company's web site is still up, they do not return phone calls or emails. I have set up a web site (http://oreo.donet.com/duluxhelp) for discussion between Dulux customers in order to trade information about (for example) ways to contact the company or success in getting refunds. I have a feeling that there may be many more Slashdot readers in the same position and I would like all of us to benefit from each other's experiences."
Well said. Who else can contribute words of wisdom (or chagrin) about what so far appears to be a non-deluxe player?
And now this newsflash with news ... on Flash! Peter Santangeli of Macromedia sent this email to the bugtraq mailing list, good reading for anyone interested in the Flash insecurity reported earlier.
As was posted earlier to BUGTRAQ, an issue has been discovered with the Macromedia Flash Player that shows a possible buffer overflow error when the player encounters a maliciously or incorrectly created SWF file. After an investigation, and consultation with the reporting engineer, Macromedia has determined the following:Given the above information, it is Macromedia's belief that the error in question, though unfortunate, does not constitute a significant security risk. The effects of this defect are limited to the crashing of the users client (denial of service).
- The data being accessed is located entirely in a dynamically allocated structure in the heap space of the application.
- The data access is limited to reading the information. At no time is the buffer in question ever written to. Neither the heap, nor the stack is written to during this processing, and at no time does this lead to the execution of arbitrary data as native instructions.
On a personal note, I regret that the actual bug report did not reach the appropriate people at Macromedia in a timely manner. We do take security very seriously in the development of our products, and are looking in to mechanisms to ensure that this does not happen again. For a starter, we will be instituting a new email address by which these reports can be directly sent to the appropriate engineers.
Peter Santangeli
Vice President of Engineering, Flash and FreeHand
Macromedia Inc.
Credit where credit is due. Josh McCormick, who wrote this review on epinions.com of the heftily-priced Sun E10K server, was offered a call from Philip Ferreira, editor of Reviewboard Magazine, to discuss "what happened" with McCormick's review when a very similar review not crediting McCormick ran on the Reviewboard site, and was linked to by Slashdot (since removed, for reasons partly explained in this post from chabotc of Reviewboard). That message and the threads it spawned make clear what a big mess this was. Thanks to Josh for sticking up for his work. Here's his response to Reviewboard:
Phillip,Considering the wild and numerous stories that were given to explain what has happened, you'll forgive me if I don't want to hear one more. I view the credibility of any explanation I would get as approaching zero.
Further, I pretty much already have what I wanted out of all of this. The article removed from your site (although it is still on the chabotc.com site), and recognition that I was the original author. There isn't much more that I can gain from having a conversation.
What I gained from this was an interesting story to share with my friends, and a better appreciation for what it takes to "prove" something online.
At this point, I'm satisified to drop it and go my seperate way.
Josh McCormick
Notably, I don't want it, particularly, but, just conceptually....
Send your friends messages of love at fuck-you.org
because most nerds like to explore the possibilities of what might happen, or what might have happened. it would have been quite interesting, had the nuke been found and detonated by, say, a terrorist organization. not necessarily good, but interesting.
/.er (trolls excluded) went and retrieved the nuke, it's not like they would detonate it. it would most likely be disassembled, and pictures of it would go on the web.
it really has nothing to do with violence. if a
most geeks are quite mind-centric, vs. body-centric; just look at cowboyneal.
--
I'm sorry, I have to post this rant with hopes that someone who knows will see it. Philip Ferreira ripped me off on a SCSI card last year. I sent him a cashiers check and he claimed to send the card 3 times. Just a bit of character evidence. ;) I was given tracking numbers going to different states and he got $260 and got to resell or keep a 2940U2W. Only bad ebay experience I've ever had. Very bitter, hope review board dies out. ;)
Lee
ummm...
ok, first of all, I assume you mean "boyfriends".
I understand where you're coming from on the violence thing, but I think the H-bomb thing is a poor example. That story does not appeal to someone with deep urges to kill so much as those anti-government sentiments that crop up here so much. Most slashdotters are convinced the government wants to fuck them over, taking away their rights and lacking regard for saftey (or too much regard for safety, take your pick).
Note - I work in the defense industry so obviously I don't feel strongly enough about that. But many do.
Now if ESR had editorial control of slashdot, THEN you'd see some more violent stuff. He's quite into guns...
But most geeks, I think, are quite nonviolent - both 'inside' and 'out'. But that's just my opinion; I could be wrong.
Vidi, Vici, Veni
didn't mean it that way. I know an interest/expertise in guns does not translate to a violent nature or unlikeable person or anything like that. I was talking more specifically about ESR. That whole "geeks with guns" slogan, and they way he brings it up often about how guns are essential to our freedoms.
And the time he made a vague threat directed at bruce perens.
Vidi, Vici, Veni
I've ordered a few items from Lik-Sang, and had nothing but good experiences from them. Hell, my Doctor GB Card was ordered on a Thursday and arrived the following Monday. Not bad for reasonably-priced international shipping.
"That's Tron. He fights for the Users."
I rarely buy anything locally anymore, due to Washington State's oppressive 8.6% sales tax. Shipping usually works out to be cheaper.
Anyway, I only buy at reputable dealers, like Buy.com, or places that have what look to be class-act operations. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been on the web for a long time, and I can spot a fly-by-night operation from a mile away.
Plus ... and this should be obvious ... I don't buy CRAP. I'm not going to buy an expensive anything from a company I've never heard of. I don't care if this company is supposed to be the next Micrsoft. I'm about as wired as it gets, and if I don't know anything about them, they aren't getting my money. Sony, Panasonic, Dell ... big name companies with proven products and decent value. But I rarely pay retail on that stuff. There's always a good deal to be found if you look around.
And dude ... the PayPal thing is SO obvious. PayPal is primarily for C2C transactions. BUSINESSES don't transact through PayPal. Anyone that got taken by that scam probably deserved to. They won't get burned like that again, and it makes them a wiser shopper.
For what it was worth, this wasn't the first time I found something I wrote on another site. This happened with another page of mine on arcade game components. Things went quite a bit different that time.
A web site in England copied the work. My emails to them were completely ignored, and I was getting absolutely nowhere. It was, yet again, a commercial web. They were selling arcade games, parts, and service. It wasn't worth going all-out to try to do something about a site in a foreign country. Normally, this would have been the end of the story.
Luckily, I wasn't alone. I had posted my article under the Open Content License, which is a GNUish license for text documents. I explained my problem to them, and they went to bat for me, and actually got the offending site to give in!
If you personally publish information online, and you don't want to see it ripped and commercially exploited, I can easily recommend this method over going it alone.
And going it alone is tough. I can only imagine that, without the help of the Slashdot discussion forum, and its readers, my complaint would have ignored my complaint and the content would have stayed.
/. reader:
/. but this sounds a little cheap to me. I hope that the article and this comment make you realize the responsibility that you have today.
Late in November, I read the ask slashdot article about the Dulux DVD/MP3/Game player and followed the link (http://www.gamedvdplayer.com) to purchase the item
...
and it turns out that I have never received the item, and although the company's web site is still up, they do not return phone calls or emails
/back comment:
Well said. Who else can contribute words of wisdom (or chagrin) about what so far appears to be a non-deluxe player?
I'm sorry
People take you seriously, and although those of use who've been around long enough realize this, for some it may be hard to distinguish tween rite and wrong.
/. is a great site, but this is a good example of people being (possibly) frauded, believing in the quality of you (/.). I think you should at least be a bit more serious about it than the lame comment you make here.
Be angry. Pull for these guys. You have the power, and you can't let them down now.
Breace
Yep. Given what's in the bomb, the slashdotter would most likely be disassembled, chromosome by chromosome, and pictures would wind up on the web... after being scanned in from a medical textbook on dermatological evidence of radiation poisoning.
(Oh, you meant the bomb would be disassembled... sorry ;-)
A few keyword searches on "glowing blue vial" or "cobalt" should reveal what happens when people who don't know what they're doing get their hands on stuff like the sources from certain types of X-ray machines. (The short version reads: "GO DARWIN!")
As for the nuke in question, the one good thing about the condition in which it's been maintained (i.e. it hasn't been maintained!), is that it's probably of very little use, even to a terrorist.
> > [ original poster asking why we're so hung up on X-files stuff like abandoned nukes and spy stations ]
Ever since Woz and Jobs built the first Apple in their garage in 1977 (or the TMRC hacked railroads at MIT in the 60s), geek culture has been built on the notion that anyone can have the power to change the world at his fingertips.
Compared to what geeks have accomplished in the past 20 years, a nuke is insignificant by comparison.
But is it still news for nerds? You betcha ;-)
I too thought that the game dvd player was too good to be true. Later I spotted a dvd player on another site with identical features yet sporting a different (Shinco 868). It can be found at www.lik-sang.com by clicking on products -> dvd.
I have heard that lik-sang is a real company that does give you what you order, but no personal experience.
I don't really mind double posts on
Has anyone in Houston gone by the address listed on the web site and checked to see if it really exists?
According to their site, they are located at:
5773 Woodway #304
Houston, TX 77057
#1. I hear about a really cool product.
#2. I look for information on the web.
#3. I go to a local electronics store (best buy, circuit city, tweeter, radio shack (sic), other small local ones)
#4. I check the products existance.
#5. I comparision shop online.
#6. If the internet is substancially cheaper, I purchase it from a reputable source online. If it isn't cheaper at a reputable source online, I pay the store price - At least I have a place to take my product back to in the event that it breaks.
#7. I purchase most major electronics at local stores.
#8. The internet is great for books, music, and pet su-... scratch that last one.
A Netsclusive(TM pending) company should raise some serious flags by now. The internet business model has become more and more questionable. Even top quality advertizing, like the Pets.com dog doesn't mean success. If I have even the slightest question as to how long a company will survive, I check f*ckedcompany.com for any information. If they say the CFO had the stomach flu I avoid business with them.
Note: I got burned by purchasing a computer through QUANTEX online. The computer was cheap, but I've got a 2 more years on a 3 year service contract with nobody. The compter works fine, but I now know that I was still hosed.
You say you want a revolution?
So the buffer contains whatever it contained when it was allocated? What's the use of that? I'm pretty sure the buffer was written to while parsing the SWF file. The exploit mentioned fields that have are prefixed by a length, where the length is used by the parser to determine how much storage to allocate.
I'm quite skeptical of that. Maybe if Peter explained exactly how the buffer overflow causes the crash I could understand his reasons for saying that the bug can't be exploited in other ways. Is he assuming that since the vulnerable buffer was malloc'd from heap, an attacker can't predict a jump address for any particular byte in the buffer?
That was it.
:(
Thanks for filling in the details.
They are optimized to handle cases wher a fraud has already ocurred (money chnaged hands) so I'd try them.
I attempted to alert them to a scam in the making awhile back but apaprently they couldn't do much abotu it til someone fell for it and complained
On the other hand they were very nice and helpful. It may take some time for them to get back to you though. I get the feeling they get a LOT of complaints to work their way through.
... which isn't exaclty an H bomb is this.
After Isreal conducted their first successful bomb test they contacted our state department and told us "about that missing plutonium... don't worry, we have it."
The millitary's response? "What missing plutonium?":
Thsi is frankyl what scares me the most. Our own millitary produced made-to-order terrorist weapons. They're called back-pack adjutsable yeild nuclear devices. There was a hell of a stink when Germany found out some years ago we had them deployed and ready as part of a 'scorched earth policy' if the Russkies came over the wall. (Back when there were Russkies and a wall.)
Gien our millitary's proven "efficiency" at handling their invantory, I'm just waiting for one to shwo up in the hands of some middle east terrorist organization.
We though the World tarde Center bombing was bad....
I'm afraid I dopn't have the web addess handy but there is an FBI site for reporting online scams. Soudns like this qualifies.
I'm sure you can find it with a net search.
for a taste of a good oleschool style slashdot relentless slashunt for the truth. I got a kick out of reading the ensuing posts and refreshing the browser only to see the next post / flame whatever.National Enquireresque? Yeah, but taloid fodder like that is hard to pass up when you see it happening before your eyes and occaisionally it makes for a few good banner impressions to boot.
Prospecting Stinks. Stop Wasting Time on Cold Calling.
> That's harsh man
It is funny to see you saying that, after what you posted on the older article.
> I got caught up in the moment here and did something stupid with it, but normally I used it just to make my job easier. What's wrong with that?
What's wrong is that nobody beleives you. No one. You are now doing damage control by trying to unlink your 'redir' slashdot account with your real identity. It will not work. You did not offered any sincere apology for your scam. Most of the 'apologies' were posted as an AC.
In my eyes, and for the majority of slashdot readers, you are both Philip Ferreira (your real name) and Chris Chabot (one of your "writer" names), as well as a couple of other slashdot identities. You'll need pretty hard evidence to prove the opposite. And as no one beleive anything you post, the case seems to be settled on:
* you own a shitty review site
* provide content by cut-n-pasting from around the net
* and get money by dragging slashdot audience to it
Furthermore,
* you are an total liar
* and quite an aggressive person.
Cheers,
--fred
1 reply beneath your current threshold.
Every object has a different terminal velocity, depending on it's size, shape and mass (a few other factors too). For example, you falling from a plane would have a lower terminal velocity than a bomb falling from the same altitude.
--- Can i borrow your Clue-Stick(tm)? I need to go beat a few people with it...
... Perhaps you'll have some luck contacting this person (the WHOIS entry for that domain, all three entries):
R., Scott scott@zebok.com
5773 Woodway
Houston, Tx 77057
US
713-521-9162
But Josh needs to learn some anger management.
His behaviour on /. was pretty ugly in patches.
'There is a Light that never goes out.'
At the risk of (-1, Redundancy) I would think this is definitely Stuff that Matters. If I had a lost 2.4-megaton H-bomb in my backyard, I'd sure like to know about it! It falls into the Nerds category because it's a good example of the dark side of technology.
sulli
RTFJ.
The Deluxe DVD seems to good to be true, and apparently it is. I am just wondering how easy it is to scam consumers over the internet these days. The Deluxe DVD, Playstation 2 bogus selling sites, etc. I guess if you aren't willing to be the first on the block with something new then you have a lesser chance of getting burned. I have a feeling that these 2 scams are going to open the floodgates for conmen to invade the internet at an even greater pace. Think of the money to be made! (stolen!)
'mmmmmmmmm.... forbidden donut'
This is precious. Looking at your User Info, I see you're from the British Isles. This is the same place where you have people blowing up buses and launching rockets at police stations and things like that on a regular basis. "Gee, the Protestants are going to march through our neighborhood today! Hey, I know! A little bit of plastique will take care of that!" Yet you have the unmitigated gall to push your way into our country and lecture us on violence?
You crack me up. You probably know fine well that these are Irish Republic terrorist actions. Last time I checked the map, Ireland was a different country from the UK.
Secondly, where do you think the Irish get their guns from? That's right! Land of the free!
Oh, and read this too.
Does my bum look big in this?
I find that hilarious!!!
I have found that 'Jock' types...have gentle imaginations
no kidding hey? I found that most 'Jocks' had gentle imaginations too, even from the days of them copying my math tests in grade 8, and the beat down I got when I wouldn't let them. Gentle to say the least...in fact, one could say, almost completely passively absent.
We're aggresive mentally for a reason, so we can hold a conversation. Most women I date appreciate the fact that I show intelligence.
And lastly, don't stereotype. The days of the inch think glasses, with the pocket protector geek is over. Most of us are normal people, we get rid of agression in other ways too.
--The T is close to the Y...she ment boyfriends, not botfriends... =)
I understand why you don't believe me, even though I came clean completely, you can believe me, or in this case choose not to. I am indeed an aggressive person, but I did say I'm sorry, several times, and I'll say it again because I mean it. As far as anything else goes, I've been a total ass, I know it, and there isn't much else to say about it. It's regretable that you don't believe me, but you are wrong, shitloads of people emailed the editor with links to the story and now there is a full blown investigation going on at work. He actually said "It could be one of four people, one of you will admit it by the end of the day, or you will all be fired". So it seems I'm not long for my job, you all got your wish because I have to go fess up now or people that are innocent will lose their jobs. I hope you are all satisfied.
-=Redir
It happened fast.
/.
A story was posted on
A reader realised that the link was to his work, and he hadn't been credited. The site that was publishing his work is a commercial site. He hadn't been offered payment, credit or anything.
I'd be bloody angry at that.
Then, people accused the original author of plagiarism. They used some questionable tactics to do so.
I'd have become physically violent at that point.
Then, some *very* bright people did some research (if looking at cached pages is called "being very bright" - it's certainly more than most people would think of doing).
End result - Author happy(ish), reviewboard has some apologising to do before it's reputation is back intact (if it ever had one). No lasting harm done
Game over. Insert stolen coin for replay.
<disclaimer>I have worked with E10Ks. They're quite cool.</disclaimer>
I do feelsorry for the people that got burned by the Dulux DVD, but seriously, didnt' the PayPal thing signal some warning flags?
If this company had the money to actually develop a DVD player/Game system/Automatic Ass wiper, wouldn't they put a little money into a real e-commerce site?
It's not really that hard or expensive to set up a merchant account and go through a reputable credit card verification company.
So for future reference, don't trust a company that sells really expensive stuff that they make that uses PayPal
(I don't think there is anything wrong with PayPal, I use it a lot, this just screams scam.)
I know ESR only by reputation, but the sterotype that someone who has an interest in guns, or other methods of physical force, is a violent person doesn't hold.
My graduate school advisor was a firearms enthusiast, a champion rifle competitor, and the moderator of rec.guns. He was also one of the most popular CS professors on campus, known for his good humor.
Or to consider my own self...I am a gun owner and a karate nidan (second degree black belt). I've had at least some training in firearms, empty handed combat, knifes, sticks, firearms, and swords. If it can kill, injure, or maim, I probably know something about it. Yet despite my firey and outspoken political views, I am in my day-to-day life a very non-violent person; the only times I've even come close to using any of this training are a few incidents where I stepped in to stop violence being directed against others.
There are two motivations for a serious study of violence: to use it, or to stop it.
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | http://www.infamous.net/
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood