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User: Schadrach

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  1. Re:Evil commenting on evil on Why Sony Cannot Stop PS3 Pirates · · Score: 2

    The current PS3 hack consists of being able to sign software to appear legitimate to the PS3, and a small firmware hack that enables a dev console option to allow installing signed code to the HDD from USB media.

    This can only be used for piracy in a manner similar to PC game rips -- you have to rip the game to HDD then crack it's executable. It would be easy to detect the use of a pirate game for online play, at least for new games -- require some hash of the executable be sent ot the game server.

    Technically they could detect the hacked firmware by doing the same with the FW itself, but since all the hacked FW does is enable the option to install packages and has nothing to do with actually running them once installed, all one would have to do is upgrade to the jailbroken firmware, install whatever you want to install, then go to the recovery menu and reinstall the official firmware. Homebrew/pirated games still run under OFW, they only require the hack to be installed in the first place (and then only because the "install properly signed program from USB device" device is disabled on retail consoles).

    Really, I don't think this will lead to as rampant piracy as everyone thinks -- the jailbreak dongle allows easy piracy, the 3.55 FW hack requires actually cracking the game executable to remove disc checks and redirect IO from /dev_bdvd to /dev_hdd0 (which frankly any multiplayer game should do a hash check on it's executables anyways, which would catch that).

  2. Re:Noooooooooo!!!!!!1111!11! on Autism-Vax Doc Scandal Was Pharma Business Scam · · Score: 1

    I thought that was more or less my point. Chiropractic is "fairy tales" in some ways, but it's still a step up from small amounts of very expensive water (which can itself only actually treat thirst, and even then not well in the quantities provided) which is all homeopathy is, as mechanical manipulation of the joints and soft tissues can at least treat mechanical issues that deal with those same joints and tissues.

  3. Re:Understandable on RapidShare Threatens Suit Over Piracy Allegations · · Score: 1

    There is at least one site out there that keeps a DB of P2P distributed files by their hashes on the various systems, lists common filenames for them, descriptions and reviews. I just wish I could remember the URL to link it. They of course had the problem with trolls that any site with user-generated content does, but something like it but with better moderation would work well, I think.

    Shareaza also supports ratings and reviews on P2P files, although I'm not sure how it goes about it, or if it's a standard part of one of the underlying protocols it uses.

  4. Re:Understandable on RapidShare Threatens Suit Over Piracy Allegations · · Score: 1

    That doesn't restrict it much more than RapidShare does right now. They have no search mechanic and don't vet the contents of their files (though presumably they have some means to identify bad content or have it reported to them for removal, because otherwise I would have expected a massive CP bust against them simply because any way to anonymously share files over the internet through a third party is bound to end up with it's share...just look at the chans).

  5. Re:Cool - a fiscal conservative on Jerry Brown Confiscates 48,000 Cell Phones · · Score: 1

    If you exclude upper management from that (who themselves are often at least partially responsible for being in that position in the first place), I agree with you. If you ask why they should be excluded when considering "workers", my response is this "Heavy is the head that wears the crown." Also not covering a single upper executive in turn covers a lot more people on the floor.

  6. Re:finally some common sense being applied on Jerry Brown Confiscates 48,000 Cell Phones · · Score: 1

    I'd add one phone/vehicle for anyone who's job involves being on the road more than half their work day, on average. Either than or some other way to create a private line to advise schedule changes, emergency situations, and generally be checked up on by the state.

    I have a phone provided by my employer, that is authorized for personal use as well. As a tradeoff for my being always available in case something goes wrong.

  7. Re:Noooooooooo!!!!!!1111!11! on Autism-Vax Doc Scandal Was Pharma Business Scam · · Score: 1

    The difference being that chiropractic practices aren't based entirely on something utterly ludicrous. At least mechanical manipulation of the joints and soft tissues can have an effect on some conditions, namely those tied to the joints and tissues in question. That's already a step up from homeopathy, in which the treatment for all conditions is very expensive water, which can only directly treat being thirsty, and even then not very well in the doses provided.

  8. Re:Bit late now, but... on Sony Files Lawsuit Against PS3 Hacker GeoHot · · Score: 1

    When your hack requires a physical device to work, then distributing it means you need to push it for the bulk of the market for such a thing -- the pirates, as you need to be able to afford to make and distribute it. If the signing keys had come first, and with them a "-jb" firmware for 3.41, I actually doubt a Backup Manager would have hit very quickly, if at all. After all, if you can make and sign homebrew for the PS3, why bother with trying to crack what's necessary to enable piracy. (Note that 3.55 doesn't have a Backup Manager yet, has a bunch of emulators, and only something like one game has actually been pirated on it, because you have to do something that oddly enough resembles NO-CD cracking PC games to pirate a PS3 game under 3.55 currently).

    Note the difference in Wii-hacking and something like the DS -- Wii hacks were all software, and homebrew enabling your Wii lead to mostly homebrew being used, as opposed to the homebrew enabling exploits being used mostly for piracy (there was of course some piracy, but most had Homebrew Channel and a handful of games/emulators before tracking down pirated channels). The later drive chips of course were predominately a piracy tech, much like DS flash carts, and the PS3 jailbreak USB devices (though I mostly used mine to play SNES games and PSX games, only dumped Bayonetta to HDD with a Backup Manager [which dramatically reduces it's ridiculous load times]).

  9. Re:Come on Sony! on Sony Files Lawsuit Against PS3 Hacker GeoHot · · Score: 2

    You're missing something -- the group of people interested in piracy and the group of people interested in homebrew are not the same set (thought there is some overlap). The "Homebrew" set are conveniently where your skilled hackers are more likely to lie. When Sony pulled OtherOS support, the "Homebrew" set as well as anyone specifically offended by the removal of existing features from their equipment got added to the mix of those trying to hack the PS3. Note that the most successful people in that endeavor have come from the "Homebrew" side (GeoHot being a grand example).

    Hopefully Sony learns from this, and both doesn't remove existing feature from their next console after release and includes some kind of sanctioned homebrew development (if not OtherOS, then maybe a "Homebrew Edition" SDK with separate "homebrew" signing keys that run the console in a mildly restricted sandbox (no access to modifying firmware or changing device mounting) with a clear splash screen that states that the software being run is not authorized by Sony and may damage your console?

  10. Re:American Terrorist Group? on Congresswoman and Staff Gunned Down · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't be surprised if he was set off by the recent increasing hostility in US political media, the references to "2nd Amendment remedies" for political problems, Palin's map painting a target on this particular Rep., etc.

    But then he's a nut -- there's no real way to predict what will set mentally unstable people off. I mean after all, when you hear the Beatles song "Helter Skelter" you hear a personal message telling you of the coming race war, and to go out to the bottomless pit in the desert to be safe when it comes, and how to trigger it, right?

    If there's anything I've learned from history, it's never ever underestimate charismatic lunatics.

  11. Re:American Terrorist Group? on Congresswoman and Staff Gunned Down · · Score: 1

    Silly comment, but as I heard it, he actually called his targets out by name, implying that he was shooting who he was intending to shoot. As for where he lands on the political spectrum, dunno and don't particularly care yet. "Pretty right wing for a democrat" and "pretty left wing for a republican" however sounds like exactly the kind of politicians I would personally want to vote for, presuming they held on to the right parts of their respective parties.

  12. Re:Why Is It Wrong to Call This ESP? on Journal Article On Precognition Sparks Outrage · · Score: 1

    Here's an interesting puzzle for you then: Define the mark at which it stops being sufficiently advanced extrapolation and starts being "special" precognition. I mean I know all kinds of interesting things get processed as background tasks in my head, often ones I'm not aware of until I'm walking along and get hit with an "AHA!" moment where I suddenly have an algorithm or a complicated analysis of song lyrics or something of that nature appear full-formed in my conscious mind. I imagine if I could get it set to "extrapolate the future" I'd eventually present a result that resembled precognition (an accurate description of a future event appearing fully formed in my mind with no clear path how I got there from here).

  13. Re:Tabula Rasa was not really that different on Why BioWare's Star Wars MMO May Already Be Too Late · · Score: 1

    CoH took an interesting twist on the normal MMO concepts. It's not nearly as good endgame as WoW in and of itself, but there's the Architect System for user designed content a lot of which is pretty good and there's enough of it to "hide" the grinding. There's also the whole "archetype" concept, where you have classes that are general functions and a lot of variations in how it works. For example it has a "ranged DPS with minor utility and a tiny bit of melee" class (Blaster), with a bunch of options for what kind of ranged DPS you do (ranging from assault rifles to throwing fire) and what themed utility you have. There's another class that is "group support with moderate ranged DPS"(Defender) that actually shares a bunch of options with the Blaster as far as ranged attacks but has completely different sets of utility powers, and there are class modifiers that change how the abilities actually function. A Blaster and a Defender can both throw a Lightning Bolt for example but the Blaster will be able to at an earlier level, the Blaster will deal more damage with it, but the Defender will drain more of his target's Endurance. Literally, a ranged attack by a Blaster will do more damage than one by any other heroside archetype, but that same power will do less damage but have more potent side effects when used by a Defender.

  14. Re:Items we are carrying.. on Police Can Search Cell Phones Without Warrants · · Score: 1

    Umm, didn't the government long since force the populace to buy a product in order to operate a motor vehicle (which in more than a few parts of this country is a vital part of day-to-day life) by mandating car insurance?

    Don't worry, eventually we'll end up with a European-style single payer system, and the gov't will claim it has the right to do that "to promote the general welfare" (which I believe they are given power to do exactly that right alongside interstate commerce, correct?).

  15. Re:Well, clearly if they didn't have anything to h on Police Can Search Cell Phones Without Warrants · · Score: 1

    What constitutional rights of the defendant? Property does not itself have constitutional rights only persons, and in those cases the property itself is the defendant.

  16. Re:Or they flew over a CAFO on Thousands of Blackbirds Fall From Sky Dead · · Score: 1

    "Vegetarian" or vegan? In particular where exactly do you obtain things like that one amino acid that is one of the core reasons most vegetarians take nutritional supplements, because it's necessary to live and not present in plant matter?

  17. Re:Or they flew over a CAFO on Thousands of Blackbirds Fall From Sky Dead · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So, we'll keep a couple of pigs and cows in zoo pens to be gawked at, and the remainder will die off because they can't effectively survive in the wild because we've bred them for thousands of years to be large, tasty, and easy to kill?

    Also, as a side note, you don't see something inherently unnatural about a diet that requires you to take nutritional supplements just to be in something resembling normal health?

  18. Re:Penalty? on 'No Refusal' DUI Checkpoints Coming To Florida? · · Score: 1

    Only if the bar for proving DUI is sufficiently high. Actual DUI is a terrible thing that creates undue risk for themselves and everyone else on the road. "Anyone who tests over 0.08 on a breathalyzer" is an only tangentially related class of people. Anything that would cause any compound with a methyl group to be in your breath counts as alcohol to the machine (for example, diabetics with poor blood sugar control register much higher than they should [and also have a vaguely fruity smell to their breath because of the same compound]). Eating certain foods too recently will raise your result. Etc, etc, etc.

    Put simply, it's unreasonable to put such harsh penalties, unless it's an explicit part of the law that such an inaccurate test cannot be used as evidence in and of itself for any purpose other than to get a warrant for a more accurate test.

  19. Re:Why would you refuse a breathalyzer? on 'No Refusal' DUI Checkpoints Coming To Florida? · · Score: 2

    Except that you'd be hard pressed to get a warrant to search every house in town as a police officer, but searching all traffic passing through a given intersection is entirely different.

    That and there's a significant number of issues with the breathalyzer machines themselves that can lead to false positives. Not to mention that ni some states it is explicitly forbidden to mention the faults with a breathalyzer as part of your defense, and in at least one state receiving a 0.08 on a breathalyzer machine regardless of it's condition, calibration, any complicating medical issues, or the results of any following blood test makes you guilty of a DUI in and of itself, as the DUI law makes getting such a result on a breathalyzer a crime in and of itself.

  20. Re:Rape allegations on Assange Has Signed Book Deals Worth $1.5 Million+ · · Score: 1

    No, you simply implied that he left the country to avoid the police, rather than going so far as to verify with the authorities that he was permitted to leave the country before doing so.

    There's a pretty wide difference between "Left country to avoid police" and "Left country after verifying that he wasn't needed by them first."

    You state "Additionally, they scheduled an interview with him, he left the country before the interview, so that + their evidence allowed them to charge him. Is that sufficient for you?", but it appears that he asked the prosecutor if they needed him and if he was free to leave the country before doing so.

  21. Re:Rape allegations on Assange Has Signed Book Deals Worth $1.5 Million+ · · Score: 1

    Slight concern here as we're now talking JA specific stuff. As I understand it, he actually went so far as to ask permission from the prosecutor before leaving the country just to be safe, was granted such, and then the political juggling to get the charges pushed again after having originally been dropped occurred and his refusal of an interview was refusing to return to Sweden at his own expense for an interview.

  22. Re:Rape allegations on Assange Has Signed Book Deals Worth $1.5 Million+ · · Score: 1

    Charged = drug through the media and branded forever by the populace, because too many people see charged as equivalent to guilty and the papers don't exactly turn around and run a story about how he's really not guilty and she was making the accusation for revenge or whatever other reason a woman might choose to falsely accuse a man of rape.

    The problem is the core nature of the crime in question in it's milder forms. Precisely because the defining factor that separates normal sexual encounters from rape is consent and only consent. If a man and a woman have sex, and the woman claims it is rape, it is therefore rape, unless the man can provide some kind of absolute evidence that she was consenting at the time and through the total duration of the act.

    Let me give you a scenario: Man and woman have sex, woman presents no indication that she is not consenting whatsoever and in fact seems to be enjoying herself. The next day, she goes to the police and claims it was rape, as she decided to revoke consent after they were already alone together. There are no witnesses to the revocation of consent possible aside from the two of them, as they both agree that they went back to his place and were alone when they began to have sex (the difference being that he claims she was consenting, and she claims that she said no). There is physical and DNA evidence that they did in fact have sex.

    Prove that this man isn't guilty of rape. The only evidence in his favor is his own testimony that she didn't say no. The testimony in her favor is physical/DNA evidence that they did in fact have sex (which he is not contesting) and her own testimony that she said no but he wouldn't stop.

  23. Re:Rape allegations on Assange Has Signed Book Deals Worth $1.5 Million+ · · Score: 1

    Accuser = anon, accused = in the paper?

    Simple question: Devise a way to fundamentally tell the difference between "woman doesn't consent midway through the act" and "woman who retroactively revokes consent the following morning". Until you can with 100% accuracy, it's hard to claim that the woman's say-so should be sufficient evidence in and of itself, yet her consent (or lack thereof) is the sole defining element that renders it a crime or not.

  24. Re:Rape allegations on Assange Has Signed Book Deals Worth $1.5 Million+ · · Score: 1

    I would hope at the least that she's no longer able to change her mind after the act is over. Part of the problem is that it's hard to *prove* the general case of "a woman consented and then changed her mind mid-act" let alone to separate it from "woman consented and the following morning changed her mind so now it's rape" or even "girl gets caught with boyfriend, entire act becomes rape at that point so as to avoid wrath of family."

    Didn't at least one of the accusing women make a blog post after the fact making a positive statement about that night, you know in between it happening and it becoming "rape"?

  25. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... on Assange Has Signed Book Deals Worth $1.5 Million+ · · Score: 1

    So, never ever have sex with any woman ever, and in fact never ever be in any situation where you might potentially be unsupervised with a female under any circumstances, or you deserve to have your life ruined? Remember, being married doesn't mean it's not rape -- it just means it's somewhat harder to find you guilty before a jury.