A company gets it right. Fight back with technology, not lawsuits. I'm impressed with their technical fortitude, and the manner in which they did it. The "GAME OVER" comment in the first 8 bytes was especially showing of a good attitutde towards the whole event.
Of course, it's just a matter of time till the crackers redouble their efforts and beat the new system... "GAME ON"
As a sidenote: If you're going to MP3 the music, you'll need more than a 30 gig drive. I have ~400 CDs ripped at 192k, and it takes up almost all of my 40 gig drive. Get an 80 gigger. That should hold it.
And when you store them, make sure you vaccum seal them in plastic, as putting them in some sort of deep storage will probably speed up CD rot.
I use www.easyspace.com because they are super cheap (And I mean REALLY cheap) and because they dont give a rats ass what domain I want. I went through the steps of registering www.fuckchristmas.com and they didnt have a problem with it, I just stopped short of giving them my credit card number. So, it's still available if anyone wants it. I would also suggest www.fuck-santa.org
I use Communigate Pro, which yes, isnt free, nor open source. However, it's the best product I've found for an email server. And they offer, in conjunction with MacAfee, a plugin that will scan emails for all those nasty love-you/mellissa virii. Give it a look at www.stalker.com If you're doing a big project and they want a reliable, VERY powerful sever, you can get a license for 250 addys for only $1,000. A little steep for some, but for others, it's a good product for a good price.
Take a look at the last 2 years. Not the 2 before that, or the 2 that are coming, just that blip on the radar we called 1998-2000. Not that much changed. PCs still run on on intel-based 386 variant chips. HTML is still the dominant language on the web. TCP/IP is still running the internet, and ethernet isn't going anywhere. Every other change is just superficial, and wont take that long to catch up on. All the big things that would take a long time to learn about probably will happen slowly, and you'd still have to learn them anways.
Worst case, you miss out on IPv6 and have to come back and sit down with a book and learn about it. Best case, you miss out on IPv6, and they come out with IPv8 before you get back, saving you from learing the middle-step.
And yes, think of the learning experience. I'm not in a position where I can uproot myself and see the world. I'm envious of your opportunity. Well, make the descision that works best for you, and go with what feels right. Just dont make the descision based on some unfeeling bits of copper and electrical signals that will be here when you get back.
I'm not certain, but I think the full ($$$) version of PGP do per-file/per-folder encryption. If you're doing aerospace work you should be able to fork out the pocket change for the software. =)
This letter wasn't sent in regards to the database he has amassed, they would have no legal griveance over that. However, like the rest of us, he has a perl script that you can scan your:cue:cat directly into, and use it as your search query, this "violating" their IP. This is what they're pissed about, just like the other hackers who got letters. They probably dont like that there is a competing database of UPC codes, but certainly have no legal right to go after them for that.
Even after you split the cost, it's still totally absurd. I have almost 400 discs, and I just did them by hand, one at a time. Just get a nice ripper, something like 20X+ and take it slow. Plus, you're going to have to deal with the CDs that have software extra junk, and the ones that have scratches, and the ones that just plain dont rip right. It's a long process, but once you're caught up, it's only the new ones you get that you have to do.
Just as a word of caution, I'd be afraid of doing a ton at once. Miss one mistake, and now you've got to do it all again.
With my limited experience with solar panels, they're basicaly a standard power cell, with a set voltage. Just get the right sized/power one, and solder (cleanly) the positive and negative terminal lead wires into the battery compartment. Using jumper wires across the individual battery spots where appropriate (if needed). Then just find a nice spot for the solar panel to live. The hard part with any of the TI Models is that they dont have a whole lot of real estate to play with, and you're gonna need a sizeable (think a few times larger than the usual 1/4 inch by 1 inch solar power cells) cell.
I believe your point has much merit... But, on the same token, in the way that we prefer "mystical/game" religons (occult, pagan, etc..) we also prefer more logical ones (zen, buddism). Some like to have fun with their beliefs, where some take them more seriously and seek out a logical one. None of that extra baggage that xianity and judaism come along with.
"For $40 a month the residential service provides an "always-on" connection at a speed of 128 kilobytes per second, which is comparable to cable and digital subscriber line access available in larger cities. An even faster speed of 256 kbps is offered for $65 a month.
Commercial prices are $150 for service at the 256 kbps speed and $300 for service at 512 kbps."
Umm... 128 kilobytes a second? 256 and 512 kilobytes... I think someone needs to fact check again...
As much as I would love 5 meg a second skipping across grain elevators in Iowa, I don't think it's happening anytime soon.
I agree. The Mars Trilogy have to be some of the best books in all of Sci-Fi, and deal specifically with this issue.
Kim also says that the average trip up is something like 7 days... That's a long elevator ride.
He also metions that will propper weighting, they can become a quasi-perpetual-motion-machine, in that laden one side of a pulley heavier, and it'll pull the other side up as it falls to the ground.
He goes into great detail, some of which has to be partly true, about hanging the elevator using the proper distance to equal out orbital and gravitational forces. Nothing tethered on each end, just a beautiful balence.
I forget when the books were set, but I do remember the main charactors being born around the same time as me. Does that mean I get to go to Mars and ride the magical elevator? Noooo!
Close, but no cigar.
I can restart x in under 30 seconds, where as the windows-reboot (what the shift trick is called) takes well over a minute. When you restart x, you're just reloading the base GUI, the os (linux) stays put the whole time, no programs/daemons are closed, stopped, or etc. A windows-reboot takes down the whole OS, GUI and all, and with it, all the programs/daemons you had running.
Plus, this discussion is missing the best point of linux. ALT-F1/F2/F3, etc to other consoles. If a program halts x (even so bad that xkill doesnt work), I can switch to another TTY and kill the offender, switch back to the gui and it'll be fine. All the while, the mission critical Apache and mail server are still running. With windows, the crash is most likely due to a crappy program which takes the boat down with it. And that means the web server and mail server are offline till I can get it back up.
Well, buddy either you typo'ed the link (which wouldnt be a super big suprise, since you forgot to close the anchor tag) or xoom has already yanked your site..
That is, unless your knees started shaking a little early, and you rm'ed it yourself.
How about speaking with your town/city officials into holding meetings in your "town hall" and doing a "fesiability" study on getting the cable company to come and run the lines. If they have hard figures from officials in your town on just how many of your "neighbors" are going to sign up, maybe they'll deem it worthy... Or, if that doesnt fly, maybe you'll meet enough people who will split the initial couple thousand dollar cost, into something more palatable.
I too have friends that smoke around their PC, and have a perfect soloution for the nicotine coating. Get them to quit smoking. Their PC will last longer, and for that matter, so will they.
1. Dont use a feather duster, or anything of the like that would cause lots of static, and besides, those just move the dirt around, not remove it. 2. Compressed air in a can is good, but if you have access to an honest-to-god air compressor, use it. They work WONDERS on that caked-on dirt. Just be carefull of how much pressure it can put out. You dont want to go chasing after the 128 Meg DIMM you just sent hurtling across the garage. 3. Use an alcohol-based solvent (preferably plain rubbing alcohol, but windex and the like work too, just dont use one with a lot of detergent) to loosen up the mud and then use a nice wipe to clean it off. Dont worry about using too much, as it's alcohol and will evaporate really quickly. Just avoid turning the PC on before it's done drying. 4. If your PC's fans have filters (some do, some dont) throw them in a sink full of water, the washing machine, or in the bath with you. If they dont have filters, use the alcohol and a wipe to clean out individual fan blades and around the housing of the fan. Those are usually REALLY dirty places. 5. On boards and cards themselves, compressed air is best, but once again, you can use alcohol, just as long as you let it dry. I've fixed more than one memory and video card problem by removing the offending DIMMS or cards and cleaning the gold contacts (male and female) with a little alcohol. Use a q-tip to get into the female PCI and mem sockets, just be really really careful not to leave little bits of cotton behind. 6. Inside the power supply is usualy HORRIBLY dirty, and I dont reccomend opening it up unless you know what not to touch. So, compressed air is the only option. Just remember one thing: The dust you're blowing has to go somewhere. Do it outside and remove all the components from the system first, or you'll have a nice and clean PS, but a filty system. 7. CDROM drives usually fail due to dust, so these are also great places to keep clean. Compressed air is good for this. Open the drawer, and put the nozzel right in the widest spot and blow. Try and get it from the back, too, just blow near an opening by the IDE connector, and the PS connector. 8. Hard drives are sealed, so you dont really have to worry about these. =) 9. Floppy drives you can clean just about the same way as the CD ROMs, just blow from each side. 10. On the outside, wipe it down with more alcohol and try and scrub all that yellow and brown dust off the front of the case, and make it all perty. 11. CPU fans also get really dusty, and can even fail if not cleaned, causing big headaches later. Just blow them with comp. air and use a q-tip and some alcohol again.
To recap: When using comp. air, the dust has to go somewhere, so know which direction you're blowing. And let the alcohol dry before turning the system on. It's not really conductive, but can cause problems.
You could do all this, or just do what I do. Use a garden hose. Takes a lot less time.
I use IDE Backups now, for many of the reaons you know and listed, but the one drawback I can think of is that you cant take them off site. If you have serious data you NEED to protect, and a (fire, flood, dwarf invasion, et.al.) strikes your facility, it could take out both machines and the drives in them... With tapes and the like you can at least take one home with you each week for what we, in the biz, like to call "off-site data storage". Then again, you just just arrainge with the new off-shore data haven to host one of those IDE drives..
Which leads me to my newest venture (and if any of you out there would like to invest, let me know) a Moon-Base for data storage. Where could be better for lawlessness and security. The only thing that could take it out is an asteroid.. Well, that or if the US dusted off its plan to nuke the moon.. In closing: IDE backups are good. Moon-bases are better. -Josh
Slashdot Mirror
A company gets it right. Fight back with technology, not lawsuits. I'm impressed with their technical fortitude, and the manner in which they did it. The "GAME OVER" comment in the first 8 bytes was especially showing of a good attitutde towards the whole event.
Of course, it's just a matter of time till the crackers redouble their efforts and beat the new system... "GAME ON"
-Josh
As a sidenote: If you're going to MP3 the music, you'll need more than a 30 gig drive. I have ~400 CDs ripped at 192k, and it takes up almost all of my 40 gig drive. Get an 80 gigger. That should hold it.
And when you store them, make sure you vaccum seal them in plastic, as putting them in some sort of deep storage will probably speed up CD rot.
I use www.easyspace.com because they are super cheap (And I mean REALLY cheap) and because they dont give a rats ass what domain I want. I went through the steps of registering www.fuckchristmas.com and they didnt have a problem with it, I just stopped short of giving them my credit card number. So, it's still available if anyone wants it. I would also suggest www.fuck-santa.org
-Josh
How about "Cube"?
It's Canadian, but give it a chance anyway. It might be hard to find, but I highly reccomend it.
I think I'll go buy it on DVD right now, actually! =)
-Josh
Try "Event Horizon"
-Josh
Here's the info I got from the Stalker mailing list, in case they dont have a link up yet.
r eeBSD-Intel.tar.gz>
e eBSD-Intel.tar.gz>
i nux-Intel.tar.gz>
n ux-Intel.tar.gz>
i n32-Intel.zip>
n 32-Intel.zip>
o laris-Sparc.tar.gz>
l aris-Sparc.tar.gz>
I X-PPC.tar.gz>
X -PPC.tar.gz>
Plugin Release:
The McAfee VirusScanner plugins for CommuniGate Pro are released.
The plugins require the CommuniGate Pro version 3.4b2 or better.
FreeBSD - Intel
<http://www.stalker.com/pub/plugins/CGPMcAfee-F
<ftp://ftp.stalker.com/pub/plugins/CGPMcAfee-Fr
Linux - Intel
<http://www.stalker.com/pub/plugins/CGPMcAfee-L
<ftp://ftp.stalker.com/pub/plugins/CGPMcAfee-Li
Win32 - Intel
<http://www.stalker.com/pub/plugins/CGPMcAfee-W
<ftp://ftp.stalker.com/pub/plugins/CGPMcAfee-Wi
Solaris - Sparc
<http://www.stalker.com/pub/plugins/CGPMcAfee-S
<ftp://ftp.stalker.com/pub/plugins/CGPMcAfee-So
AIX - PowerPC
<http://www.stalker.com/pub/plugins/CGPMcAfee-A
<ftp://ftp.stalker.com/pub/plugins/CGPMcAfee-AI
I use Communigate Pro, which yes, isnt free, nor open source. However, it's the best product I've found for an email server. And they offer, in conjunction with MacAfee, a plugin that will scan emails for all those nasty love-you/mellissa virii. Give it a look at www.stalker.com If you're doing a big project and they want a reliable, VERY powerful sever, you can get a license for 250 addys for only $1,000. A little steep for some, but for others, it's a good product for a good price.
Take a look at the last 2 years. Not the 2 before that, or the 2 that are coming, just that blip on the radar we called 1998-2000. Not that much changed. PCs still run on on intel-based 386 variant chips. HTML is still the dominant language on the web. TCP/IP is still running the internet, and ethernet isn't going anywhere. Every other change is just superficial, and wont take that long to catch up on. All the big things that would take a long time to learn about probably will happen slowly, and you'd still have to learn them anways.
Worst case, you miss out on IPv6 and have to come back and sit down with a book and learn about it. Best case, you miss out on IPv6, and they come out with IPv8 before you get back, saving you from learing the middle-step.
And yes, think of the learning experience. I'm not in a position where I can uproot myself and see the world. I'm envious of your opportunity. Well, make the descision that works best for you, and go with what feels right. Just dont make the descision based on some unfeeling bits of copper and electrical signals that will be here when you get back.
-Josh
Close, but no cigar, huh? Well, if you do find a solution, be sure to post and let us know about it.
-Josh
I'm not certain, but I think the full ($$$) version of PGP do per-file/per-folder encryption. If you're doing aerospace work you should be able to fork out the pocket change for the software. =)
PGP Product Info
-Josh
This letter wasn't sent in regards to the database he has amassed, they would have no legal griveance over that. However, like the rest of us, he has a perl script that you can scan your :cue:cat directly into, and use it as your search query, this "violating" their IP. This is what they're pissed about, just like the other hackers who got letters. They probably dont like that there is a competing database of UPC codes, but certainly have no legal right to go after them for that.
-Josh
Even after you split the cost, it's still totally absurd. I have almost 400 discs, and I just did them by hand, one at a time. Just get a nice ripper, something like 20X+ and take it slow. Plus, you're going to have to deal with the CDs that have software extra junk, and the ones that have scratches, and the ones that just plain dont rip right. It's a long process, but once you're caught up, it's only the new ones you get that you have to do.
Just as a word of caution, I'd be afraid of doing a ton at once. Miss one mistake, and now you've got to do it all again.
With my limited experience with solar panels, they're basicaly a standard power cell, with a set voltage. Just get the right sized/power one, and solder (cleanly) the positive and negative terminal lead wires into the battery compartment. Using jumper wires across the individual battery spots where appropriate (if needed). Then just find a nice spot for the solar panel to live. The hard part with any of the TI Models is that they dont have a whole lot of real estate to play with, and you're gonna need a sizeable (think a few times larger than the usual 1/4 inch by 1 inch solar power cells) cell.
-Josh
I prefer to think of religion as Object Oriented code.
while reincarnation() { never die };
if jesus(savior) == true { &praise(jesus) };
etc...
-Josh
I believe your point has much merit... But, on the same token, in the way that we prefer "mystical/game" religons (occult, pagan, etc..) we also prefer more logical ones (zen, buddism). Some like to have fun with their beliefs, where some take them more seriously and seek out a logical one. None of that extra baggage that xianity and judaism come along with.
-Josh
That, my friend, is a marvelous idea.
Clearly I meant megabits.
-Josh
Ahh.. I stand corrected..
Once again, I learn the lesson: Never try to be a smart ass.
-Josh
-Josh
I agree. The Mars Trilogy have to be some of the best books in all of Sci-Fi, and deal specifically with this issue.
Kim also says that the average trip up is something like 7 days... That's a long elevator ride.
He also metions that will propper weighting, they can become a quasi-perpetual-motion-machine, in that laden one side of a pulley heavier, and it'll pull the other side up as it falls to the ground.
He goes into great detail, some of which has to be partly true, about hanging the elevator using the proper distance to equal out orbital and gravitational forces. Nothing tethered on each end, just a beautiful balence.
I forget when the books were set, but I do remember the main charactors being born around the same time as me. Does that mean I get to go to Mars and ride the magical elevator? Noooo!
-Josh
Close, but no cigar.
I can restart x in under 30 seconds, where as the windows-reboot (what the shift trick is called) takes well over a minute. When you restart x, you're just reloading the base GUI, the os (linux) stays put the whole time, no programs/daemons are closed, stopped, or etc. A windows-reboot takes down the whole OS, GUI and all, and with it, all the programs/daemons you had running.
Plus, this discussion is missing the best point of linux. ALT-F1/F2/F3, etc to other consoles. If a program halts x (even so bad that xkill doesnt work), I can switch to another TTY and kill the offender, switch back to the gui and it'll be fine. All the while, the mission critical Apache and mail server are still running. With windows, the crash is most likely due to a crappy program which takes the boat down with it. And that means the web server and mail server are offline till I can get it back up.
-Josh
Well, buddy either you typo'ed the link (which wouldnt be a super big suprise, since you forgot to close the anchor tag) or xoom has already yanked your site..
That is, unless your knees started shaking a little early, and you rm'ed it yourself.
-Josh
How about speaking with your town/city officials into holding meetings in your "town hall" and doing a "fesiability" study on getting the cable company to come and run the lines. If they have hard figures from officials in your town on just how many of your "neighbors" are going to sign up, maybe they'll deem it worthy... Or, if that doesnt fly, maybe you'll meet enough people who will split the initial couple thousand dollar cost, into something more palatable.
-Josh
I too have friends that smoke around their PC, and have a perfect soloution for the nicotine coating.
Get them to quit smoking. Their PC will last longer, and for that matter, so will they.
-Josh
Simple instructions to keep your PC Clean:
1. Dont use a feather duster, or anything of the like that would cause lots of static, and besides, those just move the dirt around, not remove it.
2. Compressed air in a can is good, but if you have access to an honest-to-god air compressor, use it. They work WONDERS on that caked-on dirt. Just be carefull of how much pressure it can put out. You dont want to go chasing after the 128 Meg DIMM you just sent hurtling across the garage.
3. Use an alcohol-based solvent (preferably plain rubbing alcohol, but windex and the like work too, just dont use one with a lot of detergent) to loosen up the mud and then use a nice wipe to clean it off. Dont worry about using too much, as it's alcohol and will evaporate really quickly. Just avoid turning the PC on before it's done drying.
4. If your PC's fans have filters (some do, some dont) throw them in a sink full of water, the washing machine, or in the bath with you. If they dont have filters, use the alcohol and a wipe to clean out individual fan blades and around the housing of the fan. Those are usually REALLY dirty places.
5. On boards and cards themselves, compressed air is best, but once again, you can use alcohol, just as long as you let it dry. I've fixed more than one memory and video card problem by removing the offending DIMMS or cards and cleaning the gold contacts (male and female) with a little alcohol. Use a q-tip to get into the female PCI and mem sockets, just be really really careful not to leave little bits of cotton behind.
6. Inside the power supply is usualy HORRIBLY dirty, and I dont reccomend opening it up unless you know what not to touch. So, compressed air is the only option. Just remember one thing: The dust you're blowing has to go somewhere. Do it outside and remove all the components from the system first, or you'll have a nice and clean PS, but a filty system.
7. CDROM drives usually fail due to dust, so these are also great places to keep clean. Compressed air is good for this. Open the drawer, and put the nozzel right in the widest spot and blow. Try and get it from the back, too, just blow near an opening by the IDE connector, and the PS connector.
8. Hard drives are sealed, so you dont really have to worry about these. =)
9. Floppy drives you can clean just about the same way as the CD ROMs, just blow from each side.
10. On the outside, wipe it down with more alcohol and try and scrub all that yellow and brown dust off the front of the case, and make it all perty.
11. CPU fans also get really dusty, and can even fail if not cleaned, causing big headaches later. Just blow them with comp. air and use a q-tip and some alcohol again.
To recap: When using comp. air, the dust has to go somewhere, so know which direction you're blowing. And let the alcohol dry before turning the system on. It's not really conductive, but can cause problems.
You could do all this, or just do what I do. Use a garden hose. Takes a lot less time.
-Josh
I use IDE Backups now, for many of the reaons you know and listed, but the one drawback I can think of is that you cant take them off site. If you have serious data you NEED to protect, and a (fire, flood, dwarf invasion, et.al.) strikes your facility, it could take out both machines and the drives in them... With tapes and the like you can at least take one home with you each week for what we, in the biz, like to call "off-site data storage". Then again, you just just arrainge with the new off-shore data haven to host one of those IDE drives..
Which leads me to my newest venture (and if any of you out there would like to invest, let me know) a Moon-Base for data storage. Where could be better for lawlessness and security. The only thing that could take it out is an asteroid.. Well, that or if the US dusted off its plan to nuke the moon.. In closing: IDE backups are good. Moon-bases are better. -Josh