User: The Dodger

Three Cheers for Hughes!

On: DirecTV's Secret War On Hackers

First of all, let's point out here that what this little story refers to as "hackers" are actually "pirates".

Secondly, what the Hughes technicians did was far more worthy of the term "hack". It stands out simply because it was the "big nasty corporation" who turned the technical tables on the crackers, and defeated them.

The whole thing smacks of genius - the subtlety, (in sending out the updates in a fragmented manner), the timing (ambushing the pirates a week before one of the biggest US TV events), the technical brilliance - all these are trait too often missing in so-called "hackers".

Respect to the Hughes guys.

D.

Earth-killing Yanks...

On: Global Warming Worse Than Thought

the u.s. is still the primary culprit responsible for 25% of climate effecting polution.

So, more than 225 years after the Boston Tea Party, the Yanks are still acting like spoilt children having a tantrum and dumping shit into our oceans and atmosphere.

They've got consistency.. You've got to hand them that!

D.
..is for "Dumping dioxins into the river is my God-given right as an American!"

Software/algorithm patents...

On: New "mp3PRO" From Fraunhofer, But What About LAME?

Why is it that so many de facto Internet standards are based upon software or algorithm patents? MP3, GIF, RSA (until recently)...

Is it because software companies are happier licensing something from another company than adopting an open standard?

D.

Re:Let's see *you* decipher Morse code

On: Is There Anybody Out There?

Oh right, so Morse Code was perfectly good enough for the very first wireless transmissions, but it's not good enough to broadcast into deep space?

Idiot.

D.

Re:Explains why SETI is unsuccessful...

On: Is There Anybody Out There?

Morse Code would be an extremely bad idea since it assumes the receiver understands English

Ah, so it's not just Yanks you have to spell everything out for.

I was taking it for granted that the content of the message itself would be mathematical in nature, as Star Trek's Universal Communicator is still under development...

I swear, if you were to plot of the average IQ level of Slashdot users over time, I think we'd see something reminiscent of recent NASDAQ graphs.

It's like, you're trying to have a conversation with someone, and you assume that certain things are taken for granted. Like, when I have a conversation about computers, I don't expect to have to declare up front at the start of each conversation that "PC" refers to IBM-compatible personal computers running Windows on an Intel-or-similar chip, or that "TCP/IP" refers to the suite of Internet protocols as defined by RFC numbers blah blah blah...

It'll soo get to the stage where, in order to have any kind of meaningful discussion, you have to #define everything at the start...

*sigh*

My point about the use of Morse Code or a similar method of communication is that it would remove the need for the aliens to be able to look at the picture properly. All they have to do is start listening to it. The use of "audible symbols" means that you can use maths to establish a ground set of rules that, later on, you can use to say, define how to display a picture like the one they sent.

I just think that the biggest hurdle is the initial one - i.e. the alien realising that this is a message they're receiving. The simpler the message, the better, because you can build from very simple building blocks (e.g. a brick) to create longer, more complex messages (e.g. the Empire State Building) which go on to define universal constants like the speed of light, star positions, "We are here, come visit next time you're in the neighbourhood"-type of thing.

D.

Re:Let's see *you* decipher Morse code

On: Is There Anybody Out There?

Because assuming that space aliens understand English would be pathetically stupid?

*sigh* I was operating under the unstated assumption that the message would be a mathematical one, seeing as maths is the only truly universal language.

Why do you always have to spell everything out for Yanks? *duck*

D.

Explains why SETI is unsuccessful...

On: Is There Anybody Out There?

If this is the sort of thing that "intelligent" life broadcasts into space in an attempt to contact other civilisations, then it's no fucking wonder we've not yet got any evidence that we're not alone in the Universe.

Didn't some scientist put together a message like this, years ago, and show it to all his colleagues at a conference, only to discover that none of them could decipher it.

And what's the whole idea with using pictures anyway? Before the aliens even get to figuring out how to interpret/understand it, they've got to get displaying it right (hmmmm - mental images of alien scientists rushing home to grab their kids' Atari 2600s).

Why don't people who are trying to communicate with the rest of the Universe stick to the basics - i.e. morse code?

Finally, given how much electromagnetic radiation the Earth radiates into space, what's the likelihood of an alien civilisation being able to pluck these sort of messages out from all the other broadcasts we regularly send out?

D.

Re:As used by Zombie Nation

On: Synthesizers, Commodore 64 Style

You getting into making techno music now, Baz? :-)

D.

Re:Other old computers

On: World's Oldest Working Computer On Display

Uhhhhhhm... Okayyyyy...

1. If you're referring to the Baby, it wasn't built until a couple of years after the end of WWII.

2. I find the idea that a university would destroy a computer in order to keep it secret, a bit far-fetched I'm afraid.

Y'see, the problem with destroying an invention like the computer in order to keep it secret from one's enemies (e.g. the Commies), hence preventing them from benefiting from the knowledge, is that you kind of lose out on benefiting from that knowledge yourself...

So, apologetic skepticism is the main impression you should receive from me here. :-)

D.

Other old computers

On: World's Oldest Working Computer On Display

Alan Turning went to work at Manchester University in the UK after the war and a lot of work on early computers was done there. Check out the History of the Computer Science Department page for some interesting history, including the world's first stored-program computer, which was restored and made operational again a few years back (simulator available!), and the prototype for the world's first manufactured production computer. Manchester was also the birthplace of virtual memory.

D.

Re:Linux vs. *BSD

On: NSA Releases High Security Version Of Linux

The [BSD] licensing is such that they would never have to release their modified code, right?

They don't HAVE to release any changes they make to GPL software, like Linux, unless they're selling it to someone.

Right?

D.

A degree is NOT essential.

On: Student Suspended For Taking Teacher's Challenge

I may be wrong - but Id venture a guess that you dont work for any Fortune 500 companies. You cant get a job here at XZY Auto (big 3 US Autos) without at least an Associates Degree.

I don't like hearing people saying "You can't...". You fucking can.

I got kicked outta university and I'm now working for one of the world's largest financial institutions, on hardcore ecommerce projects - online trading systems and the like. I earn a fuck of a lot more money that the guys I used to sit next to in lectures and who sneered at me when I got kicked out. I got here by being good, by being smart and ambitious, and by working pretty fucking hard.

Being good means you're good at your job - you actually know what the fuck you're talking about.

Being smart means that you work the System (the whole career/corporate thing is a system, and just like any system, it can be hacked; think of it as social engineering). That means you go for the right jobs, adapt to your surroundings, use tact and diplomacy ("Yes, that would do it, but there is another way of doing this.." instead of "No, you're wrong! What you should do is...") and generally infiltrate the organisation. Then you recommend they adopt open source software. ;-)

Ambition is what gives you the impetus to do better. Whether thats to gain wider recognition, work your way up the corporate ladder, earn more money, whatever. A lot of people aren't ambitious and that's fine - their choice. I am, though. If I wasn't, I'd never have progressed from being a sysadmin-tech-support-web-designer at a small Columbia Internet-style ISP. Ambition gives you the motivation to get where you want to go.

Finally, work hard. Being good at your job and politically/socially astute will only get you so far. If you're lazy and/or you don't deliver the goods, then sooner or later, you're gonna get found out. Oh, and another thing - creating job security for yourself by hoarding knowledge and/or creating systems that only you can support/run is fucking lame. It's the equivalent of proprietary software. I document things properly and train people in the technologies I implement, so that if I got run over by a bus tomorrow, the systems that I've already helped set up would continue to run. The reason they don't get rid of me is because I've got the ability to take new technologies, figure 'em out and put 'em into practise. I add a huge amount of value by keeping the company close to the leading edge. And, truth is, I'd rather be consulting on projects and designing new systems than doing support/sysadmin anyway...

To progress, you must do all of these things. I know people who are fucking good programmers, and who deliver. Period. Their employers don't actually realise how fucked they would be if these guys left, but even though these guys are ambitious, they lack the street-smarts (actually, "corp-smarts" would be a better phrase to use), to lever themselves into a better/higher paid/more enjoyable job. And I've met plenty of people who are good, smart and ambitious, but who don't actually deliver the goods. There are even more who are smart and ambitious, but don't have a fucking clue what they're talking about.

I'm not saying that people shouldn't get degrees. Getting a degree isn't easy (I should know!) and, in itself, generally requires the qualities I've just described, but not having a degree should be no obstacle. I've not yet come across a company which will only employ graduates that I would actually want to work for.

So, moral of the story, if anyone says to you "You can't.." say to them "Fuck you. I can!".

</PEP TALK>

D.

These experts need to get out more...

On: UK Researchers Make Neural Networks Smarter

If "you had one expert that preferred furry animals, whereas another expert preferred domesticated animals and another preferred small animals, their votes ... would light up dogs and cats very nicely."

God, wait 'til the animal rights' activists get wind of this - animals being used to satisfy artificial intelligence experts' sexual urges!

D.

HAH! Lara Croft eat your heart out...

On: First Ever Pitfall Perfection?

It'll be interesting to see if anyone's still playing Tomb Raider fifteen years from now...

D.

Makes you wonder...

On: U.S. Allows Sale of Half-Meter Satellite Photos

If they're prepared to de-classify this level of resolution, what sort of resolution are they still keeping secret?

Still, no matter how good spy sattelites get, I still reckon that, for the purpose of gathering visual intelligence the best imaging technology remains the Human Eyeball, Mk I.

D.

Re:There is a point, but this isn't the solution..

On: Inferno Plugin for IE - An OS In Your Browser

Well, I could tell you but then, of course, I'd have to kill you. :-)

D.

Re:There is a point, but this isn't the solution..

On: Inferno Plugin for IE - An OS In Your Browser

At the moment Java is taking the lead because it has the largest user and developer base out of all of them. But I'm sat here, still thinking to myself whatever happened to "push" technology that was being touted 4 or 5 years ago?

The difference between Java and Push was that Push was complete hype and never actually materialised. Back at that time, when everyone was saying "Oh, push technology to your browser, personalised content, blah", I had an interview with a niche publishing company, and the chick who was interviewing me asked what I thought about Push technology and (even though it was obvious that she thought it was going to be the next big thing) I told her that it was a big load of hype and there was already a very nice and fully functional push technology that had been around for years, called "e-mail".

Needless to say I didn't get the job.

But, compare the non-materialisation of Push with the success that Java has had. It's becoming one of the main web application platforms/environments. Put it this way, back when I met you off the train to introduce you, yadda yadda yadda (remember the red jacket?:), if JSP and Servlets were around, you'd have been writing Java instead of Cold Fusion code for that thing you did.

Java's going to be around for a while, because people are currently investing a lot of money in systems based on it.

If I were a programmer, and I had to choose a language to specialise in, I'd choose Java.

D.

Re:Not freemoneyforhackers.com

On: Credit Card Database Stolen -- 4 Months Ago

he went to the location and saw the new stuff, verified that at least some of what was there was charged on his card

If I were him, I'd have taken the furniture. What's the guy gonna do - call the police? "Sorry officer, but this furniture belongs to me - look, here's the entry on my credit card bill." Hell, he could probably get a copy of the receipt from the company.

Relatively pointless, but enjoyable. Also less likely to land you in jail than taking a baseball bat to the fucker.:-)

D.

Re:slashdot.COM --- just another sell-out.

On: Yahoo! Now On France's Minitel System

You may reject my submissions, but I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine...

D.
..is for Darth. James Darth. Licensed to be Evil.

Re:This should happen more often, actually.

On: Credit Card Database Stolen -- 4 Months Ago

It would be pretty easy to encrypt them using a cookie that's stored on my browser. [...] It's time to move towards a more cryptographically secure way of making payments.

Well, just as long as you're not the one designing the system...

Having strong crypto or good technology is only one part of the equation when it comes to a payments system. The organisational aspect has to be addressed as well, along with issues of liability, non-repudiation, infrastructure, etc.

Take PayPal as an example. I've heard (well, read) PayPal's praises sung by Americans I communicate with on the 'Net, some of whom (who really should know better) even said that it's safer than using a credit card online. From the technical point of view, that might be the case, but as an overall payments system, it's not perfect.

The main problem is that most techies know fuck all about the realities of doing business, and most business people know fuck all about the realities of implementing technology.

Anyone can have a good idea. It's making it happen that counts. That's the difference between boo.com and Amazon.com

Financial stuff isn't easy or straightforward and I can say this with authority, because I work for one of the biggest banks in the world, doing ecommerce stuff. But, if you don't believe me, take a look at what happened to Digicash and First Virtual.

D.

Re:Famous???

On: Yahoo! Now On France's Minitel System

Yeah, it's a famous definition! ;-)

D.

The Brits are already there, dude...

On: Company Gains Research Rights To Tongan Genome

Britain has become the first country to approve the use of genetic tests by insurance companies. Full stop/Period.

Slashdot story on the topic.

Let's face it - all our worst fears are coming true.

D.

The Israelis have already thought of this...

On: Company Gains Research Rights To Tongan Genome

Allegedly, Israeli scientists have identified certain unique features of the Arab/Palestinians' genome which don't appear in Israelis' genome.

And this is in a country where a significant fraction of the population believe that the only bad thing about nuking the West Bank would be the radioactive fallout that would drift across the border in Israel. Of course, on the other hand, you have the Arabs, a significant fraction of whom think that driving Israel into the sea is a perfectly reasonable policy. Fun, fun, fun...

Come to think of it, I guess that explains why the Israelis were so interested in developing their own neutron bombs. For the uninitiated, neutron bombs (invented by Dr Sam Cohen, who was part of the original Manhattan project, in cased anyone's interested in doing further research) are nuclear devices which, when detonated, generally produce a minimal blast and thermal effect, but they produce a substantial pulse of neutron radiation which penetrates hardened shelters and produces a destructive ionizing effect when it interacts with living tissue. In other words, such a weapon does not destroy buildings as much as it kills people.

In other words, with a neutron bomb, you can kill everyone in a city, without destroying the city. Get rid of your enemies, and as soon as the radiation fades, move in, clean up the mess and you have a ready-built city. Cool, huh? 'Twas all the rage during the Cold War - any decent superpower just had to have one, dahling...

Where was I? Oh yeah, genetic ethnic cleansing. I think that the knowledge and technology exists today to engineer a virus that kills only a certain ethnic group. Fortunately, noone seems to have done it yet.

At least, as far as we know.

D.
PS: Yes, I am possibly the most cynical person in the world...

Re:How can they regulate?

On: French Judge Demands Yahoo Censor Auctions

Briefly, they can regulate, because Yahoo! operates in France, and it's French subsidiary (Yahoo France) falls under French law. Effectively, the French courts are saying "Hey, if you Americans want to operate in our country, you will have to-a respect our legislations, oui!!"

This is actually old news (note the date on the article) and has been watched with extreme interest by those of us who have an interest in the legal issues surrounding the Internet (things like liability, data protection legislation, legal authority, etc.). It may turn out to be an interesting legal precendent.

D.

Britain's history of amateur games development

On: Playstation 2 Basic?

Some people out there are probably wondering why this is getting released in the UK in particular.

Well, the UK has a long history of amateur games development, a legacy of home computers like the ZX-80, Spectrum, Commodore, BBC Micro, etc. Teenagers learnt how to program in their bedrooms on computers they got from Santa, then grew up to found and work at companies like Psygnosis, Codemasters, Silicon Dreams, Eidos, Ocean, Rare, etc.

I can't read the Sony Management's collective mind, but I suspect that the strength of the British computer games industry is one of the reasons behind their decision to sell the PS2 with an amateur development capability. Not that different from the "Net Yaroze" version of the original Playstation, really.

D.