"No, if you want to code up a virus to "fix" this problem, code up one that goes out and downloads and installs an e-mail client that was written by someone with a clue about security. Perhaps install an operating system where something run in userland can't fuck with system files. Hell, write a virus with some AI that can seek out and destroy the source code to lousy e-mail clients, scripting systems that have no concept of security, and operating systems that have no security model to speak of."
I think this is a great idea... write a worm that deletes windows and replaces it with a secure OS. Now, if we just had a superior OS to replace it with...
Space invaders. Stay alive for X seconds, move on to next level.
Re:New French school opens ...
on
Hacker U.
·
· Score: 1
I disagree.
French and Spanish may be different languages, however, they are both latin based and mutually intelligable (a native spanish speaker will understand enough french to communicate to some extent).
Hacking and Cracking are not mutually intelligable. A script kiddie isn't going to know how to write kernel modules.
Fact: People are stupid.
This implies that people don't think when they choose they're password.
Fact: People are lazy.
Fact: "1234" is a helluva lot easier to remember than "jE9kNq^"
Thus stupid people choose stupid passwords.
Quick Fix:
Access Card, Fingerprint ID, Retinal Scan, Voiceprint ID, Facial ID, or combination thereof.
If your working for the department of defense and have information worth protecting, the least you could do is swipe a card and say "Hello, My name is ______ ____, My voice is my passport, verify me" before using your computer. Then only people as smooth as the guys in Sneakers could crack it.
Is this really big news? I recall having as a kid, a Ghostwriter. It was kind of like a Magna Doodle (the more popular toy) except it used a fluid instead iron fillings. The fluid would densen on the plastic surface when you put a magnet up to it, and stick there until you shook it up. It was never completely solid, but it was a step towards such a substance. I don't think it's in production anymore...
The reason I remember it, is because it was still laying around the house when Terminator 2 came out and I *REALLY* wanted to make one of those liquid metal robots out it (a smaller one of course). When I see one of those going into production I'll be excited.
I heard about OGG Vorbis and thought I'd give it a chance in a similar fashion.
I ripped 2 wavs from CDs.... one classical, one rock. I encoded them into mp3s at 128kb/s and encoded them into OGGs (the most recent encoder out mind you) at a higher bit rate (I raised it until the file size was the about the same). I played each WAV,MP3,OGG one at a time and listening closely (with the equalizer off).
Now, I don't have a thousand dollar system, but I have been a musician for about a decade and have a pretty good ear. From what I hear, the OGG format keeps the lower frequencies more intact but loses more of the higher end. Alternatively, MP3 loses more of the lower end while retaining the higher. If you don't believe me, watch the spectrum analyzer. And, yes, you're right about the stereo loss.
Now, I'm sticking with MP3 for now, and here's the reason why:
Musically speaking, each sound you hear has both a pitch and timbre. The pitch is the note you hear, A, Eb, etc.. The timbre is the tone quality, like whether it sounds like a clarinet or a piano. The timbre is determined by the presence of overtones, the less audible tones at 3/2, 4/2, 5/2... times the frequency. Thus, the higher frequencies are very crucial to the sound quality.
Now, you won't notice this effect in OGG as much with classical music, but if you encode a rock song with plenty of overdrive guitar lines, the timbre is closer to the actual with mp3 encoding.
Since only a small percentage of my library is classical (mostly Elfman soundtracks), MP3 better fits my needs and the loss in the bass can be compensated with an equalizer and a subwoofer.
Maybe OGG will sound better in the future, but then again, MP3Pro is offering an further increase of quality in the upper frequencies, so OGG might have its work cut out for it. I'll wait a few months and give it another shot, but until then I'll still with Mp3s.
Now, I haven't exactly seen the movie yet but from what I've heard about it I think it does have quite a bit in common with trends in the series.
The quasispiritual undertones are a strong thread tying the series together. Whether it be the crystals (ff4&5), magicite (ff6), materia/lifestream (ff7) or guardians (ff8), there is some spiritual force that bonds the characters to the planet and gives them the power to fight evil. Are we expected to believe any of this? No, of course not. The point of this whole spiritual undercurrent is to establish a sense of balance in the world. Ever hear the phrase, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"? So something has to be wrong, and this is the common excuse that FF characters use to kick some ass. After all, the success of a video game is directly proportional to the amount of violence it can involve.;-)
As for the plot, I'll assume it follows this sort of skeleton. Some unbalance created by technology leads the the planet being overrun by monsters (i.e. using the crystals as a source of energy leads to monsters attacking towns a la FF5). One character, who (initially through self-interest) begins a quest to save the world but only accepts this fate after an internal struggle (i.e. Cloud is trying to figure out his past in FF7). In addition to the monsters, there is a (usually militant) evil character who is trying to take advantage of the planet's weakened state (Kefka, ff6). There's also the main chacter's love interest, sometimes a love triangle. Cid (some sort of engineer) makes frequent appearances. Usually, one of the characters team members sacrifices his/her life for the interest of the group's greater cause. With the assistance of the spiritual force (described above) and many sleepless nights of the player, good triumphs over evil and balance is restored.
What I expect to be missing from the movie, are the sub plots, the little quests your characters go on to gain experience and items while learning more about one of them. I just hope that they substite more character development to account for this.
Chocobos (which you call the biggest omission) and moogles (which are cooler), didn't appear until FF4 & 5 respectively. I wouldn't have even expected them to appear in the movie. They wanted this to be a life-like movie. If you noticed, they set the movie on EARTH. Which doesn't quite fit the FF trend, but lends towards its realism. What I do expect to see is a "wise-ass" for comic relief, someone like Barrett in FF7 who lightens up the tension through sarcasm. If you go all the way back to FF1e, the summons disappear so it isn't that much of a trend breaker. Again, I would contribute this to the realism they wanted. People aren't going to understand how Bahamut appearing out of the middle of no where ties in to the whole mess.
In addition to the realism they wanted, I think the failure of D&D hinted at a more futuristic setting, which still isn't that far from the game (Look at ff6,7,8).
Furthermore, I think that the Squaresoft name will lead to more people seeing the movie than otherwise. Thus, naming it a Final Fantasy will draw out all the hidden FF addicts like myself into seeing it, and possibly dragging a friend or 2 along.
For more information on the Final Fantasy series, try http://www.ffshrine.com
They plan to break mach 5... Thus the LA Times article's title "Plane's Final Destination: Mach 7"
They quote:
"Once detached from the booster rocket, the aircraft will be able to fly between seven and 10 times the speed of sound, or about 4,725 mph to 6,750 mph depending on altitude and atmospheric conditions."
Next time read the fucking article before you make a smart-ass remark. --Ryan
"And if I could change the future,
Sometimes, choice of OS is based entirely on hardware compatibility.
If linux ran on my laptop--- I'd use it
If BSD ran on my laptop---- I'd use it
If OSX ran on my laptop---- I'd use it
If Windows NT ran on my laptop--- I'd use it
If Dos 6.22 Ran on my laptop--- I'd use it
Unfortunately, the PoS won't run anything other than Windows ME.
If anyone has experience with the Presario 1700 series, let me know... I HATE WinME!!!!
Another unsatisfied customer. --Ryan
"And if I could change the future,
I think every one has a fair grasp of what is real and what is only fantasy.
The people that you are referring to, the people who become completely entangled in fantasy, still know how to distinguish reality. These are the people that are so disgusted with reality that they choose to keep a wall of separation between themselves and reality.
Perhaps if society and reality weren't so grim and disturbing, then people wouldn't mind living in them.
Society should concentrate on fixing reality not fantasy. --Ryan
"And if I could change the future,
>2. People aren't used to having to organize their >files in a thougtful manner. Many users give >their files names like 'Bob.xls' or 'Mary.doc'. >What > directory are they saving to? Many >(maybe even most) people have absolutely no idea. > > > If the computer organized the >user's data into a searchable database, rather >than a hierarchial filesystem, information would >be much easier to > retrieve and reuse.
In case you didn't notice, most operating systems already have ways for searching for files. MS has it's little find dialog, *nix user have the rather powerful combination of find and grep.
The problem that you in counter is that some people don't know about the find tool. They scroll past it time they click the start menu, and never actually realize it's there. They're not *exceptionally* ingorant, they just refuse to spend the three seconds to explore the fold out menus. In Window 98 (I hope it rots in hell) the menus are even animated so it takes 4 times as long to look through the menus.
I guess the point is, users need accessabily. The things that people need most should be right in front of their faces, unless they choose to get rid of it.
Yes the M&M DNA was extremely lame.. BUT what bothered me the most was Tim Robbin's death. They destroyed Newtons laws of motion just to kill off the coolest character in the movie. That's messed.
I'd have to agree with most of the previously mentioned nominees, but I'd have to say that geeks would be geeks without calculus. I therefor nominate Newton. 'Nuf Said.
Slashdot Mirror
"No, if you want to code up a virus to "fix" this problem, code up one that goes out and downloads and installs an e-mail client that was written by someone with a clue about security. Perhaps install an operating system where something run in userland can't fuck with system files. Hell, write a virus with some AI that can seek out and destroy the source code to lousy e-mail clients, scripting systems that have no concept of security, and operating systems that have no security model to speak of."
I think this is a great idea... write a worm that deletes windows and replaces it with a secure OS. Now, if we just had a superior OS to replace it with...
Space invaders. Stay alive for X seconds, move on to next level.
I disagree.
French and Spanish may be different languages, however, they are both latin based and mutually intelligable (a native spanish speaker will understand enough french to communicate to some extent).
Hacking and Cracking are not mutually intelligable. A script kiddie isn't going to know how to write kernel modules.
Fact: People are stupid.
This implies that people don't think when they choose they're password.
Fact: People are lazy.
Fact: "1234" is a helluva lot easier to remember than "jE9kNq^"
Thus stupid people choose stupid passwords.
Quick Fix:
Access Card, Fingerprint ID, Retinal Scan, Voiceprint ID, Facial ID, or combination thereof.
If your working for the department of defense and have information worth protecting, the least you could do is swipe a card and say "Hello, My name is ______ ____, My voice is my passport, verify me" before using your computer. Then only people as smooth as the guys in Sneakers could crack it.
Is this really big news? I recall having as a kid, a Ghostwriter. It was kind of like a Magna Doodle (the more popular toy) except it used a fluid instead iron fillings. The fluid would densen on the plastic surface when you put a magnet up to it, and stick there until you shook it up. It was never completely solid, but it was a step towards such a substance. I don't think it's in production anymore...
The reason I remember it, is because it was still laying around the house when Terminator 2 came out and I *REALLY* wanted to make one of those liquid metal robots out it (a smaller one of course). When I see one of those going into production I'll be excited.
Most new computers come equipped with a RCA video output... connect your computer to your VCR and push record.
The point being, if you can watch it, you can copy it.
I heard about OGG Vorbis and thought I'd give it a chance in a similar fashion.
I ripped 2 wavs from CDs.... one classical, one rock. I encoded them into mp3s at 128kb/s and encoded them into OGGs (the most recent encoder out mind you) at a higher bit rate (I raised it until the file size was the about the same). I played each WAV,MP3,OGG one at a time and listening closely (with the equalizer off).
Now, I don't have a thousand dollar system, but I have been a musician for about a decade and have a pretty good ear. From what I hear, the OGG format keeps the lower frequencies more intact but loses more of the higher end. Alternatively, MP3 loses more of the lower end while retaining the higher. If you don't believe me, watch the spectrum analyzer. And, yes, you're right about the stereo loss.
Now, I'm sticking with MP3 for now, and here's the reason why:
Musically speaking, each sound you hear has both a pitch and timbre. The pitch is the note you hear, A, Eb, etc.. The timbre is the tone quality, like whether it sounds like a clarinet or a piano. The timbre is determined by the presence of overtones, the less audible tones at 3/2, 4/2, 5/2... times the frequency. Thus, the higher frequencies are very crucial to the sound quality.
Now, you won't notice this effect in OGG as much with classical music, but if you encode a rock song with plenty of overdrive guitar lines, the timbre is closer to the actual with mp3 encoding.
Since only a small percentage of my library is classical (mostly Elfman soundtracks), MP3 better fits my needs and the loss in the bass can be compensated with an equalizer and a subwoofer.
Maybe OGG will sound better in the future, but then again, MP3Pro is offering an further increase of quality in the upper frequencies, so OGG might have its work cut out for it. I'll wait a few months and give it another shot, but until then I'll still with Mp3s.
my 2cents.
Now, I haven't exactly seen the movie yet but from what I've heard about it I think it does have quite a bit in common with trends in the series.
;-)
The quasispiritual undertones are a strong thread tying the series together. Whether it be the crystals (ff4&5), magicite (ff6), materia/lifestream (ff7) or guardians (ff8), there is some spiritual force that bonds the characters to the planet and gives them the power to fight evil. Are we expected to believe any of this? No, of course not. The point of this whole spiritual undercurrent is to establish a sense of balance in the world. Ever hear the phrase, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"? So something has to be wrong, and this is the common excuse that FF characters use to kick some ass. After all, the success of a video game is directly proportional to the amount of violence it can involve.
As for the plot, I'll assume it follows this sort of skeleton. Some unbalance created by technology leads the the planet being overrun by monsters (i.e. using the crystals as a source of energy leads to monsters attacking towns a la FF5). One character, who (initially through self-interest) begins a quest to save the world but only accepts this fate after an internal struggle (i.e. Cloud is trying to figure out his past in FF7). In addition to the monsters, there is a (usually militant) evil character who is trying to take advantage of the planet's weakened state (Kefka, ff6). There's also the main chacter's love interest, sometimes a love triangle. Cid (some sort of engineer) makes frequent appearances. Usually, one of the characters team members sacrifices his/her life for the interest of the group's greater cause. With the assistance of the spiritual force (described above) and many sleepless nights of the player, good triumphs over evil and balance is restored.
What I expect to be missing from the movie, are the sub plots, the little quests your characters go on to gain experience and items while learning more about one of them. I just hope that they substite more character development to account for this.
Chocobos (which you call the biggest omission) and moogles (which are cooler), didn't appear until FF4 & 5 respectively. I wouldn't have even expected them to appear in the movie. They wanted this to be a life-like movie. If you noticed, they set the movie on EARTH. Which doesn't quite fit the FF trend, but lends towards its realism. What I do expect to see is a "wise-ass" for comic relief, someone like Barrett in FF7 who lightens up the tension through sarcasm. If you go all the way back to FF1e, the summons disappear so it isn't that much of a trend breaker. Again, I would contribute this to the realism they wanted. People aren't going to understand how Bahamut appearing out of the middle of no where ties in to the whole mess.
In addition to the realism they wanted, I think the failure of D&D hinted at a more futuristic setting, which still isn't that far from the game (Look at ff6,7,8).
Furthermore, I think that the Squaresoft name will lead to more people seeing the movie than otherwise. Thus, naming it a Final Fantasy will draw out all the hidden FF addicts like myself into seeing it, and possibly dragging a friend or 2 along.
For more information on the Final Fantasy series, try http://www.ffshrine.com
--Ryan
"And if I could change the future,
They plan to break mach 5... Thus the LA Times article's title "Plane's Final Destination: Mach 7"
They quote:
"Once detached from the booster rocket, the aircraft will be able to fly between seven and 10 times the speed of sound, or about 4,725 mph to 6,750 mph depending on altitude and atmospheric conditions."
Next time read the fucking article before you make a smart-ass remark.
--Ryan
"And if I could change the future,
Sometimes, choice of OS is based entirely on hardware compatibility.
If linux ran on my laptop--- I'd use it
If BSD ran on my laptop---- I'd use it
If OSX ran on my laptop---- I'd use it
If Windows NT ran on my laptop--- I'd use it
If Dos 6.22 Ran on my laptop--- I'd use it
Unfortunately, the PoS won't run anything other than Windows ME.
If anyone has experience with the Presario 1700 series, let me know... I HATE WinME!!!!
Another unsatisfied customer.
--Ryan
"And if I could change the future,
$12 Canadian? Damn, I'm moving.... that's only like 50 Cents in US dollars
--Ryan
"And if I could change the future,
I think every one has a fair grasp of what is real and what is only fantasy.
The people that you are referring to, the people who become completely entangled in fantasy, still know how to distinguish reality. These are the people that are so disgusted with reality that they choose to keep a wall of separation between themselves and reality.
Perhaps if society and reality weren't so grim and disturbing, then people wouldn't mind living in them.
Society should concentrate on fixing reality not fantasy.
--Ryan
"And if I could change the future,
>2. People aren't used to having to organize their >files in a thougtful manner. Many users give >their files names like 'Bob.xls' or 'Mary.doc'. >What
> directory are they saving to? Many >(maybe even most) people have absolutely no idea. >
>
> If the computer organized the >user's data into a searchable database, rather >than a hierarchial filesystem, information would >be much easier to
> retrieve and reuse.
In case you didn't notice, most operating systems already have ways for searching for files. MS has it's little find dialog, *nix user have the rather powerful combination of find and grep.
The problem that you in counter is that some people don't know about the find tool. They scroll past it time they click the start menu, and never actually realize it's there. They're not *exceptionally* ingorant, they just refuse to spend the three seconds to explore the fold out menus. In Window 98 (I hope it rots in hell) the menus are even animated so it takes 4 times as long to look through the menus.
I guess the point is, users need accessabily. The things that people need most should be right in front of their faces, unless they choose to get rid of it.
--Ryan
"And if I could change the future,
The only practical applications of wrapster would be warez and porn, which aren't that difficult to find on the net.
Besides, I have my linux box set up like a web server. So some one wants a file from me, they can just A-IM me and ask for my IP address.
Big Whoop.
Yes the M&M DNA was extremely lame.. BUT what bothered me the most was Tim Robbin's death. They destroyed Newtons laws of motion just to kill off the coolest character in the movie. That's messed.
The GHz mark is obviously a technological breakthrough... any estimations on when we'll have Laptops with that clock speed?
I'd have to agree with most of the previously mentioned nominees, but I'd have to say that geeks would be geeks without calculus. I therefor nominate Newton. 'Nuf Said.