I could just imagine the kind of drivers license issued to Perl. First off, it would have a magnetic stripe, barcode, brail, and RFID encoded driver's license number on the back. The photo would be in the visual, infra-red, and ultraviolet spectrums. The license itself would be an actual 4d hypercube turning into your social security card, credit cards, gas cards, library cards, and translations of all the above into every language depending on the licenses orientation in space-time. In the event of emergency, the license would also be a flotation device and in the rare case of ending up on a desert island can be turned into a Swiss army knife and satellite GSM phone with GPS capabilities. Biometric identification built into the license allows it to change into the proper license for whoever is holding it. The license would be powered by a kinetic energy system similar to no-wind watches. It would also have a backup fusion generator, solar cells, hydrogen fuel cells, lithium ion battery banks, and be expandable for anti-mater generators once they become available.
Then you would lose it and it would be eaten by a snake.
I have a commercial address. In fact I run my own web/mail server. My problem is that I signed up for hotmail before there were many webmail services. I got the address because I wanted a email to attach to public projects that I wouldn't worry about getting spammed.
My personal mail is still 100% spam-free after three years without any filtering. I'd like to keep it that way, hence using my hotmail account for all the give-us-your-email web forms and such.
I know I can run something like hotpop and setup a php webmail service and an imap server. Or, I can just use hotmail. I try to choose my battles wisely.
I just tried tabbrowser. It does some great work with tabs. I like the features it offers, however it does not work with clicking on messages in hotmail into new tabs. Either the tab doesn't open or I end up with somethin like javascript:G('/cgi-bin/getmsg?msg=MSG1070435987.20 &start=1299751&len=1439&msgread=1&imgsafe= n') in a new tab.
Yes, I did go through all the options for it and made the sensible selections in regard to javascript.
Just installed it. It has some great tab functionality - I'll enjoy using it. However it does not work on hotmail.
Hotmail uses JS to open the mail in the same window. If it opened into a new window, tabbrowser would be able to handle it. I probably should have been more descriptive in its horrible use of javascript.
I got the account when there weren't too many webmail options. I use it for public communications when I don't want to give out my personal email. Also, all websites that want my email address get the hotmail one. Plus I use several different computers - and some are not under my control so I don't want to put email on them, or setup an imap account. I know I should switch to something more sane, but in any case, the hotmail address is out with a bunch of patches so I'd have to use it anyway for quite some time to get everyone changed over.
For various annoying reasons I have to use hotmail for a great deal of my email. Recently, MS changed the hotmail interface so links to messages are done in javascript instead of regular HTML. This means that I can't control+click all my messages and have them open into tabs. Its been barely over 24hrs since they have done this and I'm already contemplating setting up a html-email/hotpop server localy just to get around this...
Anyway, to the point. Submit a (working) patch to mozilla that gets included and get a $50 amazon.com or thinkgeek gift certificate, or a paypal payment (minus fees).
The patch should:
-detect when javascript would open a new window
-If the link was to be opened into a new tab (via control-click, 3rd mouse button, or whatever option is set), open the link into a new tab instead of a new window
-have an option to open all new windows into a new tab
-This bounty expires at midnight GMT on 12/31/04. By which time I'll either have been annoyed to the point of death, or have been forced to setup an alternate solution.
Defuddle my email address and send me an email when its done. Also, if you know a better place to put this bounty, please reply. Mozilla.com should have a section for this...
This is wrong on soooooo many levels. I could understand trying to twist the truth by redefining what a webserver is... but thier sampling method is straight out wrong.
Want proof? Here it is. Go to the linked article, (or click here) and where they have the box to check your server header (about half way down the page) type in www.microsoft.com - you will see its running IIS/6. A nice happy IIS server.
Now, type in my web server - http://www.isthatdamngood.com - its a nice Linux/Apache server. My server will CRASH thier app! Actually, a lot of linux servers will crash it...
Kinda hard to claim your results are more indicitative of the market when your scanning technology is flat out broken.
Don't you just love the joys of unregulated spectrum usage? If someone can get 108Mbps out of thier wireless by using more spectrum, I say let them do it. As long as its within power regulations, I can fine tune my wireless around it. If I get really upset I suppose I can buy one of the super-g systems for myself.
When the FCC sais that anyone can use this swath of the spectrum for anything within these power levels, and someone makes a gadget that does so, people have no right to complain if it interfears with thier gadget.
This is quite possibly the only site that could be completely mirrored in text mode... and here I am posting a link... Anyway.. here is a mirror of the invitation:
you just have the recieving station, if the beam is not hitting it when it is supposed to be then it sends a radeo[sic] transmission to the station that stops it.
So if a terrorist blows up the station, the satelite keeps beaming power to it - not only precluding emergency personel from entering the station, but also not allowing the satelite to be shut off in case of drift.
Any failsafe that requires action on behalf of any piece of equipment is not safe. The only thing you can count on is inaction. Hence the setup of the grand-post.
Steve: "Bill, we have a problem. It appears that not only are second world countries and small states switching to linux. The US Army is beginning to use linux in its new systems." A nervous Steve mentions.
Shocked, Bill replies "Enough of this. Its time to begin Operation Rotanimret! Is everything in place?"
Steve: "Yes, the worms are ready. The submarines are still running WindowsCE, and the governator of Califorenia is backing us up."
Bill: "Excellent! Release the worm immediately. Something tells me this patch won't make it to the update servers any time soon." Bill says ending with an evil "Muhahahahaaa!"
Steve, now sweaty under the arms reads from an emergency plan: "We had better leave immediately to the bunker. Our estimates show that we will have total control over every windows PC in the world in under 4 hours. Beginning 2 hours from now, the distruction of non-windows pc's will begin."
Bill: Excelent. To the SUV then!
-- Bill and Steve are on the road heading to thier secret underground bunker ---
Bill: Do you remember where the bunker was?
Steve: Not exactly.. I never drive anywhere myself anymore. I'm pretty sure its in this direction though. I'll just ask the car... AutoPC show me a map to the secret underground bunker.
--BSOD--
Bill: Damn. At least this isn't a drive-by-wire SUV. We'd really be in trouble. Give it a second to reboot.
Bill: AutoPC show me a map to the underground bunker.
--Map displayed showing bunker is behind them--
Bill: Darn steve, we have to turn around. Its showing that we passed the bunker.
--Steve turns around and begins following the map--
Steve: Well, here we are. It must be under this penguin factory.
Bill: Wow.. good idea. Whoever hid the secret lair under a penguin factory needs to get a bonus if they survive the nuclear winter we are about to unleash.. in 20 minutes, we need to hurry! Pull in over there.
Steve: Ok. we're here. What the--- Bill, why is your face on the dashboard map?
Bill: Don't know.
AutoPC: Thank you for using AutoPC. This vehicle is being sacrificed to destroy the linux tyrany. Have a nice day!
While I agree that false identification cards will still be issued, at least this way we can trace back to exactly who issued it and change policies accordingly.
I love reading these stories about how everyone wants to make a national id card, Oracke wants to run the database, IBM wants to provide the hardware etc...
As long as there is a centralized database of any kind, the potential for abuse is there. The only way that I would get a national ID card of some kind is if it were similar to the following:
The card would have to be a smart card, and store the following:
-An MD5 of my PIN number -A "fingerprint" of my fingerprint (i.e. the datapoints that are stored instead of fingerprints themselves) -A picture of myself (stored digitaly) -I may or may not want info like eye color, hair color, weight, height etc.. I hesitate because I don't think they are particularly usefull in identification. I've never had anyone actually check my eye color when I present ID.. and I know women who change thier hair color more often than thier desktop background. -Although I really dislike the idea of including it, my SSN will probably be necessaraly included. I'd prefer a MD5 of my ssn, and be required to key it in when necessary, but like income taxes the genie is out of the bottle and I don't see any act of congress to repeal SSN's coming soon.
This should cover the standard security pillars.. Something you have (the card), something you know (your pin) and something you are (fingerprint). Any one is easy enough to fake. Any two require some serious nastyness to get from you, and all three require some form of intimidation to get from you.
Now, all that info should be cryptographaly signed by some government agency. Preferably each location (or maybe each operator) that provides registration/card creation service would have its own private key to sign the information. That way, fradulent cards can be traced back to whomever signed them and they can be appropriately beaten and charged as a terrorist w/o due process.
Now, the most important thing is that.. this information must not be stored anywhere aside from on the card! If there is a uber database of everyones name, photo, ssn and fingerprint that just screams to be abused. This would still allow interoperatability with the watch list du jour via ssn's, and I believe it would even be approved by most privacy advocates.
The major problem with a do-not-spam registry is not that it would only affect domestic spam.. The major problem is that there will be a huge list of validated e-mail addresses that spamhauses can buy, send overseas, and spam all day and all night from offshore.
The only reason this isn't happening with the telephone do-not-call list is that the cost of international calls is still prohibitave... but I think VoIP might make this option attractive at some point. I'd just love to get a sales call from some guy in India trying to sell me a new car windshield. Also, phone numbers are published anyway, so there is no real need to harvest the do-not-call list.
I think the way this should be implimented is a national list of MD5's of the addresses. Make it illegal to email any address whose md5 matches one on the list (converted to lowercase so that capitalization is not a loophole). This would prevent address farming, and have the same integrity as the proposed do-not-spam list.
(BTW, consider this prior art in case anyone goes patenting md5's of email addresses.../me smacks the US patent system)
An individual or company can be considered a linux specialist if they demonstrate the ability to:
-Properly secure a firewall -Compile and install a kernel -Configure the third button on thier mouse -Print to a Panasonic KXP-8410 printer in color -Make coffee that is restricted under OSHA guidelines -Recognize a minimum 8 of 10 random network cards by thier chipset number only -Understand the usefullness of the SysRq button -Install linux on any appliance that does not come with a keyboard or mouse -Setup a cron job to order pizza online -Pay a license fee to SCO -Assemble a beowolf cluster which includes more than one type of gaming console -Install a really cool kde/gnome/enlightenment theme -Run desktops at no less than 1600x1200 resolution, native -Name all boxen after sci-fi characters/objects -Any cats owned must be named after cabling specifications -Adequate space must be reserved in all hardware racks for pizza boxes -Every system must glow at night. Server rooms should be scary
That should just about cover it. Congratulations! You may now call yourself a linux specialist!
I have to say after reading the article, the reactor design does sound very safe. Here is a quick rundown of reactor advancement...
-Big hunk of uranium in a pool of water*. Water heats but is under pressure so it can't boil. The water (contaminated and radioactive) is then piped through fresh water (in sealed pipes) from a lake or river transferring heat so the fresh water will boil and turn turbines. Neutron absorbing control rods are raised or lowered into the big hunk of uranium to control the reaction. Problems can occour with pipes corroding and releasing contaminated water*, control rods can jam, leaks in the coolant water* can cause a loss of coolant leading to an overheated reactor.
-Little pellets of uranium in a pool of water*. Same principle as above, only there are no control rods. As the pellets heat up, the expand, increasing the distance between the pelets. This is much safer because there are no control rods to jam. Loss of coolant can still be a problem, but easily solved by simply moving the pellets further apart.
-And now, this reactor.. a Big Rod of Uranium is immersed in a pool of water*. The rod of uranium is sub-critical so it can't sustain a (large) heat producing reaction on its own. A sleve made of neutron reflecting material (google for nuclear bomb neutron reflector) slowly makes its way along the BRoU over the reactors 30-year lifespan. Only the uranium surrounded by the sleve can react. If the sleve moves too fast, then the reactors lifespan is simply shorted - it will never produce more heat than can be made via the reflector. If it moves too slow, the reactor simply produces less heat. Overall a very good design. If I were to have a reactor in my backyard, I definately would choose this style.
I've gotta hand it to the toshiba people.. I wouldn't have thought of this... pretty cool.
*Note: Water may not be water. Water is often used because of its high specific heat, but many other liquids have been used as coolant. In the toshiba reactor, liquid sodium is spec'd because its non-corrosive. A big plus in a maintenance-free environment.
I've found that Yahoo is better at finding roads when I don't have the complete information (i.e. no zip code). I've tried a few times to find an address in mapquest, only to give up and find it instantly in yahoo maps.
I'm sure there are several examples going the other way as well. In any event, its always better to have several competing services than one monopolistic non-innovative service.
On behalf of all grumpy readers, I would like to elaborate more on this book's flaws.
First, lets start with the title. "HackNotes Linux and Unix Security Portable Refrence." The title is far too long. A much nicer title would have been an unpronounceable vowelless abbreviation such as HNLUSPR. Also the title is ambiguous - Is hacknotes the author/publisher or is it a description of what the book is about? And if you ask your local B&N service rep for books by HackNotes, is it one word or two?
Now, more on to the book. It is far from portable. Sure, you can move it around but don't try sticking it in your pocket. Perhaps they should have included a handle on the spline.
The book is also missing GNU/'s all over the place. I mean, what is linux? I've always been severely beaten with a UNIX manual by a guy with a huge beard everytime I said linux without a GNU/ infront of it. And yes, you *MUST* pronounce the/.
The advice the book gives is fairly standard. Close all ports, don't use windows etc... Not too special for a "pocket" guide. A far more usefull guide would have included all ports to forward for games. I can't count the times I've had to research what ports a game uses in order to get it to work through my NAT.
Now, more about the book itself. Its made of paper! I attempted to test its easy-to-digestness but gave up around chapter 3. I seriously doubt that this is production quality digestableness. However, the copy I received may have been a pre-release so that might not apply to the final book.
The book itself is strewn with DMCA violations as well. In the forward, the editors openly admit to using the shift key while writing it -- a known security circumvention device. Also, the authors signature on the back jacket appears to be made with a Sharpie marker. Don't be supprised if the FBI raids your local bookstore. (Disclaimer: all uppercase letters in this post were made with the CAPS LOCK key. All extended characters such as * and () were made with thier ASCII code equivilants.)
All in all, this book doesn't live up to the hype. It will most likely be placed on the same shelf with all the other security guides. However if it will end up on the Unix or GNU/Linux shelf still remains a mystery.
Slashdot Mirror
I could just imagine the kind of drivers license issued to Perl. First off, it would have a magnetic stripe, barcode, brail, and RFID encoded driver's license number on the back. The photo would be in the visual, infra-red, and ultraviolet spectrums. The license itself would be an actual 4d hypercube turning into your social security card, credit cards, gas cards, library cards, and translations of all the above into every language depending on the licenses orientation in space-time. In the event of emergency, the license would also be a flotation device and in the rare case of ending up on a desert island can be turned into a Swiss army knife and satellite GSM phone with GPS capabilities. Biometric identification built into the license allows it to change into the proper license for whoever is holding it. The license would be powered by a kinetic energy system similar to no-wind watches. It would also have a backup fusion generator, solar cells, hydrogen fuel cells, lithium ion battery banks, and be expandable for anti-mater generators once they become available.
Then you would lose it and it would be eaten by a snake.
I always thought it was pretty Kool.
I liked the review, but in the end they misspelled "Konclusion".
I have a commercial address. In fact I run my own web/mail server. My problem is that I signed up for hotmail before there were many webmail services. I got the address because I wanted a email to attach to public projects that I wouldn't worry about getting spammed.
My personal mail is still 100% spam-free after three years without any filtering. I'd like to keep it that way, hence using my hotmail account for all the give-us-your-email web forms and such.
I know I can run something like hotpop and setup a php webmail service and an imap server. Or, I can just use hotmail. I try to choose my battles wisely.
Yep, that sounds like it would work just fine.
:)
Now, impliment it someone
I just tried tabbrowser. It does some great work with tabs. I like the features it offers, however it does not work with clicking on messages in hotmail into new tabs. Either the tab doesn't open or I end up with somethin like javascript:G('/cgi-bin/getmsg?msg=MSG1070435987.20 &start=1299751&len=1439&msgread=1&imgsafe= n') in a new tab.
Yes, I did go through all the options for it and made the sensible selections in regard to javascript.
Just installed it. It has some great tab functionality - I'll enjoy using it. However it does not work on hotmail.
Hotmail uses JS to open the mail in the same window. If it opened into a new window, tabbrowser would be able to handle it. I probably should have been more descriptive in its horrible use of javascript.
I got the account when there weren't too many webmail options. I use it for public communications when I don't want to give out my personal email. Also, all websites that want my email address get the hotmail one. Plus I use several different computers - and some are not under my control so I don't want to put email on them, or setup an imap account. I know I should switch to something more sane, but in any case, the hotmail address is out with a bunch of patches so I'd have to use it anyway for quite some time to get everyone changed over.
And you are right, it is mozilla.org.
For various annoying reasons I have to use hotmail for a great deal of my email. Recently, MS changed the hotmail interface so links to messages are done in javascript instead of regular HTML. This means that I can't control+click all my messages and have them open into tabs. Its been barely over 24hrs since they have done this and I'm already contemplating setting up a html-email/hotpop server localy just to get around this...
Anyway, to the point. Submit a (working) patch to mozilla that gets included and get a $50 amazon.com or thinkgeek gift certificate, or a paypal payment (minus fees).
The patch should:
-detect when javascript would open a new window
-If the link was to be opened into a new tab (via control-click, 3rd mouse button, or whatever option is set), open the link into a new tab instead of a new window
-have an option to open all new windows into a new tab
-This bounty expires at midnight GMT on 12/31/04. By which time I'll either have been annoyed to the point of death, or have been forced to setup an alternate solution.
Defuddle my email address and send me an email when its done. Also, if you know a better place to put this bounty, please reply. Mozilla.com should have a section for this...
This is wrong on soooooo many levels. I could understand trying to twist the truth by redefining what a webserver is... but thier sampling method is straight out wrong.
Want proof? Here it is. Go to the linked article, (or click here) and where they have the box to check your server header (about half way down the page) type in www.microsoft.com - you will see its running IIS/6. A nice happy IIS server.
Now, type in my web server - http://www.isthatdamngood.com - its a nice Linux/Apache server. My server will CRASH thier app! Actually, a lot of linux servers will crash it...
Kinda hard to claim your results are more indicitative of the market when your scanning technology is flat out broken.
Don't you just love the joys of unregulated spectrum usage? If someone can get 108Mbps out of thier wireless by using more spectrum, I say let them do it. As long as its within power regulations, I can fine tune my wireless around it. If I get really upset I suppose I can buy one of the super-g systems for myself.
When the FCC sais that anyone can use this swath of the spectrum for anything within these power levels, and someone makes a gadget that does so, people have no right to complain if it interfears with thier gadget.
This is quite possibly the only site that could be completely mirrored in text mode... and here I am posting a link... Anyway.. here is a mirror of the invitation:
http://slashdot.isthatdamngood.com/tmdc6inv.zip
Be nice. Its dsl.
Any failsafe that requires action on behalf of any piece of equipment is not safe. The only thing you can count on is inaction. Hence the setup of the grand-post.
Steve: "Bill, we have a problem. It appears that not only are second world countries and small states switching to linux. The US Army is beginning to use linux in its new systems." A nervous Steve mentions.
:) ]
Shocked, Bill replies "Enough of this. Its time to begin Operation Rotanimret! Is everything in place?"
Steve: "Yes, the worms are ready. The submarines are still running WindowsCE, and the governator of Califorenia is backing us up."
Bill: "Excellent! Release the worm immediately. Something tells me this patch won't make it to the update servers any time soon." Bill says ending with an evil "Muhahahahaaa!"
Steve, now sweaty under the arms reads from an emergency plan: "We had better leave immediately to the bunker. Our estimates show that we will have total control over every windows PC in the world in under 4 hours. Beginning 2 hours from now, the distruction of non-windows pc's will begin."
Bill: Excelent. To the SUV then!
-- Bill and Steve are on the road heading to thier secret underground bunker ---
Bill: Do you remember where the bunker was?
Steve: Not exactly.. I never drive anywhere myself anymore. I'm pretty sure its in this direction though. I'll just ask the car... AutoPC show me a map to the secret underground bunker.
--BSOD--
Bill: Damn. At least this isn't a drive-by-wire SUV. We'd really be in trouble. Give it a second to reboot.
Bill: AutoPC show me a map to the underground bunker.
--Map displayed showing bunker is behind them--
Bill: Darn steve, we have to turn around. Its showing that we passed the bunker.
--Steve turns around and begins following the map--
Steve: Well, here we are. It must be under this penguin factory.
Bill: Wow.. good idea. Whoever hid the secret lair under a penguin factory needs to get a bonus if they survive the nuclear winter we are about to unleash.. in 20 minutes, we need to hurry! Pull in over there.
Steve: Ok. we're here. What the--- Bill, why is your face on the dashboard map?
Bill: Don't know.
AutoPC: Thank you for using AutoPC. This vehicle is being sacrificed to destroy the linux tyrany. Have a nice day!
Bill and Steve look at each other
--Car explodes outside the penguin factory--
[to be continued!]
[feel free to continue
While I agree that false identification cards will still be issued, at least this way we can trace back to exactly who issued it and change policies accordingly.
I love reading these stories about how everyone wants to make a national id card, Oracke wants to run the database, IBM wants to provide the hardware etc...
As long as there is a centralized database of any kind, the potential for abuse is there. The only way that I would get a national ID card of some kind is if it were similar to the following:
The card would have to be a smart card, and store the following:
-An MD5 of my PIN number
-A "fingerprint" of my fingerprint (i.e. the datapoints that are stored instead of fingerprints themselves)
-A picture of myself (stored digitaly)
-I may or may not want info like eye color, hair color, weight, height etc.. I hesitate because I don't think they are particularly usefull in identification. I've never had anyone actually check my eye color when I present ID.. and I know women who change thier hair color more often than thier desktop background.
-Although I really dislike the idea of including it, my SSN will probably be necessaraly included. I'd prefer a MD5 of my ssn, and be required to key it in when necessary, but like income taxes the genie is out of the bottle and I don't see any act of congress to repeal SSN's coming soon.
This should cover the standard security pillars.. Something you have (the card), something you know (your pin) and something you are (fingerprint). Any one is easy enough to fake. Any two require some serious nastyness to get from you, and all three require some form of intimidation to get from you.
Now, all that info should be cryptographaly signed by some government agency. Preferably each location (or maybe each operator) that provides registration/card creation service would have its own private key to sign the information. That way, fradulent cards can be traced back to whomever signed them and they can be appropriately beaten and charged as a terrorist w/o due process.
Now, the most important thing is that.. this information must not be stored anywhere aside from on the card! If there is a uber database of everyones name, photo, ssn and fingerprint that just screams to be abused. This would still allow interoperatability with the watch list du jour via ssn's, and I believe it would even be approved by most privacy advocates.
Any improvement ideas? Post 'em!
The major problem with a do-not-spam registry is not that it would only affect domestic spam.. The major problem is that there will be a huge list of validated e-mail addresses that spamhauses can buy, send overseas, and spam all day and all night from offshore.
/me smacks the US patent system)
The only reason this isn't happening with the telephone do-not-call list is that the cost of international calls is still prohibitave... but I think VoIP might make this option attractive at some point. I'd just love to get a sales call from some guy in India trying to sell me a new car windshield. Also, phone numbers are published anyway, so there is no real need to harvest the do-not-call list.
I think the way this should be implimented is a national list of MD5's of the addresses. Make it illegal to email any address whose md5 matches one on the list (converted to lowercase so that capitalization is not a loophole). This would prevent address farming, and have the same integrity as the proposed do-not-spam list.
(BTW, consider this prior art in case anyone goes patenting md5's of email addresses...
An individual or company can be considered a linux specialist if they demonstrate the ability to:
-Properly secure a firewall
-Compile and install a kernel
-Configure the third button on thier mouse
-Print to a Panasonic KXP-8410 printer in color
-Make coffee that is restricted under OSHA guidelines
-Recognize a minimum 8 of 10 random network cards by thier chipset number only
-Understand the usefullness of the SysRq button
-Install linux on any appliance that does not come with a keyboard or mouse
-Setup a cron job to order pizza online
-Pay a license fee to SCO
-Assemble a beowolf cluster which includes more than one type of gaming console
-Install a really cool kde/gnome/enlightenment theme
-Run desktops at no less than 1600x1200 resolution, native
-Name all boxen after sci-fi characters/objects
-Any cats owned must be named after cabling specifications
-Adequate space must be reserved in all hardware racks for pizza boxes
-Every system must glow at night. Server rooms should be scary
That should just about cover it. Congratulations! You may now call yourself a linux specialist!
I have to say after reading the article, the reactor design does sound very safe. Here is a quick rundown of reactor advancement...
-Big hunk of uranium in a pool of water*. Water heats but is under pressure so it can't boil. The water (contaminated and radioactive) is then piped through fresh water (in sealed pipes) from a lake or river transferring heat so the fresh water will boil and turn turbines. Neutron absorbing control rods are raised or lowered into the big hunk of uranium to control the reaction. Problems can occour with pipes corroding and releasing contaminated water*, control rods can jam, leaks in the coolant water* can cause a loss of coolant leading to an overheated reactor.
-Little pellets of uranium in a pool of water*. Same principle as above, only there are no control rods. As the pellets heat up, the expand, increasing the distance between the pelets. This is much safer because there are no control rods to jam. Loss of coolant can still be a problem, but easily solved by simply moving the pellets further apart.
-And now, this reactor.. a Big Rod of Uranium is immersed in a pool of water*. The rod of uranium is sub-critical so it can't sustain a (large) heat producing reaction on its own. A sleve made of neutron reflecting material (google for nuclear bomb neutron reflector) slowly makes its way along the BRoU over the reactors 30-year lifespan. Only the uranium surrounded by the sleve can react. If the sleve moves too fast, then the reactors lifespan is simply shorted - it will never produce more heat than can be made via the reflector. If it moves too slow, the reactor simply produces less heat. Overall a very good design. If I were to have a reactor in my backyard, I definately would choose this style.
I've gotta hand it to the toshiba people.. I wouldn't have thought of this... pretty cool.
*Note: Water may not be water. Water is often used because of its high specific heat, but many other liquids have been used as coolant. In the toshiba reactor, liquid sodium is spec'd because its non-corrosive. A big plus in a maintenance-free environment.
I've found that Yahoo is better at finding roads when I don't have the complete information (i.e. no zip code). I've tried a few times to find an address in mapquest, only to give up and find it instantly in yahoo maps.
I'm sure there are several examples going the other way as well. In any event, its always better to have several competing services than one monopolistic non-innovative service.
I think someone is out playing capture the b33r.
I just hope they don't get sniped.
On behalf of all grumpy readers, I would like to elaborate more on this book's flaws.
/.
First, lets start with the title. "HackNotes Linux and Unix Security Portable Refrence." The title is far too long. A much nicer title would have been an unpronounceable vowelless abbreviation such as HNLUSPR. Also the title is ambiguous - Is hacknotes the author/publisher or is it a description of what the book is about? And if you ask your local B&N service rep for books by HackNotes, is it one word or two?
Now, more on to the book. It is far from portable. Sure, you can move it around but don't try sticking it in your pocket. Perhaps they should have included a handle on the spline.
The book is also missing GNU/'s all over the place. I mean, what is linux? I've always been severely beaten with a UNIX manual by a guy with a huge beard everytime I said linux without a GNU/ infront of it. And yes, you *MUST* pronounce the
The advice the book gives is fairly standard. Close all ports, don't use windows etc... Not too special for a "pocket" guide. A far more usefull guide would have included all ports to forward for games. I can't count the times I've had to research what ports a game uses in order to get it to work through my NAT.
Now, more about the book itself. Its made of paper! I attempted to test its easy-to-digestness but gave up around chapter 3. I seriously doubt that this is production quality digestableness. However, the copy I received may have been a pre-release so that might not apply to the final book.
The book itself is strewn with DMCA violations as well. In the forward, the editors openly admit to using the shift key while writing it -- a known security circumvention device. Also, the authors signature on the back jacket appears to be made with a Sharpie marker. Don't be supprised if the FBI raids your local bookstore. (Disclaimer: all uppercase letters in this post were made with the CAPS LOCK key. All extended characters such as * and () were made with thier ASCII code equivilants.)
All in all, this book doesn't live up to the hype. It will most likely be placed on the same shelf with all the other security guides. However if it will end up on the Unix or GNU/Linux shelf still remains a mystery.
Lets see.. genetically engineered bacteria, radioactive waste, underground aquifer.. Anyone else think this is a recipe for a comic book?
Is there a new 'Corporate fuckups for dummies' book out that I haven't seen yet? RIAA, SCO, and now SunnComm seem to have all read the same book.