I recently ran NetStumbler during most of a rail trip (on the Acela -- nice!) between New Haven, CT and Washington, DC.
I detected a horde of access points along the way and am working on writing up a summary of what I found (vendor breakdown, how many had WEP enabled, how many had default SSID's, etc. )
We watched sasser just go right by us because all of our managed machines were patched well before it showed up. Why? We're running SUS.
When the vulnerability was announced, we saw it was going to be a bad one. What did we do? Well, we downloaded the update, tested it on a few machines (which had no problems) and a few days later clicked a check box on a SUS server that approved it for distribution to clients.
Over the next few days, just the one SUS server I monitor reported over 1200 clients successfully installed the update. Others reported similar results. By time time sasser showed up (or any of its slower-moving predecessors, some of which were poking around within a week), we'd patched thousands of systems with no user interaction at all. The only people who got hit were people running unmanaged machines... and many of them had ignored the little green globe which was telling them that their system needed to be updated. If they'd clicked on it, they would have been OK too.
Oh yeah, SUS is free, a piece of cake to install, and works great. It even locks down the server it runs on to resist attack. Anyone who runs more Windows machines than they can reach from their desk chair should be using it.
Gartner should stop with the "nyah nyah we said it was going to be a bad one... look how cool we are". Everyone else with a clue knew it was going to be a big problem too. They should instead point out ways for Windows shops to get out in front of the curve.
Known Space is a fairly well-developed environment at this point... with Humans and Kzinti occasionally duking it out, the Puppeteers pulling their strings, the Outsiders occasionally dropping a wild card and the pre-history of the Pak and the Slavers, there's lots of interesting stuff going on in the world.
However, the books and stories that defined this world have largely petered out - Niven seems to have run out of ideas after three trips to the Ringworld and there can only be so many "Man-Kzin Wars XX" books before they all look like the same thing.
There was a Ringworld-based game years ago. It played kind of like the Space Quest series but without the tongue-in-cheek attitude. I think Known Space would be a great place to roll out any or all of the current game genres (RTS, RPG, FPS...)
The first time I stood on Halo and lifted my viewpoint to the "arch o'er the world" I realized that they... almost had it.
Through the magic of Tivo, I watched the PBS Frontline documentary called "American Porn" last night. It's at the same time fascinating and more than a little disturbing.
It basically consists of interviews with people involved in the porn industry (from the front office to the business end of the camera) and talks about the environment in which they work. They spend part of their time focusing on a couple who are into making "extreme" stuff. The PBS camera crew actually walked out while these guys were making a "rape" video because they couldn't take what they were seeing, despite conceding that it was nominally consensual. The directors' only instructions to the woman were simply to "let it happen". Everyone knew what was going to happen (including being slapped around... and worse) except her!
Kind of makes you think a bit about what is and is not over the line with regard to "freedom of expression".
The full show is available online from the PBS web site.
Rather than ripping 1000 DVD's (who's got the time??), I'd go with a pair of Sony's DVP-CX985V 400-disc DVD jukeboxes ($399). It does progressive scan and handles CD's, MP3 CD's, SACD's and DVD's. This is the ultimate weapon for those with huge DVD/CD collections... not to mention getting all that shelf space back!
I have one of the 300-CD changers and it's worked extremely well. I'm considering upgrading to one of these to merge my CD and DVD collections into a single unit.
It has a big brother too - the DVP-CX777ES which is the same size but has various additional features.
I read it. It stank.
on
Digital Fortress
·
· Score: 3, Informative
I read this book a few months ago, also backtracking through Dan Brown's works after reading the absolitely riveting "The DaVinci Code".
It was interesting to read Code's immediate predecessor, called "Angels and Demons", because it was almost like a trial run of the plot for "Code". It had almost all of the same elements - the same symbology professor, the female tagalong who happens to be an expert at all the right things and at the same time ignorant of everything the main character knows so he can "educate" her (and the reader) about it, the rogue killer, a tour of the unseen reaches a historic venue, a trip into the secret laboratories of big science and a lot of preaching about how Christianity has been twisted by the Roman Catholic Church to ensure its own preservation. Not a bad book with some good stuff in it, but not as polished.
Then I picked up "Digital Fortress". Hmm. Let's see:
Cryptic but incredibly important message from a dying keeper of a "Big Secret" transmitted in the prologue? Check.
Nerdy main character thrown rudely into a mad life or death scramble to prevent something Really Bad (tm) from happening? Check.
Female character who happens to be an expert at the right things at the right time but otherwise doesn't do much to help? Check.
Knowledgeable, respected person who seems to be a friend but really is an Adversary? Check.
Big mean killer? Check.
Distorted picture of How Things Really Are Done? Check. [ In this case the NSA stands in for the church... must have relized the Vatican was a better target after writing this book. ]
Overall, very unsatisfying execution of a mildly interesting premise. Since all 3 of Dan Brown's books that I've read share the same basic plot, I'm done reading his stuff.
Someone tell me if he has anything out that doesn't follow this formula. This is why I stopped reading Tom Clancy novels ages ago.
Wired replied to that accusation in the November issue that the only "enhancements" they made were to amp up her eyes a bit and make the diamonds sparkle better.
On top of that, they say their model had to sit for hours "half-naked and nursing a cold".
Some sort of intelligent voice-recognition work would allow (for example) a Karaoke version of Dance Dance Revolution where the console tracks how well you stay on key while singing along to various tracks? Hmm...
"At one point, a computer magazine proposed a SolMark computer speed test: The faster the cascade, the faster your computer."
I remember when Microsoft was doing the run-up to release of NT4 (the upgrade from 3.51) way back in, umm, 1995 or 1996. One of their arguments for moving video drivers into the kernel space was that it gave much better performance (which is true).
To demonstrate this, a MS rep at a conference I was attending showed how to trigger the card cascade on demand in Solitaire and showed it on an NT 3.51 machine and a similar-hardware NT4 machine - the NT4 machine spewed cards a LOT faster.
Unfortunately I don't remember the key combo that triggered the card spew.
This kind of concern about neighbors sniffing your DVD collection through your wireless network is a good argument to stick to wired ethernet where possible...
In an unrelated event, I realized a couple of days ago that my entertainment center has more devices (3) plugged into its ethernet hub than the office downstairs (2)! Now arrives a candidate DVD player with ethernet. Don't some home theater receivers now have ethernet as well?
The entertainment center has a TiVO, an Xbox and a wireless hub plugged into it and the office only has two computers!
This issue was covered prety thoroughly on PBS's NOVA a couple of weeks back.
My TiVo captured it but I'm not going to let my kids watch it because it's pretty alarmist IMO (and, frankly, there's nothing we can do about it anyway).
Microsoft has a free tool called "SUS" which is a localized version of Windows Update - you run it on a W2K server in your enterprise and then redirect your clients to get their automagic updates from the local server instead of going to MS directly.
The SUS server is supposed to synchronize itself (manually or automatically) with Microsoft's servers to get the latest updates, and you get a chance to approve them for distribution to clients. Not a bad idea, and it seems to work OK.
However, the URL that's coded into SUS to synchronize with updates is -- wait for it -- a windowsupdate.com URL!
Error Message: "Failed to download from URL 'http://www.msus.windowsupdate.com/msus/v1/aucatal og1.cab'. (Error 0x80072EFD: Unable to connect to the server.)"
Anyone using SUS to update their client machines is now stuck with their current update set until Microsoft sets up a new site to sync with and documents how to change the URL that SUS uses to whatever one they come up with.
"...A wireless game can cost $40,000 and take a few months to develop, while full-fledged PC and console games can cost $5 million to $10 million and take years to deliver."
... unless you want a game that only runs on QuickTime.
Maybe that's what 3D Realms is aiming for with DNF?
Being personally interested by the intersection of the law and computing, I printed off a copy of this to read on the plane tomorrow. When I pulled it out of the printer, I flipped through it a bit and happened to notice that the authors reveal the "secret" ingredient in Coca-Cola!
No, it's not Cocaine anymore.
Now I'm really looking forward to reading the whole thing!
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With no HD it should be a big improvement but my Xbox is wayyy too loud when the disk is chattering away and the DVD is spinning.
It's even louder than my (modded with extra fan) Tivo which is right next to it in the entertainment center.
I detected a horde of access points along the way and am working on writing up a summary of what I found (vendor breakdown, how many had WEP enabled, how many had default SSID's, etc. )
I'm hoping to get it online fairly soon.
If anyone still cares, raise your hand.
Thought so.
3D Realms is having its bubblegum chewed and their asses kicked again by that geek from Black Mesa.
When the vulnerability was announced, we saw it was going to be a bad one. What did we do? Well, we downloaded the update, tested it on a few machines (which had no problems) and a few days later clicked a check box on a SUS server that approved it for distribution to clients.
Over the next few days, just the one SUS server I monitor reported over 1200 clients successfully installed the update. Others reported similar results. By time time sasser showed up (or any of its slower-moving predecessors, some of which were poking around within a week), we'd patched thousands of systems with no user interaction at all. The only people who got hit were people running unmanaged machines... and many of them had ignored the little green globe which was telling them that their system needed to be updated. If they'd clicked on it, they would have been OK too.
Oh yeah, SUS is free, a piece of cake to install, and works great. It even locks down the server it runs on to resist attack. Anyone who runs more Windows machines than they can reach from their desk chair should be using it.
Gartner should stop with the "nyah nyah we said it was going to be a bad one... look how cool we are". Everyone else with a clue knew it was going to be a big problem too. They should instead point out ways for Windows shops to get out in front of the curve.
However, the books and stories that defined this world have largely petered out - Niven seems to have run out of ideas after three trips to the Ringworld and there can only be so many "Man-Kzin Wars XX" books before they all look like the same thing.
There was a Ringworld-based game years ago. It played kind of like the Space Quest series but without the tongue-in-cheek attitude. I think Known Space would be a great place to roll out any or all of the current game genres (RTS, RPG, FPS...)
The first time I stood on Halo and lifted my viewpoint to the "arch o'er the world" I realized that they... almost had it.
Isn't that a recipe for some serious stuff coming back at them from the other side of the Atlantic?
It basically consists of interviews with people involved in the porn industry (from the front office to the business end of the camera) and talks about the environment in which they work. They spend part of their time focusing on a couple who are into making "extreme" stuff. The PBS camera crew actually walked out while these guys were making a "rape" video because they couldn't take what they were seeing, despite conceding that it was nominally consensual. The directors' only instructions to the woman were simply to "let it happen". Everyone knew what was going to happen (including being slapped around... and worse) except her!
Kind of makes you think a bit about what is and is not over the line with regard to "freedom of expression".
The full show is available online from the PBS web site.
Rather than ripping 1000 DVD's (who's got the time??), I'd go with a pair of Sony's DVP-CX985V 400-disc DVD jukeboxes ($399). It does progressive scan and handles CD's, MP3 CD's, SACD's and DVD's. This is the ultimate weapon for those with huge DVD/CD collections... not to mention getting all that shelf space back!
I have one of the 300-CD changers and it's worked extremely well. I'm considering upgrading to one of these to merge my CD and DVD collections into a single unit.
It has a big brother too - the DVP-CX777ES which is the same size but has various additional features.
It was interesting to read Code's immediate predecessor, called "Angels and Demons", because it was almost like a trial run of the plot for "Code". It had almost all of the same elements - the same symbology professor, the female tagalong who happens to be an expert at all the right things and at the same time ignorant of everything the main character knows so he can "educate" her (and the reader) about it, the rogue killer, a tour of the unseen reaches a historic venue, a trip into the secret laboratories of big science and a lot of preaching about how Christianity has been twisted by the Roman Catholic Church to ensure its own preservation. Not a bad book with some good stuff in it, but not as polished.
Then I picked up "Digital Fortress". Hmm. Let's see:
- Cryptic but incredibly important message from a dying keeper of a "Big Secret" transmitted in the prologue? Check.
- Nerdy main character thrown rudely into a mad life or death scramble to prevent something Really Bad (tm) from happening? Check.
- Female character who happens to be an expert at the right things at the right time but otherwise doesn't do much to help? Check.
- Knowledgeable, respected person who seems to be a friend but really is an Adversary? Check.
- Big mean killer? Check.
- Distorted picture of How Things Really Are Done? Check. [ In this case the NSA stands in for the church... must have relized the Vatican was a better target after writing this book. ]
Overall, very unsatisfying execution of a mildly interesting premise. Since all 3 of Dan Brown's books that I've read share the same basic plot, I'm done reading his stuff.Someone tell me if he has anything out that doesn't follow this formula. This is why I stopped reading Tom Clancy novels ages ago.
On top of that, they say their model had to sit for hours "half-naked and nursing a cold".
Too bad the company that made it (a Canadian company called Vital Technologies) has gone under, apparently it really worked!
Yup, that's it. Cool! Too bad I don't have a PS2... Maybe an Xbox version is coming someday.
Some sort of intelligent voice-recognition work would allow (for example) a Karaoke version of Dance Dance Revolution where the console tracks how well you stay on key while singing along to various tracks? Hmm...
I remember when Microsoft was doing the run-up to release of NT4 (the upgrade from 3.51) way back in, umm, 1995 or 1996. One of their arguments for moving video drivers into the kernel space was that it gave much better performance (which is true).
To demonstrate this, a MS rep at a conference I was attending showed how to trigger the card cascade on demand in Solitaire and showed it on an NT 3.51 machine and a similar-hardware NT4 machine - the NT4 machine spewed cards a LOT faster.
Unfortunately I don't remember the key combo that triggered the card spew.
Good book. I wondered after reading it whether anything was left of Bellingham and whether Larry Niven had something against them. :-)
In an unrelated event, I realized a couple of days ago that my entertainment center has more devices (3) plugged into its ethernet hub than the office downstairs (2)! Now arrives a candidate DVD player with ethernet. Don't some home theater receivers now have ethernet as well?
The entertainment center has a TiVO, an Xbox and a wireless hub plugged into it and the office only has two computers!
The world, it is a-changing.
... and nothing but net!
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Definition of Minumim Wage:
If they paid you anything less, it would be illegal.
I'm sure the two people who still care about this game were really bummed.
My TiVo captured it but I'm not going to let my kids watch it because it's pretty alarmist IMO (and, frankly, there's nothing we can do about it anyway).
Or maybe we can?
Maybe it should be renamed "Smiith". :-)
The SUS server is supposed to synchronize itself (manually or automatically) with Microsoft's servers to get the latest updates, and you get a chance to approve them for distribution to clients. Not a bad idea, and it seems to work OK.
However, the URL that's coded into SUS to synchronize with updates is -- wait for it -- a windowsupdate.com URL!
Error Message:l og1.cab'. (Error 0x80072EFD: Unable to connect to the server.)"
"Failed to download from URL 'http://www.msus.windowsupdate.com/msus/v1/aucata
Anyone using SUS to update their client machines is now stuck with their current update set until Microsoft sets up a new site to sync with and documents how to change the URL that SUS uses to whatever one they come up with.
Lame.
Maybe that's what 3D Realms is aiming for with DNF?
This looks like it's from "Stargate". 8-)
No, it's not Cocaine anymore.
Now I'm really looking forward to reading the whole thing!
PS: See page 53.