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Comments · 66

  1. Re:Flash memory in a keyboard? on Apple Keyboard Firmware Hack Demonstrated · · Score: 5, Informative

    The firmware could have been in ROM, but these days Flash is about as cheap as ROM and gives you the option of distributing fixes if you find bugs after the device ships.

    Two such examples of exactly that:

    1. Aluminum Keyboard Firmware Update (desktops)
    2. MacBook, MacBook Pro Keyboard Firmware Update (portables)

    The only news here is that the same mechanism of installing these updates is able to have other third party software installed in their place as well.

  2. Re:Opensource list on An Open Source Guide For The Average PC User · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty late to the story, but I made a similar list awhile ago... I've turned it into a CD of utilities that I update every so often when I'm bored. I require everything to be free (or at least, not required to pay, such as in the case with KPF), with a preference toward F/OSS

    -----------------------

    Included:
    WindowsXP SP2* - Service Pack[1]
    Kerio PF 4.2.0* - Firewall
    AVG Antivirus 7* - Antivirus[2]
    Windows Update* - Windows Updates
    Google Toolbar* - Popup Blocker
    Firefox 1.0.6* - Web Browser
    Folding@Home 5.02 - Help Cure Cancer
    iTunes 4.9 - Music Jukebox
    iPod 2005-06-26 - iPod Drivers
    VLC 0.8.2 - Media Player
    Skype 1.3.0.57 - VoIP IM client
    Shareaza 2.1.0.0 - Gnutella P2P
    Azureus - BitTorrent P2P
            Java 1.5.0.04 - Java Environment
            Azureus 2.3.0.4 - Client
            SafePeer 2.5.1 - BlackList
    Picasa 2.0 - Photo Organizer
    7-zip 4.23 - File Compression
    Acrobat Reader 7.0 - PDF viewer
    DeepBurner 1.6 - Nero-like Burner
    FileZilla 2.2.14b - FTP Client
    Thunderbird 1.0.6 - Mail/News Client
    OpenOffice.org 1.1.4 - Office Suite
    nvu 1.0 - WYSIWYG Web Editor
    GIMP - Image Manipulation
            GTK+ 2.6.8 - Environment
            GIMP 2.2.8 - Editor
            GIMP-help 2.0.8 - Help Files
            GIMP-anim 2.0.2 - Animation
    Inkscape 0.42 - Vector Drawing
    pwsafe 2.11 - Password Wallet
    PWGen 1.40 - Password Generator
    PuTTY 0.57 - SSH Client
    Bonjour 1.0 - ZeroConfig Client
    AdAware SE 1.06* - Anti-Spyware[3]
    SpyBot Search and Destroy 1.4* - Anti-Spyware[4]

    Footnotes:

    * I /will not/ work on anybody's computer unless they have these programs installed and up to date.

    [1] Windows XP SP2 may not install on a pirated version of Windows.

    [2] This is the free for personal use edition available at http://www.grisoft.com./ To use it, you must request a free key from http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php

    [3]/[4] I put both programs in the collection because neither application is 100% perfect. I personally run AdAware once a month or so, and have SpyBot set to download the latest definition and check for problems once per week.

  3. Re:MOV import on Apple Quietly Releases iTunes 4.8 · · Score: 3, Informative

    in the iTunes preferences (under advanced), you can also set it to play the movies in the album viewer spot, in a new window, or fullscreen... Regardless of your choice, you can always click on the new "open in full screen" button on the bottom left corner.

  4. Security fixes included as well on Apple Quietly Releases iTunes 4.8 · · Score: 3, Informative

    from 2 seconds ago, posted to the OSX Security Bulletins Mailing list:

    -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
    Hash: SHA1

    APPLE-SA-2005-05-09 iTunes 4.8

    iTunes 4.8 is now available and, among other enhancements, delivers
    the following security improvement:

    CVE-ID: CAN-2005-1248

    Impact: A buffer overflow in iTunes could cause a denial of service
    and lead to execution of arbitrary code

    Description: The MPEG4 file parsing code in iTunes versions prior to
    4.8 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability. Parsing a
    maliciously-crafted MPEG4 file could cause iTunes to terminate or
    potentially execute arbitrary code. iTunes 4.8 addresses this issue
    by improving the validation checks used when loading MPEG4 files.
    Credit to Mark Litchfield of NGS Software for reporting this issue.

    iTunes 4.8 is freely available at
    http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ for Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later,
    Microsoft Windows XP, and Microsoft Windows 2000

    For Mac OS X:
    The download file is named: "iTunes4.8.dmg"
    Its SHA-1 digest is: 5a86f278f9f83192a7789ad123d5d62f67a6a316

    For Windows 2000 or XP:
    The download file is named: "iTunesSetup.exe"
    Its SHA-1 digest is: 12582d193b27991c8f069331ab12d107c569bde2

    Information will also be posted to the Apple Product Security
    web site:
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=617 98

    This message is signed with Apple's Product Security PGP key,
    and details are available at:
    http://www.apple.com/support/security/pgp/

    -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
    Version: PGP 8.1

    iQEVAwUBQn+6yYHaV5ucd/HdAQLYzQf/SDN1AnjwypPbB7Uu NO eR3PnBSNyV+Z1k
    L+EwCmtafm1tx2G8m8wAX0WYJ+k79cFSxf A7A8LzVGcZwN7uYj f7JT7YDmOHiMGB
    rJFKakNmP5iSfRObSKXylfUkjBMhriiQyY zBrsbtIPjHo/HhD3 UCcKcOX0/ghFJn
    WPow+OatAPQWMV2ieyEDL1Yxr42SknmZrC EndrGDisPiT204R5 SV38vAF4PDafbm
    0/fB24UW2TPfAa/Ga50hO3IGEusAeeCRl/ VJFI9bOmDcHLAAaj Nh9zWODZ/3j49S
    nbiuGlzyf23lI2mdmSZ743DxeuojIahM9w potpWdqKMTyej4/D kbkA==
    =T7Wp
    -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

  5. Re:Not everything is a trade secret! on Newspapers Back Apple Bloggers · · Score: 1
    A trade secret is an invention, process, or method that is vital to your business, and that you actively protect and to which you actively limit internal access.


    An invention vital to apple's business that they are actively protecting because it is being solicited from those who are in the limited internal access... Wonder where that fits in with the court case...

    IIRC (and I may not, so please do correct me if I'm wrong) the sites in question were sued for disclosing information on the abilities and specifications of unreleased Apple products and goods. It would be one thing, as you say, to leak out "Apple is going to market product in this way" but quite another to say "Apple's unreleased product foo will have feature set bar, baz, xyzzy" that may give other companies time to respond and harm Apple's bottom line.

    I haven't really been paying all that much attention to the case because I've always assumed the above. Again, if this is incorrect, please let me know.
  6. Re:Well, it would be nice if Apple fixed... on 10.4 on Display at FOSE · · Score: 1
    I haven't really looked into this much... but then again, I don't really think I have to:

    * fm-iSink.c
    * overflow in mRouter, suid binary used by iSync, on OSX <= 10.3.7


    10.3.8 is the current version of the OS.
  7. Re:Greed at work? on PlayStation Sales Halted? · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That seemed to actually be the goal of Immersion, according to a family member who worked there until recently. They do make some cool stuff such as some really nice force feedback instruments for medical applications, but it seemed like they were horribly mismanaged and simply looking to last long enough to get their money out of SCE and MS and then run.

  8. Re:Looking Better Every Day on MP3 Download Prices to Rise? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Ok, ok, I'll bite..

    Seriously, I get tired of hearing this "It'll cost you $10,000 to fill your iPod from the music store!" argument. Truth is, you can easily import your own cds... If you don't have enough CDs to fill your iPod, then you can go buy a used CD for $4 at a local record shop and work it out to about $0.20/song. I personally don't fill my iPod up on purpose, because I use it every day as a disk drive... but that's another subject...

    The other great thing? If I import my music myself, there is no DRM... period... yes, even when using AAC or Apple Lossless. Perhaps it's just me, but I like knowing that I can always re-rip my music into the format of the moment (no putting up with a set bitrate by my provider) and still be able to listen to it on any (modern) machine... including sending it to as many friends as I want, if I so desired. Much better than renting my music that will only work on windows machines when it wants to let me.

  9. Re:Imagine... on Mac mini Review At Macworld · · Score: 1

    I would imagine it's more of a thermal issue, as the intake vents are on the bottom of the mini and heat will obviously rise to the top of it. Putting another mini on top of the first would just be feeding it warmer air.

  10. Re:I have a few problems on Sklyarov, Elcomsoft Plead Not Guilty · · Score: 2

    It's not so much "a key that can open any ford." Skylarov's company made software that allowed blind people to read their e-books. As adobe's software doesn't have text-to-speach, yet both MacOS and Windows have software readily available to do that (MacOS has it built in, Windows might as well, I'm not sure). Skylarov made a program that would decrypt the e-book and feed it to text-to-speach, allowing the purchaser the right to listen to the book.

    Now, as I understand, the DefCon people heard about this and knew what it meant (he cracked e-books) and asked him to give an academic presentation of how this was done. Skylarov did what Felton did, except he had a program out in the wild to show off how it worked.

    Back to the Ford example. How many people now have those IR car openers? Did anyone else see this story on slashdot? If people using palm software (I assume the software in question was OmniRemote) got between you and your car and intercepted the beam, you could have your car stolen. Does this mean that Palms should be illegial? no. OmniRemote is used for a universal remote, yet can be used to unlock any Ford. Skylarov's program gives blind people their rights, yet can be used to copy the e-book.

  11. engrish at it's finest on Wearable Internet Appliance · · Score: 1
    It seems to me the engrish on this page rivals the engrish in All Your Base. I would be impressed, however, if trolls started posting engrish that actually sounded smart. Take this from the above page for example:

    Visibility under sunshine extends the market for mobile terminals

    or

    Additional external Battery achieves longer Battery life

    So Just remember trolls, "Without HDD - reliable"

  12. Cansats are nothing new on PicoSats And CanSats And NEAR, Oh My · · Score: 2

    Arliss has been doing this for years now. I happened to be able to accompany a middle school to Black Rock, Nevada to do this in the summer of '99. The University Of Arazona was there, as well as 2 groups from Japan (Tokyo Institute of Technology and University Of Tokyo if I remember correctly).

    The ARLISS group sent up three payloads, two temperature sensors (one a cricket chirp type sensor, one a radio wave signal back to a laptop hooked up to antennae) and a digital video camera. When a coke can is 30,000 ft above you, it's a tad hard to point the antenna's in the right direction, so we didn't have much luck. Our (as well as UOA's) focus was on sensors (I believe UOA had pressure sensors and velocity sensors in their cansats)

    The Japanese teams worked on mobilization. They had a 2-can sat that was tethered together and climbed up and down the tether, keeping track of how many times it had climbed and descended.

    All in all a good time was had by all. Being one of the two oldest kids on the trip was fun (no responsibilities of an adult, not doing kiddie stuff either... I ended up getting the dummy terminal up on the laptop though, that was fun). Besides, there was a planet of the apes marathon on the hotel TV... how much better could it get?

  13. upgrades every few minutes? on Microsoft's DNS Down · · Score: 1

    Yeah, doesn't it suck when you have to upgrade your system every two minutes Taco? I hate it when it interrupts my DiabloII sessions, or that DVD I'm watching on the plane... geeze that ticks me off. 'Cause, those are the only reasons you run windows, right? It's a shame to have to reboot, huh?

    PS. - Can someone help me dislodge my tounge from my cheek?

  14. the whole point of this... on Open Source Programming On The UK PSX2 · · Score: 5

    "The European launch of the PlayStation 2 isn't far away, and in an effort to lower costs to the consumer, Sony Corp is striving to negotiate with the UK to reclassify the PlayStation 2 as a computer, which will put it in a lower tariff category. With it's current classification, the PlayStation 2 will carry a 2.2% levy. Sony is even willing to take this issue to the World Trade Organisation. The UK has already rejected the idea that the PlayStation 2 was a computer, commenting that it was not significantly different from the PlayStation." Think i'm blowing out of my arse, look here... They're doing it to get into the lower tariff's, not to encourage newbie programmers =P. If you can program for it, the more you can make an appeal to call it a computer.

  15. Re:Hmmm. Looks interesting... on The X-Box: An Emulator's Dream Platform? · · Score: 1

    Wrong company there bucko... MS got Bungie, makers of Myth and Marathon, among other games. Bleem = PSX emu

  16. Re:already in use at the airport. on NASA's E-Nose: It Smells, But It's Improving · · Score: 1

    you really dont keep up on these things, do you? ;-) the "sensor tip" they rubbed along your zippers was to pick up explosive traces on the zipper from your hands in case you had handled explosives. they then stick the sensor tip in a machine that analyzes it... has nothing to do with scent

  17. Re:Water plentiful? on English Researchers Find Extra-Terrestrial Water · · Score: 1

    I think what the poster above you was saying was that we arnt 100% sure that water is essential for life. I mean, its PROBIBLE, but we dont know that that rock on mars isnt thinking just because it doesnt show the signs of life to us

  18. i dont wanna come off... on DNA-Based Steganography Wins Intel Education Award · · Score: 1

    i dont wanna come off sounding evil-steriotypical-maleish, but is it just me or did the part of the article saying, "First in her class, Viviana is managing editor of the school's literary magazine, and has won numerous science and writing awards. A native of Romania and a published poet, she enjoys computer programming, painting and badminton, and hopes to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology." sound like a dating service description?

  19. super dandy hair remover! (tm) on Confirmed: U.S. Spies On European Corporations · · Score: 1

    does that mean we can get the new handy dandy hair remover system that has been in the works in europe for years?

    seriously though, as Douglas Adams said, "if its been in use in high rank salons in europe for years why did it take so long to get here?"

  20. Re:Where will Microsoft make money here? on Microsoft Unveils The X Box · · Score: 1
    But who are they gonna get to drink Pepsi v5.3 Second Edition?

    depends... is it service pack 2 or 3? i heard that if you drink service pack 2 too much, your vision gets a blue tint to it

  21. Re:Great animation, but will it be a great movie? on Final Fantasy Movie Trailers · · Score: 1

    Its true, the movie is being made in english with the lips synched to the english actors and dubs built in and all... I find it kinda funny that our friends in japan have to watch the badly dubbed movie now, lol...

  22. Re:I wonder... on Playstation 2 Launched in Japan · · Score: 1

    actually, they're just finishing school over there (i think)... basically the whole reason sony chose this date is that when your in junior high, you must pass a test to decide what highschool you go to... its kinda like a mini-SAT type thing. Traditionally parents buy their kids big expensive gifts for passing, and around now is when everyone is getting their test results back ^_^ kinda like mixing graduation presents with free time over the summer... if anything summer jobs will be lost because of this ^_~

  23. heres an idea... on Government Ponders Future Of Y2K Command Bunker · · Score: 2

    *looks at article on jaguar game going for >1,000 on ebay... glances over to "Government Ponders Future Of Y2K Command Bunker" hmm....

    nah... too easy...

  24. Re:Old School SciFi meets Cynical Youth on X-Files FPS Episode · · Score: 1

    Yes, there was a time when a computer game could cut off your head and some crazed or misguided developer loved his machines just like you or I love our dogs and cats.

    *imagines someone playing pong on a huge room sized computer (complete with Big Flashy Lights (tm) ) and a magnetic disc flying out of it to chop the player's head off when he looses....

    why yes... those were the days... i think? lol


    -confidential

  25. evil song in my head! on Free-PC Bites the Dust · · Score: 0

    gggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr rrrrrr... ive had this song stuck in my head all day now because of you! lol, anyways.. thought I should just share the fun =P

    Steve walks warily down the street,
    with the brim pulled way down low
    Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet,
    machine guns ready to go
    Are you ready, Are you ready for this
    Are you hanging on the edge of your seat
    Out of the doorway the bullets rip
    To the sound of the beat

    Another one bites the dust
    Another one bites the dust
    And another one gone, and another one gone
    Another one bites the dust
    Hey, I'm gonna get you too
    Another one bites the dust

    How do you think I'm going to get along,
    without you, when you're gone
    You took me for everything that I had,
    and kicked me out on my own

    Are you happy, are you satisfied
    How long can you stand the heat
    Out of the doorway the bullets rip
    To the sound of the beat

    Another one bites the dust
    Another one bites the dust
    And another one gone, and another one gone
    Another one bites the dust
    Hey, I'm gonna get you too
    Another one bites the dust

    Another one bites the dust
    Another one bites the dust
    Another one bites the dust
    Another one bites the dust
    There are plenty of ways you can hurt a man
    And bring him to the ground
    You can beat him
    You can cheat him
    You can treat him bad and leave him
    When he's down
    But I'm ready, yes I'm ready for you
    I'm standing on my own two feet
    Out of the doorway the bullets rip
    repeating the sound of the beat


    -confidential