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Comments · 4,651

  1. Re:let's see DRM, high cost of HDD's get in the wa on Good Disk Library Solutions? · · Score: 3, Informative

    Give it to XBMC, then point it to thetvdb.com and imdb.com. Name the files correctly, "Farscape 1x2" for example, and let the magic of the media center software do the rest.

  2. Re:Why not go the easy way? on Debt Reduction Super Committee Fails To Agree · · Score: 1

    Congressional terms are specified in the Constitution. To change them, you'd need an Amendment.

    Good luck with getting 2/3 of both houses to vote that in. I think the 3/4 of the State Legislatures might be possible, but the hurdle of the super-majority cut-out-own-throats vote is a biggie.

  3. Re:and why... on SCADA Hacker: Water District Used 3-Character Password · · Score: 2

    Yeah, but this could have just as easily been one of those *Monster* unidirectional cables. You know, the ones with the arrows printed on them telling you which way the bit flow. These only have one arrow printed.

  4. Re:A sad world. on Plate Readers Abound in DC Area, With Little Regard For Privacy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Unless the criminals happen to be the cops.

    The people in charge of these are human, and a FOIA request will show a plethora of discipline problems. Many revolve around misuse of systems.

    For example, running illegal criminal checks on your daughter's new girlfriend. Finding out everywhere your wife's car has been seen. Who is she visiting at that apartment complex?

    There are numerous reports of hospital personnel snooping on patient records. Of IRS personnel snooping on private tax records. It isn't just celebrities who are the target, but political opponents and people with different religious or social views.

    A bit of creative editing (think Michael Moore or James Oâ(TM)Keefe) can generate a web of lies that is plausible enough to cause irreparable harm to the victim.

    Cardinal Richelieu is quoted as saying "If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him."

    These system generate multi-volume epics.

  5. Re:A true academic OS on Andrew Tanenbaum On Minix, Linux, BSD, and Licensing · · Score: 1

    No, not really. That was the point I was trying to make. Not much there right now.

    In the article Tannenbaum mentioned working on some form of either compatibility layer or porting of NetBSD packages. That'll help, but we'll see how long it takes them to pull it off.

    ftp://ftp.minix3.org/pub/minix/packages/3.2.0/i686/

  6. A true academic OS on Andrew Tanenbaum On Minix, Linux, BSD, and Licensing · · Score: 2

    Download Minix and you get a microkernel OS. Browsing the FTP site for packages and I see SSH, X, Vim, the make suite and Perl. It seems any actual useful programs are left as an exercise to the student.

    Loads of education fun -- if I was stuck on a rocket to Jupiter and had a few years to kill reinventing the wheel. In Perl, none-the-less. *shudder*

  7. Re:weight and safety on Hybrids Safer In Crashes — Except For Pedestrians · · Score: 1

    No, not unless you're playing a round of Car Wars. Or, maybe a really big fan of Alan Dean Foster's short stories. re: Bryer v Matthews.

    The SUV is a passive, defensive solution. Yours is an active, offensive solution.

  8. Re:Anti-FUD on Full Disk Encryption Hard For Law Enforcement To Crack · · Score: 1

    Buy a copy of EnCase and try it yourself. The various law enforcement agencies are some of the biggest customers.

    While there is always speculation that the NSA can do this. I can guarantee you if they can, they aren't going to share with the local cops. Hell, they probably won't share with the FBI, either. They won't take the chance of some flatfoot letting the cat out of the bag.

  9. Re:SCADA vulns on Feds Investigating Water Utility Pump Failure As Possible Cyberattack · · Score: 1

    Any reason you just don't do the same with a second Ethernet port?

    Cross-connect the two boxes via direct connection. Feel free to disconnect the one set of transmit wires, ala a network tap. Use different IP scheme and don't route. Use blind-drop FTP, or SCP (or nntp if you want to be a super-geek).

    Gigabit crossover cables beat old serial connections by several orders of magnitude.

  10. Re:x86 on Intel's Plans For X86 Android, Smartphones, and Tablets · · Score: 4, Funny

    Not while keeping a straight face, no.

  11. Re:More information on Canary Islands Eruption Could Create New Land · · Score: 3, Informative

    Incidentally, what are the chances they'll just end up with an atoll? Would this land rush be damp squib?

    Zero. An atoll is made up of coral, not volcanic rock.

  12. Re:Momentum on Ballistic Clipboard Holds Papers, Stops Bullets · · Score: 1

    You might not want to use popular media such as television, movies or video games, for accurate representation of physics.

    Getting shot with a handgun bullet won't cause you to flip head-over-heels, nor your head to explode.

    Mass plays an important role here.

  13. Re:Available in my area? on Comcast Begins Native IPv6 Deployment To End Users · · Score: 4, Funny

    Right after they test with the current demographic -- people with one computer that is directly connected to the cable modem.

    This should go quickly, since every one of those people is already a zombie spam-bot.

  14. Re:Intruiged on Asus Unveils Quad-Core Transformer Prime Tablet · · Score: 2

    Unless you're sitting at a desk or table, reading documents is much easier on flat device without an attached keyboard.

    Also, I used mine when looking to move and checking out houses. (Create custom map with home locations on Google Maps, log in and view map with GPS enabled on tablet.) The 10" screen is much better for things like maps and GPS navigation. Most laptops don't have integrated GPS and carrying a laptop around in a car or on foot is cumbersome.

  15. Re:Tesla on Tesla To Build a Rapid-Charging Station Between LA and SF · · Score: 2

    Assuming, of course, you are taking along small children, the elderly or pregnant women. :-)

  16. Re:And now lets word it to screw the little guy. on Bill Gates Advocates Tax On Financial Transactions · · Score: 2

    The wages paid to employees are not taxed a income. Thus, your company does not pay tax on your salary.

    Sales tax is State and local, not Federal. Feel free to move to a State that does have sales tax. For example, Oregon, Montana or New Hampshire. Feel free to rent if you don't want to pay property tax.

    Yes, we need to drastically reduce military and conflict spending. But you do have a degree of control over many of the taxes you pay.

  17. Re:It's a Hoax on FEMA, FCC Hope To Forestall Panic Over National Emergency Alert · · Score: 3, Informative

    It worked for me during the 1998 outbreak of tornados in Tennessee. I was in Nashville at the time and heading south by car when it kicked in. It was off and on all day and helped me navigate between storms and keep safe.

    Quite useful that time.

  18. Re:Really? The colleges are the problem? on Why Do So Many College Science Majors Drop Out? · · Score: 1

    And when that particular bubble bursts, you'll be spending a year on unemployment. You'll also come up against the cold, hard reality that "web design" isn't a career. It is a commodity that is easily outsourced. Ditto for PHP and Javascript coding.

    Whereas those students who took path two are actually employable throughout their lifetime and have a level of security that you'll never know.

    Enjoy the parties while you can. They do not last.

  19. Re:I see opportunity on Did Feds' Use of Fake Cell Tower Constitute a Search? · · Score: 1

    I'll have to dig. I don't think they spoof the specific ID, but rather just appear as an authorized tower. This goes on with the cooperation of the cell companies.

    An approved tower would be easier to manage and have less if a possibility of a screw up than a spoofed tower.

  20. I see opportunity on Did Feds' Use of Fake Cell Tower Constitute a Search? · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I can see the potential for a smartphone app that learns the cell tower IDs that you normally connect to and lets you know if something is out of the ordinary. Similar to the Certificate Patrol add-on for Firefox, but for cellular connections.

    Wigle Wifi already collects the data and shows details on the towers visible to your phone, so that info *is* available.

  21. Re:For the moment. on Fee Increase Attempt Inspires 'Dump Your Bank Day' · · Score: 1

    The simple solution to that is to not close the first account for some period of time. I'm letting my BoA account sit for the next 90 days until I close it. Even then, I'll review the prior 90 days of transactions to make sure nothing was missed.

  22. Re:Very True on Consumer Tech: an IT Nightmare · · Score: 1

    Really? How about spending $140 and buying TWO of the cheaper drives instead, and putting one aside for a spare. Or a hot spare, if you so wish.

    Sun used the same excuses to vastly overcharge on components. The only reason it happens is so the companies can pad their bottom line with high-margin items.

  23. Re:Fedora, eh? on Fedora Aims To Simplify Linux Filesystem · · Score: 1

    Has he seen reason on PAM, yet?

  24. You're making it too hard. on Ask Slashdot: How To Securely Share Passwords? · · Score: 1

    This isn't a difficult problem.

    Print them out and put that piece of paper where you have all the other "if I die" pieces of paper. For example, your will, insurance policies, titles/deeds to any real property.

    For example, a bank safe deposit box or on file with your lawyer if you have one. Just for geek sake, I also have digital scans in PDF form of every one of those pieces of paper. They're burned to a CD and kept in a small fireproof safe in my house.

    In the event of a "bug out" emergency, I grab the small safe (really a lockbox) and go. Both my wife and I have keys to it, and all my adult kids know where to get the keys if needed. (Hell, even the 3 year old knows -- which has presented problems a couple times when he flushed one set of keys. But, that is a different story.)

  25. Re:Forgiveness at no cost? on Student Loans In America: the Next Big Credit Bubble · · Score: 5, Informative

    This means that after 20 years of you making income-based payments, they forgive the remaining debt. In order to qualify for income-based payments, you can be making no more than 150% of the poverty line. In that case, you payments are no more than 10% of your income.

    The reality is, there are very, very few people who actually accrue student loans who can't pay them back over 20 years. Not only that, but are living around the poverty line for 20 years.

    There are other paths to loan forgiveness in exchange for service. Details are here.