If you haven't seen the "Battle of the X-Planes" documentary, you probably should. A lot of detail about the behind the scenes development of the aircraft that were competing head-to-head for the JSF contract.
In the end Boeing's aircraft lost the battle, but it seems that their UAVs will probably win the war. The days of pilots in the cockpit may be much shorter than people previously thought...
1. Android devices should advertise freedom and functionality.
Freedom makes sense - it's one of the reasons that people like Android phones, however Apple has functionality down cold, that's some tough competition...
2. Android devices should include a darn infrared emitter/sensor.
Nothing like a bit of "gadget creep" - let's throw a toaster in there too, or maybe a corkscrew and a can opener. That'll sell phones for sure! Why not stick with bluetooth and wifi - something all smartphones share. Want to control your TV or PVR? How long do you think it's going to be until they're bluetooth or wifi enabled rather than IR?
3. Get a standardized dock/interface connector.
Makes sense, but it's not going to sell phones. It should've been part of the spec and mandated for all manufacturers from day one.
4. Still be a smart device when docked to my computer.
Waitasec, I thought we were going to talk marketing here, not missing features...
5. Let users earn revenue from data collection.
Now we've completely jumped the shark. Now it's make money from sharing your data, rather than making a phone that appeals to people who just want things to be simpler and more efficient...
There are another 6 requests on his list that are even worse... Waterproof? Wireless charging? Fingerprint unlock? Does he even understand why so many people find Apple's products so appealing, and why the marketing works so well?
Just goes to show that various world governments didn't need to do a thing to get rid of their "leak" problem. Just them alone and they'll mutually self-destruct eventually.
I had a support issue similar to this which required only a few mouse-clicks to solve.
Unfortunately my verbal description of the clicks that were required seemed to be getting lost in translation to the "click-er". Fortunately both of our cell phones had video chat capability, so in the end, he was using his phone's camera to show the screen of the computer, and I was telling him where to click. Problem solved and it saved me an hour of driving in heavy traffic.
One of the first troubleshooting techniques I teach new employees is that if an unexpected error message pops up, or an error that they don't understand, snap a picture (screen shot or cell phone) and send it to me. It has probably made 50% of the "It's not working and an error message popped-up, so I clicked it but it's still not working" issues go away.
There has been quite a lot of speculation about the project, with most of it centered on the resin that he's using (which he hasn't divulged yet). I've done some researching and found that UV activated masking materials may be a likely candidate as they cure quickly and form thin layers.
If it can be developed for under $1,000 (excluding the projector), I think it would be very successful.
They're re-encrypting (or hashing) the password 100,000 times (basically a big loop) before they end up with the version they store for the user.
This makes it very computationally expensive to try and crack passwords. In the big scheme of things, it might only take a second or so for a modern CPU to perform this operation 100,000 times, however if someone is cracking passwords automatically, going from potentially tens of thousands of cracking attempts per-second to only one or two per-second makes a brute-force crack that much more unlikely to succeed within a realistic timeframe..
One of the keys here is that if you choose a good master password (phrase), your encrypted data set is still completely safe. There's a reason you should be using a strong password for a "master" password, and this is exactly that reason.
I'm far happier that they acknowledge the problem and move on it quickly as opposed to delaying a response.
The ArsTechnica article was far superior IMHO. Much more technical detail about how they went about it.
The interesting thing is that a single solid security measure could've blocked (or at least limited) the scope of the hack, but they managed to chain enough exploits and hacks together to be able to spoof an identity, which resulted in the final hack that allowed them access to the email data.
They can (and do) ban glider by updating their warden software to detect glider in memory, or by doing statistical analysis on player actions (time between keypresses, duration keys are held for, which areas players are in, what they're doing, etc). All of this can be faked, but it's a matter of how much trouble someone will go to. If Blizzard really wanted to throw a wrench into these types of programs, there's all sorts of random elements they could include that would play havoc with them. But again, it would also impact regular players, which they don't want.
Warden is the easier of the two, but it's an ongoing arms-race between the companies. The analysis of player actions takes more effort as they may flag accounts for GMs, who could whisper something to the player and boot/ban them if there's no reply from glider.
The case opening brief makes for interesting reading.
There's one curious omission though (as near as I can tell, I only skimmed it). Ongoing payments.
Although the brief does mention that the game is available for retail purchase, or download, it makes no mention that an online account that requires an ongoing service charge is required in order to play. I suspect that Blizzard could argue that while the Glider author may not be circumventing the game client itself, it's making an illegal copy of the data stream for which the gamers pays an ongoing fee.
That said, I believe Blizzard is in the wrong on this one by going the legal route. I believe they have every right to modify their Warden software to scan for and ban accounts which use glider and other bot programs. They're just worried about losing revenue by banning customers, rather than by going directly to the source.
It's called "Skyhook" and it's been in every iPhone from the beginning (it's what Apple used before they included the GPS hardware in the 3G).
And since every router out there is broadcasting it's MAC, it's not like they're snooping a private signal anymore than listening to someone on the corner of the street who is budy yelling their name at everyone.
I see a decision looming on the horizon. The choice between a device and a service.
Apple provides a method of access - a hardware platform to access information. The design and implementation are second to none. Google provides information to be accessed through hardware. The type of information and the services they provide as second to none.
Which is more expendable? The information, or the method through which people can access the information...
I have a feeling that Google may be ahead in the longrun, even if they are playing catchup in the short term.
I believe this has been their plan from day one. While the Prius and their other hybrids have been good for the company both in terms of corporate image and moving vehicles, patent licensing is where the money is.
By cornering the market on hybrid system patents (many of which would also apply to hydrogen and other alternative-energy vehicles), they stand to make a lot more money than just selling their own cars. The Ford Escape hybrid is a perfect example, as Ford licensed Toyota's 1st generation hybrid drive system rather than developing their own (Toyota had already moved on to the newer hybrid system by that point in time).
Well, since everyone else is throwing in their idea, here's mine.
How about a very low-speed, low pressure diamond wire-saw?
For example: SXJ-2 Precision Endless Wire Saw - 840 mm long, 0.35 mm dia. Diamond Loop Wire (that's a continuous loop - they'd need to cut it, and re-attach it after wrapping it around the knob).
They could feed the flexible saw wire around around the knob and adjust the cutting pressure to keep it as safe as they want to be. If it's just a wire coated in diamond dust or the like, it will cut very slowly and precisely.
Note: If it works, please send me the cut pieces:)
Just FYI, an encrypted ZIP file looks nothing like a truecrypt volume internally... And an investigator who sees this and is smart enough may be curious enough to look into it more...
Just a thought, but wouldn't another way to handle something like this be to simply make sure that any auto-run executable is run with the lowest level of system privileges so it can't write to, or modify any low-level system resources?
The same way that most malware would have more of a problem installing if it wasn't run with administrator access.
I've been using questhelper ever since it was released - I didn't realize how much effort you were putting into it, so reading your note here really helped put that into perspective, so I'm going to send you a donation.
I suspect that if Blizzard is not going to re-evaluate parts of their decision, your only viable option is going to be to remove questhelper from sites like curse, and host them yourself so you ensure people see the note about donating. The downside is no automatic downloading/updating with the curse client, but in the case of your addon specifically, you have a high-enough profile that people would come to your site anyway.
Since Blizzard states you can solicit donations outside of the game, you could easily put a click-to-download link on your own web page that pops a reminder of the amount of development work you do, and a request for donation. Per the policy, people would still have to be able to download without donating, but at least it would get your message out there.
If you went a bit farther and even put a realtime indication on the download notice about "number of hours spent developing this day/week/month", you'd likely get even more donations.
I've never found the in-game donation reminders annoying, but I can understand how Blizzard doesn't want every addon author doing this.
Slashdot Mirror
If you haven't seen the "Battle of the X-Planes" documentary, you probably should. A lot of detail about the behind the scenes development of the aircraft that were competing head-to-head for the JSF contract.
In the end Boeing's aircraft lost the battle, but it seems that their UAVs will probably win the war. The days of pilots in the cockpit may be much shorter than people previously thought...
Let's have a look at this blog post:
1. Android devices should advertise freedom and functionality.
Freedom makes sense - it's one of the reasons that people like Android phones, however Apple has functionality down cold, that's some tough competition...
2. Android devices should include a darn infrared emitter/sensor.
Nothing like a bit of "gadget creep" - let's throw a toaster in there too, or maybe a corkscrew and a can opener. That'll sell phones for sure! Why not stick with bluetooth and wifi - something all smartphones share. Want to control your TV or PVR? How long do you think it's going to be until they're bluetooth or wifi enabled rather than IR?
3. Get a standardized dock/interface connector.
Makes sense, but it's not going to sell phones. It should've been part of the spec and mandated for all manufacturers from day one.
4. Still be a smart device when docked to my computer.
Waitasec, I thought we were going to talk marketing here, not missing features...
5. Let users earn revenue from data collection.
Now we've completely jumped the shark. Now it's make money from sharing your data, rather than making a phone that appeals to people who just want things to be simpler and more efficient...
There are another 6 requests on his list that are even worse... Waterproof? Wireless charging? Fingerprint unlock? Does he even understand why so many people find Apple's products so appealing, and why the marketing works so well?
Just goes to show that various world governments didn't need to do a thing to get rid of their "leak" problem. Just them alone and they'll mutually self-destruct eventually.
Pretty sad...
Yes, well...
They're not going to get me until they roll it out for people who use their Apps for Domains service. But they don't seem to be in any rush for that.
I had a support issue similar to this which required only a few mouse-clicks to solve.
Unfortunately my verbal description of the clicks that were required seemed to be getting lost in translation to the "click-er". Fortunately both of our cell phones had video chat capability, so in the end, he was using his phone's camera to show the screen of the computer, and I was telling him where to click. Problem solved and it saved me an hour of driving in heavy traffic.
One of the first troubleshooting techniques I teach new employees is that if an unexpected error message pops up, or an error that they don't understand, snap a picture (screen shot or cell phone) and send it to me. It has probably made 50% of the "It's not working and an error message popped-up, so I clicked it but it's still not working" issues go away.
Maybe it was just me, but from the video in the article, I was sort of hoping the portrait's moustache was raised as well :P
N.
This is remarkably similar to another 3D printing project that I've been watching closely:
http://3dhomemade.blogspot.com/
This guy is using a DLP projector, some custom software, and a working surface that raises very slowly out of the printing resin.
From Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snOErpOP5Xk&feature=player_embedded
There has been quite a lot of speculation about the project, with most of it centered on the resin that he's using (which he hasn't divulged yet). I've done some researching and found that UV activated masking materials may be a likely candidate as they cure quickly and form thin layers.
If it can be developed for under $1,000 (excluding the projector), I think it would be very successful.
They're re-encrypting (or hashing) the password 100,000 times (basically a big loop) before they end up with the version they store for the user.
This makes it very computationally expensive to try and crack passwords. In the big scheme of things, it might only take a second or so for a modern CPU to perform this operation 100,000 times, however if someone is cracking passwords automatically, going from potentially tens of thousands of cracking attempts per-second to only one or two per-second makes a brute-force crack that much more unlikely to succeed within a realistic timeframe..
N.
I agree.
One of the keys here is that if you choose a good master password (phrase), your encrypted data set is still completely safe. There's a reason you should be using a strong password for a "master" password, and this is exactly that reason.
I'm far happier that they acknowledge the problem and move on it quickly as opposed to delaying a response.
Maybe you should call it a "mobile" like our friends in Europe. It would seem to solve the problem with new technology and antiquated descriptions...
The ArsTechnica article was far superior IMHO. Much more technical detail about how they went about it.
The interesting thing is that a single solid security measure could've blocked (or at least limited) the scope of the hack, but they managed to chain enough exploits and hacks together to be able to spoof an identity, which resulted in the final hack that allowed them access to the email data.
Likewise, Steam is fine. Steam plus any additional DRM will never get a penny from me (since the Bioshock fiasco).
I was sort of hoping it was going to spell CHIMP. Unfortunately it didn't. Pity.
They can (and do) ban glider by updating their warden software to detect glider in memory, or by doing statistical analysis on player actions (time between keypresses, duration keys are held for, which areas players are in, what they're doing, etc). All of this can be faked, but it's a matter of how much trouble someone will go to. If Blizzard really wanted to throw a wrench into these types of programs, there's all sorts of random elements they could include that would play havoc with them. But again, it would also impact regular players, which they don't want.
Warden is the easier of the two, but it's an ongoing arms-race between the companies. The analysis of player actions takes more effort as they may flag accounts for GMs, who could whisper something to the player and boot/ban them if there's no reply from glider.
The case opening brief makes for interesting reading.
There's one curious omission though (as near as I can tell, I only skimmed it). Ongoing payments.
Although the brief does mention that the game is available for retail purchase, or download, it makes no mention that an online account that requires an ongoing service charge is required in order to play. I suspect that Blizzard could argue that while the Glider author may not be circumventing the game client itself, it's making an illegal copy of the data stream for which the gamers pays an ongoing fee.
That said, I believe Blizzard is in the wrong on this one by going the legal route. I believe they have every right to modify their Warden software to scan for and ban accounts which use glider and other bot programs. They're just worried about losing revenue by banning customers, rather than by going directly to the source.
N.
Huh?
This isn't your cell phone company charging you for data, this is Skype charging your Skype account for data.
They won't connect the call through the Skype network unless you pay the fee, no matter which sim you have in your device.
N.
Yes, and as a previous poster said:
It's called "Skyhook" and it's been in every iPhone from the beginning (it's what Apple used before they included the GPS hardware in the 3G).
And since every router out there is broadcasting it's MAC, it's not like they're snooping a private signal anymore than listening to someone on the corner of the street who is budy yelling their name at everyone.
I see a decision looming on the horizon. The choice between a device and a service.
Apple provides a method of access - a hardware platform to access information. The design and implementation are second to none.
Google provides information to be accessed through hardware. The type of information and the services they provide as second to none.
Which is more expendable? The information, or the method through which people can access the information...
I have a feeling that Google may be ahead in the longrun, even if they are playing catchup in the short term.
I had the same though - I have limited use for an Apple I, but I learned to program on an Apple II, so that would be a project I'd enjoy building...
But I'd prefer it used parts and designs comparable (as much as possible) to the original, and not overly modified to use current technology.
N.
I believe this has been their plan from day one. While the Prius and their other hybrids have been good for the company both in terms of corporate image and moving vehicles, patent licensing is where the money is.
By cornering the market on hybrid system patents (many of which would also apply to hydrogen and other alternative-energy vehicles), they stand to make a lot more money than just selling their own cars. The Ford Escape hybrid is a perfect example, as Ford licensed Toyota's 1st generation hybrid drive system rather than developing their own (Toyota had already moved on to the newer hybrid system by that point in time).
Disclaimer: I own a Prius
Well, since everyone else is throwing in their idea, here's mine.
How about a very low-speed, low pressure diamond wire-saw?
For example: SXJ-2 Precision Endless Wire Saw - 840 mm long, 0.35 mm dia. Diamond Loop Wire (that's a continuous loop - they'd need to cut it, and re-attach it after wrapping it around the knob).
They could feed the flexible saw wire around around the knob and adjust the cutting pressure to keep it as safe as they want to be. If it's just a wire coated in diamond dust or the like, it will cut very slowly and precisely.
Note: If it works, please send me the cut pieces :)
N.
Just FYI, an encrypted ZIP file looks nothing like a truecrypt volume internally... And an investigator who sees this and is smart enough may be curious enough to look into it more...
Just a thought, but wouldn't another way to handle something like this be to simply make sure that any auto-run executable is run with the lowest level of system privileges so it can't write to, or modify any low-level system resources?
The same way that most malware would have more of a problem installing if it wasn't run with administrator access.
Unfortunately, more often than not, good TV makes for bad politics...
Just my $0.02 worth.
I've been using questhelper ever since it was released - I didn't realize how much effort you were putting into it, so reading your note here really helped put that into perspective, so I'm going to send you a donation.
I suspect that if Blizzard is not going to re-evaluate parts of their decision, your only viable option is going to be to remove questhelper from sites like curse, and host them yourself so you ensure people see the note about donating. The downside is no automatic downloading/updating with the curse client, but in the case of your addon specifically, you have a high-enough profile that people would come to your site anyway.
Since Blizzard states you can solicit donations outside of the game, you could easily put a click-to-download link on your own web page that pops a reminder of the amount of development work you do, and a request for donation. Per the policy, people would still have to be able to download without donating, but at least it would get your message out there.
If you went a bit farther and even put a realtime indication on the download notice about "number of hours spent developing this day/week/month", you'd likely get even more donations.
I've never found the in-game donation reminders annoying, but I can understand how Blizzard doesn't want every addon author doing this.