One of my systems was hacked, rooted, and the acct logs (utmp/wtmp/messages on a Sol2.5) box were wiped. A few obvious backdoors were written in the system (a couple extra inetd and services entries, as well as 2 new users). A web page that was 2 inspection-steps away from going live was hacked, thus causing a full-scale review of all content for that site.
Why do I consider this helpful? Several reasons. My org is unbelievably averse to change, and my repeated requests to do upgrades (solaris to 2.6 or at least to patch 2.5, upgrade wuftpd/httpd/bind/sendmail, put in antispam measures, remove production stuff from development box, etc) were continually denied or put off. This hack was kind of the 'I told you so' which I could use as ammunition (along with my previous emails, so remember kids, DO EVERYTHING IN EMAIL AND KEEP BACKUPS! The phone should be used for ordering food and holding paper down on the table) in my battle to upgrade. Now I was able to put in BIND 8.2, Sendmail 8.9.2 (+ antirelay, screw the ignorant misconfigured customers trying to go thru it), wuftpd 5.0, sshd 1.2.27, etc...
I'm also only going to be there for 2 more days, before I start my new job across town for a substantial pay rise (and parking space!). Of course, they don't have a replacement for me, and I'm the only unix sysadmin in the entire company (btw, they have about 10-15 boxes, handling DNS for the org and its customers (about 200 domains), sendmail (forwarding for customers), apache (4-5 sites), samba, etc). They'll probably need a whole bunch of work until they find a replacement.. I'm thinking $200/hr, so I can get 'em for all the agita they gave me... STICK EM UP!
... assuming multiple USB cams can run off a single USB hub with cable runs of the correct length. And, of course, assuming you can use those cameras with Linux/*BSD USB support..;)
Then again, you know what they say about 'assume'..
I suppose it's less practical, but the 2100 messagepad reigns as the nerdiest PDA ever.. TCP stack & ethernet support? No problemo. Send and receive faxes? Got it. Web browser? Sure. Web _server_? Yep.
I still have this Bruce Sterling image of a guy on a motorcycle who gets pulled over by some hick cops who smash his little 'pda' with a laugh. However, that pda, size of a small metal humidor, was a wired webserver with a Slashdot-style (he was thinking of the early WELL) community. The denizens of the community then went on to wreak living hell revenge on the cops, using whatever influence they had to ruin their lives.
The point? The MP2100 with a rechargable battery pack, CDPD adapter, and solar panel could do that _today_, assuming you inline static graphics off a different server.
Besides, the MP2100 fits just fine into cargo pants pockets.. if only they were in fashion before Jobs recaptured Apple...
*sigh* I guess it joins my museum of obsoleted technology, displayed prominently alongside my Sega Saturn, Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, Apple ][gs, Apple//... At least I didn't buy Divx!;)
Because c't is a swell magazine worth learning German for?
;)
Re:5.6 -- Selected to attract attention
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It all gets resolved eventually, but it takes time and it can take quite a bit of work to transition to a new version of software. Even the smallest changes affect someone, in some program. And for sure, the sysadmin is going to get the flames when someone else's program breaks with the new version!
And don't forget, it could be worse than flames.. I am not going to risk my job so you can play with whizbang new features, unless I want to play with them myself..
I think it was more the burning aluminum, plastics, etc which created dense smoke..
Still, a particularly nasty way to go, and a shameful statement on the hubris in the space program at the time.. Doing the plugs-out test while the spacecraft was superpressurized (basically doing both tests at the same time) was reckless, but nobody really cared until people died. I think the term is 'Go Fever'..
I bet long distance phone service will suffer more than mail.
Exactly. In fact, for the last 4-5 months I've been paying AT&T $3 a month. I don't think I can even get rid of LD service. Though I'd like to save that $3 and just use my SprintPCS cell.. Maybe it's time to ditch the landline altogether..;)
btw: A huge part of the problem was also that the hatch opened _inwards_, so the pressure from the burning oxygen pressed the hatch shut and prevented anyone from opening it from the outside. Didn't the hatch eventually blow off its hinges because of the pressure?
Plus, you offer a view of what a REAL SGI system can do, because 3D modeling isn't just about the speed of your 3D accelerator, it's chewing massive amounts of data in RAM and doing lots of FP. SGI's VirtualPCs have that 3.2GBps (IIRC) memory bandwidth.. That could make for a seriously heavy-duty webserver/DB server, let alone mediastation..
Now if only BeOS could fully utilize the SGI memory architecture..
I dunno, I'm a big fan of History Channel myself.. Too bad they aren't doing the 'Automobiles' shows anymore, but I always say you can't get enough of guns, ancient weapons, and WWII..
And I can never keep track of interesting TLC programming.. PErhaps James Burke should start programming straight to the Internet? The 'net is, after all, probably the closest physical manifestation of his holistic worldview where everything links to everything..
I haven't looked far enough, but if the support isn't free, I wouldn't consider the software free...Would you?
The support needn't be free for the software to be 'free'.. Whether unsupported free software is useful or not is up to the community to decide, depending on that software's utility (security, functionality, robustness, open-standards compliance, etc.) and licensing..
Also, support comes from many quarters, and some of it is free, and some of it is rightfully for-cost... (and, like MS API documentation, some of it is wrongfully hidden or for-cost)
Funny thing is, Buffalo's a big college town (as is Rochester), but the kids all pack it in and head back to Lawn Guyland.. Sad, really, but if you're not a polar bear the winter winds can really knock you for a loop I guess.
Too bad Pataki doesn't get smart and turn western NY into a huge 'Silicon Icebox' or something.. Offer tax breaks, financing, and services for entrepreneurial tech. Buffalo really needs something to replace its rusting heaps of industrial decay...
first, do you reallly think your 4.7L V8 gets anywhere near 15mpg in NYC??
Says so on the trip computer: 15.6mpg. Not very good, but I can live with that.
second, I think mini vans are ugly, and if I needed the space, I'd probably go with an SUV also
I dunno, I'm actually kind of fond of the Dodge Caravan 4wd, but they're slow as hell and they don't get that much better mileage.
third, what I really dont like about SUVs is that most people get them 'cause they're "cool" and dont give a damn that they only use it to drive 5m/hr in traffic on their commute...it's like people that go out and buy the biggest and best computer they can get, just to surf the web and send email...and they only do that cause "everyone" is doing it
There are definitely those kind of morons, who can usually be differentiated by cellphone use while driving.. Look at it this way: I'm a geek, I live alone, and can afford only one vehicle (lease, insurance, gas, parking, etc). I like to drive, I like gizmos and complex fiddly bits, I like to ski in the winter and go camping in the summer. I like speed, and I need a nice comfy ride to work. Plop all those parameters into your car-selection algorithm, and you basically get the Audi A4 and the Grand Cherokee and its wannabes. Scratch the wannabes: they're either too small or they aren't built with unibody construction (for better rigidity and less noise). Scratch the Audi, because the best gizmos come with the overpriced and slow-as-shit A6, so where are you left with?
fourth, jeeps i can understand, Mercedes-Benz M-class? who's really gonna take one of those off road? get a hummer!
The Mclass, LX/MX Lexi, all of em are girly-trucks..;) BTW: The only reason to look at the MX300 was the dashboard CRT, and I don't think GPS is available! Bastards! BTW: A guy in my folks' neighborhood has a fire-engine red Hummer.. For anyone who knows German, that's one of the funniest things to see driving in front of you.. 'where are the claws? Hahahaha!'
BTW: The Jeep's other bits include an infrared temperature sensor which checks your body surface temp and adjusts airflow and air temp.. How geeky is that? A computerized ignition system with authentication that detects a particular code on your key's integrated microchip which will kill the motor after a couple of minutes of operation.. (I want a programmable valet/kid option that lets me assign privs to a key, like a certain max speed, max mileage, no-radio, no-change-temp, etc)
and I hate the whole term SUV, its a jeep wanna be.
On this, I wholeheartedly agree.
And I wouldn't be so touchy, but you've got ignorant natives in NY painting all Jeep owners with the same brush. My Jeep weighs 3800 pounds, which is less than many Benzes (including the SL 2 seaters) or cabs, though other pretenders can weigh over 5000 pounds (Navigator/Expedition).. It's shorter and narrower than a cab. Gets only slightly crappier mileage on the highway. People just aren't aware, and go '4 wheel drive bad, 2 wheel drive good' like some braying sheep from Animal Farm..
BTW: it's my second Jeep, the first was an '89 Cherokee strippo w/4.0 + AC/Auto. The current Jeep is, quite possibly, the nicest all-around vehicle on the market. If only it came with Michelins and had better mileage..:0
But where am I going to put all my guns?;) Or get gas for my truck? Niagara? It gets 13.9l/100km.. (gotta love the trip computer that converts to metric..;)
Though Tim Horton's does beat out Dunkin Donuts any day of the week... And I won't have to worry about not catching my favorite American media..
Old Manhattan (Below Canal St) is a maze, but north of Canal it's pretty regular, though there are gotchas and traffic-flow signs which fuck up traffic patterns.. (like no right-hand turn from 34th st to 6th av.. pisses me off...)
Think about it... Vermont has the some of the freest gun laws in the country, and NH has no personal income tax.. Libertarian paradise... And NH sells alcohol on highway rest stops.. How could you not love a state with those kind of balls?
jackass. You're just jealous cause you haven't got one... If anything, the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (my baby) is probably the most nerdy car out there.. you can program various behaviors thru the ceiling-mounted console, driver memory that does the seats, outside mirrors, and radio station presets... It's 4wd so it can handle any weather, and it has big tires and suspension so it can handle shitty NYC roads. It's smaller and lighter (though taller) than your NYC taxi land yachts, and gets roughly the same mileage. It's the swiss-army knife of vehicles, and any hacker worth h(is|er) salt has how many swiss-army knives? Seriously, I want to add some features to its computer, like to have the rearview mirrors tilt when the shifter's in reverse, and to put in maybe a screensaver instead of the compass/thermometer..
And it's American... And it has a super easy-to-hack electronic odometer... And it's fast... And its ancestor helped save democracy so assholes like you could spout off...
A few technical reasons why you should like the idea of PC-based DVD hardware:
You can watch movies of your choice on an airplane, instead of drivel like you've got mail (both ways on my last transatlantic flight). This will be particularly cool when I can get my hands on a Sony VAIO Picturebook + PCMCIA MPEG decoder card + IEEE1394 DVD-ROM... Still waiting...
You will be prepared, via software upgrades, for various audio/video codec standards. For example, instead of trashing your $399 DVD deck to get DTS capability, you simply apply the DTS patch to your software
Convergence of PC and high-definition main set. I like it, but that's my personal taste. My next desktop PC will have an S-video out and I'll use my TV as a monitor (while running a second head next to the entertainment center)
Decent ($300) codec boards can do line doubling and progressive scan display of DVDs when hooked up to compatible displays
It's easier to hook a PC up to a progressive display (like the Sony KL-W9000 display that can do up to 720p)
There are actually quite a few attractive reasons to consider making your next DVD player a PC. Unfortunately, for the time being, it'll have to be a M$ or Apple system, it would seem...
(My next non-portable system will be a stereo component with DVD, 3Dfusion card, multi-boot Win9x/Linux/OpenBSD/BeOS, IEEE1394, 512MB RAM Dual oclocked celeron, TNT2 with S-video output, just as soon as I can get a MPACT board that does 24-bit color in 720x480 MPEG decode...)
I dunno, I think I'll be doing the dual overclocked celerons in the Abit BP6 w/512MB RAM.. I mean, dual P3s is very cool, but there's just something subversive about that BP6 board..
(And maybe an Alpha DS10-alike when they're available..)
Slashdot Mirror
One of my systems was hacked, rooted, and the acct logs (utmp/wtmp/messages on a Sol2.5) box were wiped. A few obvious backdoors were written in the system (a couple extra inetd and services entries, as well as 2 new users). A web page that was 2 inspection-steps away from going live was hacked, thus causing a full-scale review of all content for that site.
Why do I consider this helpful? Several reasons. My org is unbelievably averse to change, and my repeated requests to do upgrades (solaris to 2.6 or at least to patch 2.5, upgrade wuftpd/httpd/bind/sendmail, put in antispam measures, remove production stuff from development box, etc) were continually denied or put off. This hack was kind of the 'I told you so' which I could use as ammunition (along with my previous emails, so remember kids, DO EVERYTHING IN EMAIL AND KEEP BACKUPS! The phone should be used for ordering food and holding paper down on the table) in my battle to upgrade. Now I was able to put in BIND 8.2, Sendmail 8.9.2 (+ antirelay, screw the ignorant misconfigured customers trying to go thru it), wuftpd 5.0, sshd 1.2.27, etc...
I'm also only going to be there for 2 more days, before I start my new job across town for a substantial pay rise (and parking space!). Of course, they don't have a replacement for me, and I'm the only unix sysadmin in the entire company (btw, they have about 10-15 boxes, handling DNS for the org and its customers (about 200 domains), sendmail (forwarding for customers), apache (4-5 sites), samba, etc). They'll probably need a whole bunch of work until they find a replacement.. I'm thinking $200/hr, so I can get 'em for all the agita they gave me... STICK EM UP!
... assuming multiple USB cams can run off a single USB hub with cable runs of the correct length. And, of course, assuming you can use those cameras with Linux/*BSD USB support.. ;)
Then again, you know what they say about 'assume'..
I suppose it's less practical, but the 2100 messagepad reigns as the nerdiest PDA ever.. TCP stack & ethernet support? No problemo. Send and receive faxes? Got it. Web browser? Sure. Web _server_? Yep.
//... At least I didn't buy Divx! ;)
I still have this Bruce Sterling image of a guy on a motorcycle who gets pulled over by some hick cops who smash his little 'pda' with a laugh. However, that pda, size of a small metal humidor, was a wired webserver with a Slashdot-style (he was thinking of the early WELL) community. The denizens of the community then went on to wreak living hell revenge on the cops, using whatever influence they had to ruin their lives.
The point? The MP2100 with a rechargable battery pack, CDPD adapter, and solar panel could do that _today_, assuming you inline static graphics off a different server.
Besides, the MP2100 fits just fine into cargo pants pockets.. if only they were in fashion before Jobs recaptured Apple...
*sigh* I guess it joins my museum of obsoleted technology, displayed prominently alongside my Sega Saturn, Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, Apple ][gs, Apple
Then why didn't you buy a newton mp2000/2100?
;)
(I did, I still love it, but I'm most interested in a higher-contrast screen...)
Because c't is a swell magazine worth learning German for?
;)
It all gets resolved eventually, but it takes time and it can take quite a bit of work to transition to a new version of software. Even the smallest changes affect someone, in some program. And for sure, the sysadmin is going to get the flames when someone else's program breaks with the new version!
And don't forget, it could be worse than flames.. I am not going to risk my job so you can play with whizbang new features, unless I want to play with them myself..
I think it was more the burning aluminum, plastics, etc which created dense smoke..
Still, a particularly nasty way to go, and a shameful statement on the hubris in the space program at the time.. Doing the plugs-out test while the spacecraft was superpressurized (basically doing both tests at the same time) was reckless, but nobody really cared until people died. I think the term is 'Go Fever'..
I bet long distance phone service will suffer more than mail.
;)
Exactly. In fact, for the last 4-5 months I've been paying AT&T $3 a month. I don't think I can even get rid of LD service. Though I'd like to save that $3 and just use my SprintPCS cell.. Maybe it's time to ditch the landline altogether..
Excellent series, I've got it on DVD..
btw: A huge part of the problem was also that the hatch opened _inwards_, so the pressure from the burning oxygen pressed the hatch shut and prevented anyone from opening it from the outside. Didn't the hatch eventually blow off its hinges because of the pressure?
Plus, you offer a view of what a REAL SGI system can do, because 3D modeling isn't just about the speed of your 3D accelerator, it's chewing massive amounts of data in RAM and doing lots of FP. SGI's VirtualPCs have that 3.2GBps (IIRC) memory bandwidth.. That could make for a seriously heavy-duty webserver/DB server, let alone mediastation..
Now if only BeOS could fully utilize the SGI memory architecture..
I dunno, I'm a big fan of History Channel myself.. Too bad they aren't doing the 'Automobiles' shows anymore, but I always say you can't get enough of guns, ancient weapons, and WWII..
And I can never keep track of interesting TLC programming.. PErhaps James Burke should start programming straight to the Internet? The 'net is, after all, probably the closest physical manifestation of his holistic worldview where everything links to everything..
Or not.
Gives a new meaning to the word 'troubleshooting', eh?
(we've got a wuftpd sploit in the 8th floor server room... grab the BFG and get me some chocolate and coffee dammit..)
"NOT BIG ENOUGH!!! WE NEED BIGGER FUCKING GUNS!!!!!!"
I haven't looked far enough, but if the support isn't free, I wouldn't consider the software free...Would you?
The support needn't be free for the software to be 'free'.. Whether unsupported free software is useful or not is up to the community to decide, depending on that software's utility (security, functionality, robustness, open-standards compliance, etc.) and licensing..
Also, support comes from many quarters, and some of it is free, and some of it is rightfully for-cost... (and, like MS API documentation, some of it is wrongfully hidden or for-cost)
But.. But..
It looks _so cool_!
Like playing Tron and doing your job at the same time!
Too bad...
Funny thing is, Buffalo's a big college town (as is Rochester), but the kids all pack it in and head back to Lawn Guyland.. Sad, really, but if you're not a polar bear the winter winds can really knock you for a loop I guess.
Too bad Pataki doesn't get smart and turn western NY into a huge 'Silicon Icebox' or something.. Offer tax breaks, financing, and services for entrepreneurial tech. Buffalo really needs something to replace its rusting heaps of industrial decay...
(Besides, can you even get a decent wing in CA?)
first, do you reallly think your 4.7L V8 gets anywhere near 15mpg in NYC??
;) BTW: The only reason to look at the MX300 was the dashboard CRT, and I don't think GPS is available! Bastards! BTW: A guy in my folks' neighborhood has a fire-engine red Hummer.. For anyone who knows German, that's one of the funniest things to see driving in front of you.. 'where are the claws? Hahahaha!'
:0
Says so on the trip computer: 15.6mpg. Not very good, but I can live with that.
second, I think mini vans are ugly, and if I needed the space, I'd probably go with an SUV also
I dunno, I'm actually kind of fond of the Dodge Caravan 4wd, but they're slow as hell and they don't get that much better mileage.
third, what I really dont like about SUVs is that most people get them 'cause they're "cool" and dont give a damn that they only use it to drive 5m/hr in traffic on their commute...it's like people that go out and buy the biggest and best computer they can get, just to surf the web and send email...and they only do that cause "everyone" is doing it
There are definitely those kind of morons, who can usually be differentiated by cellphone use while driving.. Look at it this way: I'm a geek, I live alone, and can afford only one vehicle (lease, insurance, gas, parking, etc). I like to drive, I like gizmos and complex fiddly bits, I like to ski in the winter and go camping in the summer. I like speed, and I need a nice comfy ride to work. Plop all those parameters into your car-selection algorithm, and you basically get the Audi A4 and the Grand Cherokee and its wannabes. Scratch the wannabes: they're either too small or they aren't built with unibody construction (for better rigidity and less noise). Scratch the Audi, because the best gizmos come with the overpriced and slow-as-shit A6, so where are you left with?
fourth, jeeps i can understand, Mercedes-Benz M-class? who's really gonna take one of those off road? get a hummer!
The Mclass, LX/MX Lexi, all of em are girly-trucks..
BTW: The Jeep's other bits include an infrared temperature sensor which checks your body surface temp and adjusts airflow and air temp.. How geeky is that? A computerized ignition system with authentication that detects a particular code on your key's integrated microchip which will kill the motor after a couple of minutes of operation.. (I want a programmable valet/kid option that lets me assign privs to a key, like a certain max speed, max mileage, no-radio, no-change-temp, etc)
and I hate the whole term SUV, its a jeep wanna be.
On this, I wholeheartedly agree.
And I wouldn't be so touchy, but you've got ignorant natives in NY painting all Jeep owners with the same brush. My Jeep weighs 3800 pounds, which is less than many Benzes (including the SL 2 seaters) or cabs, though other pretenders can weigh over 5000 pounds (Navigator/Expedition).. It's shorter and narrower than a cab. Gets only slightly crappier mileage on the highway. People just aren't aware, and go '4 wheel drive bad, 2 wheel drive good' like some braying sheep from Animal Farm..
BTW: it's my second Jeep, the first was an '89 Cherokee strippo w/4.0 + AC/Auto. The current Jeep is, quite possibly, the nicest all-around vehicle on the market. If only it came with Michelins and had better mileage..
There's tech work in Buffalo? Does it require ties?
(missing Duff's death wings badly in NYC..)
... Does that include crack? Or has your mayor smoked it all?
/ rant>
<rant='morons_who_elected_barry.rnt'<ObDCSwipe<
But where am I going to put all my guns? ;) ;)
Or get gas for my truck? Niagara? It gets 13.9l/100km.. (gotta love the trip computer that converts to metric..
Though Tim Horton's does beat out Dunkin Donuts any day of the week... And I won't have to worry about not catching my favorite American media..
Old Manhattan (Below Canal St) is a maze, but north of Canal it's pretty regular, though there are gotchas and traffic-flow signs which fuck up traffic patterns.. (like no right-hand turn from 34th st to 6th av.. pisses me off...)
Think about it... Vermont has the some of the freest gun laws in the country, and NH has no personal income tax.. Libertarian paradise... And NH sells alcohol on highway rest stops.. How could you not love a state with those kind of balls?
And it's not so damned hot as TX or CA...
isn't that cret_an_? cretin is pronounced 'kret-inn' in my neck of the woods..
All Cretans are liars,
- Cretan
;)
jackass. You're just jealous cause you haven't got one... If anything, the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (my baby) is probably the most nerdy car out there.. you can program various behaviors thru the ceiling-mounted console, driver memory that does the seats, outside mirrors, and radio station presets... It's 4wd so it can handle any weather, and it has big tires and suspension so it can handle shitty NYC roads. It's smaller and lighter (though taller) than your NYC taxi land yachts, and gets roughly the same mileage. It's the swiss-army knife of vehicles, and any hacker worth h(is|er) salt has how many swiss-army knives? Seriously, I want to add some features to its computer, like to have the rearview mirrors tilt when the shifter's in reverse, and to put in maybe a screensaver instead of the compass/thermometer..
And it's American... And it has a super easy-to-hack electronic odometer... And it's fast... And its ancestor helped save democracy so assholes like you could spout off...
Childish prick.
do up to 720p)
There are actually quite a few attractive reasons to consider making your next DVD player a PC. Unfortunately, for the time being, it'll have to be a M$ or Apple system, it would seem...
(My next non-portable system will be a stereo component with DVD, 3Dfusion card, multi-boot Win9x/Linux/OpenBSD/BeOS, IEEE1394, 512MB RAM Dual oclocked celeron, TNT2 with S-video output, just as soon as I can get a MPACT board that does 24-bit color in 720x480 MPEG decode...)
I dunno, I think I'll be doing the dual overclocked celerons in the Abit BP6 w/512MB RAM.. I mean, dual P3s is very cool, but there's just something subversive about that BP6 board..
(And maybe an Alpha DS10-alike when they're available..)