Let's extend this idea a bit. How about using it for letters/email? I buy a blank one at the store perhaps with some "postage" built in and write something to grandma. Send it through the mail to her (she doesn't have a PC after all). She can read my letter, type in a response, and mail it back to me. We can keep this up and, all the while, the computer stores all our responses so we have historical records of our letters. When postage runs out, I buy some more so grandma doesn't have to (I want to be in her will after all).
Seems like this would be a good idea for Certified Mail or "recipe sharing clubs" and the like... but it must be cheap.
If you enlarge or reduce it by 20% (IIRC). Lets say a photocopier rejects a currency copy if it is only enlarged +/- 20%. So, instead, I copy a $100 bill at 20% enlargement. That is legal. Then I can copy that large $100 and reduce it by 20%. Can the copier detect an enlarged bill? Will it know how much larger it is? Seems like you could defeat the copy protection.
I agree. I submitted the original article and wasn't very impressed with any of those hacks except the Morris worm.
Best hack of all time: the connection of the first two IMPs together and the first letters transmitted over the ARPAnet ("l", "o", "g"). Read all about that one in Where the Wizards Stay Up Late.
I hate to mention this one, but I do believe that the Allen/Gates Altair BASIC hack was pretty good. Developed on a simulator it worked the first time on the real platform.
To enter the room you have to enter an ID. I tried "slashdotter", "slashdot" and "slashdotme". All three were rejected. So I tried "isthisworking" and got in.
For the record, I had my offering in a week ago then lost it today when they threw out the offerings by raising the price to $14/share. Even though E*trade claimed there would be a 2 hour window in which to re-apply, it was actually about 15 minutes.
One poster suggested complaining to the SEC by visiting the site at http://www.sec.gov. So I did. Here is what they have to say about IPOs:
----------------
Initial Public Offerings
Why Individuals Have Difficulty Getting Shares
Individual investors may be unable to buy shares in an initial public offering or IPO, for a number of reasons. When an IPO is "hot," appealing to many investors, the demand for the securities far exceeds the supply of shares. The excess demand can only be satisfied once trading in the IPO shares begins. This imbalance between supply and demand generally causes the price of each share to rise dramatically in the first hours or days of trading. Many times the price falls after this initial flurry of trading subsides.
The way companies become public through an underwriting by a broker/dealer determines who gets to buy IPO shares before they start trading. The IPOs of all but the smallest of companies are usually offered to the public through an "underwriting syndicate," a group of underwriters who agree to purchase the shares from the issuer and then sell the shares to investors. Only a limited number of broker-dealers are invited into the syndicate as underwriters and some of them may not have individual investors as clients. Moreover, syndicate members themselves do not receive equal allocations of securities for sale to their clients.
In most cases, the underwriters assume the risk of the offering by agreeing to pay the company issuing the shares a set price per share, whether or not investors buy all the shares being offered. The managing underwriter and the company decide on the basic terms and structure of the offering well before trading starts, including the percentage of shares going to institutions and to individual investors (retail customers).
It is unclear how "hot" the offering will be until close to the time when the shares start trading. Since "hot" IPOs are in high demand, underwriters usually offer those shares to their most valued clients.
We receive complaints from individual investors who believe that new rules should be put into place to assure that IPO shares are distributed more widely. Some have suggested that we require a lottery to distribute IPO shares. Unfortunately, instituting and enforcing a lottery would create substantial costs that would undoubtedly far outweigh the benefits. Although we sympathize with those who want the chance to buy "hot" IPOs, it is unclear how we would successfully mandate such access.
The General Accounting Office issued a report on the allocation of IPO shares. Their research indicates that most underwriters target institutional investors in IPO distributions for a variety of reasons. According to the report, underwriters believe that institutional investors are better able to buy large blocks of IPO shares, assume the financial risk, and hold the investment for the long term. However, underwriting firms that have a high percentage of individual investors as clients are more likely to allocate portions of IPO shares to individuals.
Underwriters generally have wide latitude in allocating IPO shares. To maintain the fairness and integrity of IPOs, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. has rules governing these "hot" issues. These rules ensure that the brokers, dealers, and underwriters make a bona fide distribution to the public and not keep these "hot" shares for their own benefit. The rules prohibit firms from keeping these shares in their own accounts or selling them to their directors, officers, employees or to other brokers/dealers. The rules also restrict sales to particular groups of people. Both the SEC and the NASD periodically examine underwriting firms for violation of these rules.
The McConnell books ("Rapid Development", "Code Complete") are excellent. Also worth reading are Steve Maguire's "Writing Solid Code" and "Debugging the Development Process". The latter would probably be a good read for the original poster.
I've recently found John Lakos' "Large Scale C++ Software Design" which transcends C++ and is a great read for large software designs.
As an aside, how many so-called hackers design their code before writing it? I gave that practice up once I got involved in large system design.
Want to slim-down bloat? Give me the source!
on
All Hail Bloatware
·
· Score: 1
Or the complainers single out features that they never use, such as AutoSummarize in Word or the Journal feature in Outlook (that can slow even the fastest computer to a crawl). My advice to these complainers: Turn these features off or ignore them.
I have a better idea. Give me the source code and let me./configure those stupid features right out of the executable!
I subscribed to Wired when it first came out. The first year read a lot like Slashdot in print. Then it became mainstream and boring. The point being, Slashdot is as good (if not better) then Wired ever was and I don't have to pay for it. The original subscription for 1 year was US$40. I just got an offer to get it for US$16. Downhill....
Slashdot Mirror
Did anyone notice the penguin case? C6 looks like robo-Tux.
Let's extend this idea a bit. How about using it for letters/email? I buy a blank one at the store perhaps with some "postage" built in and write something to grandma. Send it through the mail to her (she doesn't have a PC after all). She can read my letter, type in a response, and mail it back to me. We can keep this up and, all the while, the computer stores all our responses so we have historical records of our letters. When postage runs out, I buy some more so grandma doesn't have to (I want to be in her will after all).
Seems like this would be a good idea for Certified Mail or "recipe sharing clubs" and the like... but it must be cheap.
If you enlarge or reduce it by 20% (IIRC). Lets say a photocopier rejects a currency copy if it is only enlarged +/- 20%. So, instead, I copy a $100 bill at 20% enlargement. That is legal. Then I can copy that large $100 and reduce it by 20%. Can the copier detect an enlarged bill? Will it know how much larger it is? Seems like you could defeat the copy protection.
I agree. I submitted the original article and wasn't very impressed with any of those hacks except the Morris worm.
Best hack of all time: the connection of the first two IMPs together and the first letters transmitted over the ARPAnet ("l", "o", "g"). Read all about that one in Where the Wizards Stay Up Late .
I hate to mention this one, but I do believe that the Allen/Gates Altair BASIC hack was pretty good. Developed on a simulator it worked the first time on the real platform.
Slashdotted! Here is what I get:
We are sorry - our chat is more popular than we imagined and our chat servers are full. You can try back in a few minutes.
To enter the room you have to enter an ID. I tried "slashdotter", "slashdot" and "slashdotme". All three were rejected. So I tried "isthisworking" and got in.
Hmmm.
For the record, I had my offering in a week ago then lost it today when they threw out the offerings by raising the price to $14/share. Even though E*trade claimed there would be a 2 hour window in which to re-apply, it was actually about 15 minutes.
One poster suggested complaining to the SEC by visiting the site at http://www.sec.gov. So I did. Here is what they have to say about IPOs:
----------------
Initial Public Offerings
Why Individuals Have Difficulty Getting Shares
Individual investors may be unable to buy shares in an initial public offering or IPO, for a number of reasons. When an IPO is "hot," appealing to many investors, the demand for the securities far exceeds the supply of shares. The excess demand can only be satisfied once trading in the IPO shares begins. This imbalance between supply and demand generally causes the price of each share to rise dramatically in the first hours or days of trading. Many times the price falls after this initial flurry of trading subsides.
The way companies become public through an underwriting by a broker/dealer determines who gets to buy IPO shares before they start trading. The IPOs of all but the smallest of companies are usually offered to the public through an "underwriting syndicate," a group of underwriters who agree to purchase the shares from the issuer and then sell the shares to investors. Only a limited number of broker-dealers are invited into the syndicate as underwriters and some of them may not have individual investors as clients. Moreover, syndicate members themselves do not receive equal allocations of securities for sale to their clients.
In most cases, the underwriters assume the risk of the offering by agreeing to pay the company issuing the shares a set price per share, whether or not investors buy all the shares being offered. The managing underwriter and the company decide on the basic terms and structure of the offering well before trading starts, including the percentage of shares going to institutions and to individual investors (retail customers).
It is unclear how "hot" the offering will be until close to the time when the shares start trading. Since "hot" IPOs are in high demand, underwriters usually offer those shares to their most valued clients.
We receive complaints from individual investors who believe that new rules should be put into place to assure that IPO shares are distributed more widely. Some have suggested that we require a lottery to distribute IPO shares. Unfortunately, instituting and enforcing a lottery would create substantial costs that would undoubtedly far outweigh the benefits. Although we sympathize with those who want the chance to buy "hot" IPOs, it is unclear how we would successfully mandate such access.
The General Accounting Office issued a report on the allocation of IPO shares. Their research indicates that most underwriters target institutional investors in IPO distributions for a variety of reasons. According to the report, underwriters believe that institutional investors are better able to buy large blocks of IPO shares, assume the financial risk, and hold the investment for the long term. However, underwriting firms that have a high percentage of individual investors as clients are more likely to allocate portions of IPO shares to individuals.
Underwriters generally have wide latitude in allocating IPO shares. To maintain the fairness and integrity of IPOs, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. has rules governing these "hot" issues. These rules ensure that the brokers, dealers, and underwriters make a bona fide distribution to the public and not keep these "hot" shares for their own benefit. The rules prohibit firms from keeping these shares in their own accounts or selling them to their directors, officers, employees or to other brokers/dealers. The rules also restrict sales to particular groups of people. Both the SEC and the NASD periodically examine underwriting firms for violation of these rules.
The McConnell books ("Rapid Development", "Code Complete") are excellent. Also worth reading are Steve Maguire's "Writing Solid Code" and "Debugging the Development Process". The latter would probably be a good read for the original poster.
I've recently found John Lakos' "Large Scale C++ Software Design" which transcends C++ and is a great read for large software designs.
As an aside, how many so-called hackers design their code before writing it? I gave that practice up once I got involved in large system design.
I subscribed to Wired when it first came out. The first year read a lot like Slashdot in print. Then it became mainstream and boring. The point being, Slashdot is as good (if not better) then Wired ever was and I don't have to pay for it. The original subscription for 1 year was US$40. I just got an offer to get it for US$16. Downhill....
Your first hire should be a proof reader...
"and I hope I haven't offended anywone to bad."
-- just English teachers
Congrats guys! I hope it works out the best for you (and us).