You sure as hell do. I've got an OC'd celeron (366->550), and my compile times have been cut nearly in half. When you're talking an improvemnet of 20 minutes compile to 10 minutes compile time, that's nothing to laugh at. I get far more programming done in an evening than if I hadn't OC'd my celeron... have fun dongoodman
I couldn't think of a good question in time for the interview, but I'd like to interject that this smacks strongly of Hakim Bey's works. I wonder if the authors were inspired in any way by his writings, particularly Bey's thoughts on what he terms "Temporary Autonomous Zones" (see also Bruce Sterlings _Islands in the Net_).
Does anyone else here see a connection? I am having difficulty putting my thoughts into words, so I'll let ya'll take over from here, if it seems relevant. have fun dongoodman
I've been playing with legos since i was a small child...wow. I cannot get enough of them. When I got a Mindstorms set for Christmas two years ago (and the 1.5 upgrade pack this christmas) I was overjoyed. Easily the coolest toy I've ever gotten. But the fact of the matter is: it is much more than a toy. I've found, being an AI sort of computer geek, that it's not a bad testbed for research (/serious//academic/ research), because it's just so darn cheap, and it's easy to build a functional robot quickly. Design changes in programming and structure can be changed in minutes. And unlike "real" robots used often enough in/serious/ research, you can attach cool little wings and lightsabers and lasercannon and such to lego robots =). I say it's no good if you can't have a sense of humour about it.
my best friend got the small set for christmas, and we were really excited by it: we ripped into it, read the instruction book (very important to read this book!! other wise they wont work right, and you wont understand why).
but then we started building things. an hour later, we were very bored: theres not much one can build with the small set, but its a large subset of the set of all things that can be built with them: simple polyhedra. blah.
on the other hand, weve found that those little 'x-connectors' (the orange pieces) can be put together a number of ways, just by themselves, to come up with little nervous-energy trippy toys that are fun to manipulate whilst bored...
oops! i missed that bit...you are very right! but, on the other hand...will the librarian notice that? i address your point further on down in the letter anyway, to bring appropriate attention to the ease of duplication of a DVD anyway...
here is verbatim (minus the personal info, which if you really want it, can be dug up from the loc.gov site when they post my letter...) my letter to the loc, for your perusal, and for you to steal ideas from. comments on what i sent would be cool, too: although if there's something wrong with it...well, its already been sent. heh.
Librarian: I seek to comment on questions 3, 4, 18, 21 and 22 posed in DOCID:fr24no99-23, "Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies" with regard specifically to the class of copyrighted works known as DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).
DVD's are a popular new format for the distribution and playback of motion pictures. The DVD format is controlled by a standards organization known as the DVD Consortium. To ensure and safeguard against unlawful duplication, the content has been encrypted; only a DVD player (a console unit or computer software) authorized by the DVD consortium is allowed access to a decryption key. This key is necessary for playback.
Computer software for the playback of DVDs is widespread and common for both Apple Macintosh computers and PC's running Microsoft Windows. However, there is currently no software for several other PC based operating systems: Linux, BSD, Solaris, OS/2, and several others, nor do any companies with a license from the DVD Consortium have any plans for creating such software. Thus, there is a significant population of computer users who cannot lawfully use DVD technology, namely those running Linux, BSD, Solaris, OS/2 or any other non-Microsoft Windows operating system.
It is my opinion that those who reverse engineer DVD encryption systems to ensure interoperability of DVD products on officially unsupported platforms should be exempt from the clauses in the DMCA prohibiting circumvention of access control technologies. I have in mind, of course, the authors of deCSS, software designed to defeat DVD encryption, and the LiViD project, a group working on creating a DVD player for Linux (which relies on deCSS, and is intended for legal viewing of properly acquired DVDs).
This leads into question number eighteen, twenty-one and twenty-two: with the widespread availability of deCSS, nearly anyone with a computer and some knowledge of computer programming may decode a DVD. To this point DVD encryption has been very weak; this of course facilitated its circumvention. Even if it had been strong, though, it would have been circumvented eventually: no security is perfect. Suppose, for example, that DVDs have been given newer, incredibly strong encryption technologies that ensured only licensed players could decrypt a DVD: it could still be circumvented by merely tapping the cable that connected a player to a television: this signal could be captured and recorded onto another format. Take also into account that most motion pictures are released onto VHS tapes: this format has no built in security at all, yet motion picture producers still use the format widely, because it is popular. Thus, even if copying DVDs becomes widespread, I dare opine that sales of motion pictures in any format will not be harmed.
Thus, I posit for your consideration, that access control technologies are in the end potentially harmful to consumers, as it can, under certain (and not uncommon) circumstances limit availability of copyrighted works to those who wish to lawfully obtain them, as evidenced by the problems with DVDs. Further, I posit that a lack of access control technology has not hurt copyright holders in the past: if illegal copying of VHS cassettes or CD audio disks had been widespread enough to cut deeply into their sales, entertainment companies would have dropped the format for something different: neither VHS nor CD format have been dropped, nor are there publicly available plans to do so in the foreseeable future. Therefore, I further argue that any circumvention of access control technology does not and cannot harm producers of copyrighted content; further, I conclude that the availability of access control circumvention is a boon to the consumer, allowing for greater choice of formats and an insurance that any given format will be interoperable with any and all hardware and software that are capable of interoperating with said format.
I have a case like on thier front page (but all purple!), and a cdrom from an old gw2000: it fits just fine, and doesnt look bad at all. save that the beige cdrom doesnt match the purple faceplate...
A little less than a year ago, the Jackson (Mississippi) Clarion-Ledger ran a feature, multiple-full page article full of pretty pictures and diagrams in the entertainment section of the Sunday paper. Don't recall the date, but I do recall it introduced the entire state of MS (outside of the universities where we'd been using it for some time =) to Napster.
Point: a signifigant portion of a poverty-ridden state is aware of Napster (even if they don't use it): with cheap computers and free ISP's becoming more and more common here...who knows?
have fun
dongoodman
Re:This is no longer the case with me.
on
Interface Zen
·
· Score: 1
=) I love my old PS/2 keyboard. Large, heavy, but with a satisfying *CHINK* everytime you hit a key. its 11+ years old now, and still works perfectly. oh yeah, and it has a ps/2 connector (duh!): no dongles! heh.
Hungarian notation is far more annoying (to me) than keeping than spliting the pane (in vc++) so i can see the decl's at the same time (or just scrolling in vi for that matter). Whats worse, is to look this up, i have to deal with MSDN: also spelt EVIL (ever forgot what callback the little X button in the upper righ hand corner of a window calls? try finding that...)
quick quiz: from memory, tell me what these HN prefixes mean (answers here. no peaking, and no searching msdn)
i (ok, thats really easy...)
p (hrm, not to hard either...)
ch
f
mps (could be easy, could be hard, depending)
anyway, im sure i could dredge up more examples. one can verify my answers by whipping out msdn, searching for "Hungarian Notation", and reading the handful of docs that come up.
>>Again, though, an excellent example what you talk about is that polio outbreaks are a direct >>result of improved sanitation, so where is the/. feature on the tragedy of >>chlorine-treated water and sewage systems?
Well, in Katz' defense (or not), remember his audience has to connect with what he's writing about: Disney is a great example of both the tragedy of technology and something people can connect with. Polio, for most of us, is just something we occasionally read about. I'm not saying this is good, this is just a POV readjustment. Also, remember, Orlando was to be a focus of these articles, and Polio isn't really appropos, whilst Disney is very so.
>>I don't think Katz even gets close to understanding the things he purports to write >>about, which is the real tragedy here.
I'm tempted to agree with you here on this one. This has been my major complaint with him in the past. Even so, the point he is trying to make isn't one I've really thought about before, and it's interesting to me to have it pointed out to me.
>>"Most of our disappointments with technology come when decent people are trying to act >>constructively - not the war of good with evil as the war of good with good."
>>I see. The real tragedy isn't that the NSA is using technology to spy on me, but rather that >>Katz is so bored he has nothing better to do than visit Disney?
Yes: The misuse of technology is sad and deplorable, to be sure. Katz' point is that well-intentioned use of technology always ends on a sad note: that is tragic. That no matter our intentions, technology bites us back, either with bombs (wars &c.) or with dissapointment (we have big ideas that never come out right. sometimes not at all due to any number of forces at work in this world).
now, im still trying to decide if i agree with katz, but that fact that im thinking about it says something: normally i can't stand katz' writing. but consider what he is saying.
Usually (sorry, Katz, but its true) usually I gloss over Katz' stuff like so much blather. Sometimes theres a kernel of something interesting, but not always. However, this one has caught my attention. First off, the writing was entertaining; but most importantly, it was (*surprise*) thought provoking. I'll think on it some more and post my thoughts later. Just thought I should comment on the rare occasion Katz writes something good.
The page is in dire need of updating and un-ambiguous-izing, but do check out my group's current pet project: Tim
Its written in python. html/xml support is implemented as a series of plugins, not hard coded in. at some point, we'll figure out how to write python wrappers for the netscape plug-in api so 3rd parties can do a re-compile of thier netscape plug-ins for Tim. of course, were still writing the first version: nothing publically available yet. yet. none of us want this to be vapourware...
When I first found/., i was surprised by the shear number of stephensen fans; in fact its been really encouraging to me. I became a fan in a manner that i suspect follows a pattern: a friend who reads every piece of sci-fi pulp under the sun comes to you one day recommending snow crash. reluctantly, you take the book, and get around to reading it a few weeks later. the next day the book is finished and you are a transformed person, not to mention a rabid stephensen fanatic.
there are too many good ideas in that book to ignore, and i know im not the only one to think that. i've been gathering parts to build my own gargoyle suit (on a budget of nada) for four years now. i want my own librarian. and so do you.
Well, last time, HNN got/.'d and i couldn't view thier comments for days. so, just in case, find a mirror of chipmonks (shamrocks, whatever) comments here
first, just as way of introduction, i am a hacker. you know what i mean: i program computers, and play with my legos, and generally have way too much fun making electronic thingies do what i want. i've never been, nor intend to be, a cracker: i personally found the show (not to mention the movie of a few years back which was just as bad) to be comical at best.
however: there are some of us who are fairly intelligent, understand parts of linux at the source code level, and hate mtv with a passion that fit your stereotype for mtv-genic haX0r material.
i.e., yeah ive got long hair, which has been purple/green/blue/red/whatever at times. though its not for me, i have many competent friends in the same field with a variety of bodily adornments...blah blah blah.
just pointing out that physical apppearance is never an indicator of someone's worth/IQ/what-have-you.
unless you want to work for disney, but that's a different story.
Where is the Passport profile and wallet data stored? All Passport profile and wallet information is stored on secure Microsoft servers. Passport is subject to its own privacy commitment to its members, which prohibits Microsoft from sharing or selling members' information without their consent. Participating sites will also be able to store core profile and wallet data on their own servers. [my emphasis]
WTF is this? not only do we get the world-recognized insecurity of MS, but they have the option of whoring out Passport users' CC numbers to other parties?
2003: First (officially) corporate sponsored bills make the rounds through the U.S. congress (that is, bills with adverts at the end =)
2004: U.N. adopts subsidized time
Year of the Trial-Sized Dove Bar: Nigh everything in the U.S. is franchised out: every restaurant, every general store, every road. The U.S. government begins selling off smaller offices and branches to make ends meet.
Year of the Depends Undergarments: American mega-corps, in light of the reduced authority and power of the U.S. government, declare thier sovereignty; Microsoft becomes the world's first corporatation-state nuclear power. and so forth...
take a look at the beta program faq; corel reveals some interesting info. of particular interest, this quote:
Is this testing style in keeping with the spirit of Open Source software distribution? Yes. The recruitment of outside Beta testers is part of the initial development process of Corel LINUX and will allow Corel to release the first version of Corel LINUX to the general public at an earlier date than would be possible if Corel relied only on its internal testing resources. Once Corel LINUX is ready for general distribution, it will be distributed in accordance with the criteria for Open Source software.
whoa. they do go on to say that all of thier additions, including thier new file manager et al. will be released open source. at least that. but i dont think that the beta license we saw was a boilerplate/mistake. ick.
Slashdot Mirror
You sure as hell do. I've got an OC'd celeron (366->550), and my compile times have been cut nearly in half. When you're talking an improvemnet of 20 minutes compile to 10 minutes compile time, that's nothing to laugh at. I get far more programming done in an evening than if I hadn't OC'd my celeron... have fun dongoodman
Does anyone else here see a connection? I am having difficulty putting my thoughts into words, so I'll let ya'll take over from here, if it seems relevant. have fun dongoodman
I've been playing with legos since i was a small child...wow. I cannot get enough of them. When I got a Mindstorms set for Christmas two years ago (and the 1.5 upgrade pack this christmas) I was overjoyed. Easily the coolest toy I've ever gotten. /academic/ research), because it's just so darn cheap, and it's easy to build a functional robot quickly. Design changes in programming and structure can be changed in minutes. And unlike "real" robots used often enough in /serious/ research, you can attach cool little wings and lightsabers and lasercannon and such to lego robots =).
But the fact of the matter is: it is much more than a toy. I've found, being an AI sort of computer geek, that it's not a bad testbed for research (/serious/
I say it's no good if you can't have a sense of humour about it.
just my $0.02
but then we started building things. an hour later, we were very bored: theres not much one can build with the small set, but its a large subset of the set of all things that can be built with them: simple polyhedra. blah.
on the other hand, weve found that those little 'x-connectors' (the orange pieces) can be put together a number of ways, just by themselves, to come up with little nervous-energy trippy toys that are fun to manipulate whilst bored...
my opinion, then: over-rated. sadly. =(
oops! i missed that bit...you are very right! but, on the other hand...will the librarian notice that? i address your point further on down in the letter anyway, to bring appropriate attention to the ease of duplication of a DVD anyway...
------------------>8 cut here---------------------
21 January 2000
A Comment.
Librarian: I seek to comment on questions 3, 4, 18, 21 and 22 posed in DOCID:fr24no99-23, "Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies" with regard specifically to the class of copyrighted works known as DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).
DVD's are a popular new format for the distribution and playback of motion pictures. The DVD format is controlled by a standards organization known as the DVD Consortium. To ensure and safeguard against unlawful duplication, the content has been encrypted; only a DVD player (a console unit or computer software) authorized by the DVD consortium is allowed access to a decryption key. This key is necessary for playback.
Computer software for the playback of DVDs is widespread and common for both Apple Macintosh computers and PC's running Microsoft Windows. However, there is currently no software for several other PC based operating systems: Linux, BSD, Solaris, OS/2, and several others, nor do any companies with a license from the DVD Consortium have any plans for creating such software. Thus, there is a significant population of computer users who cannot lawfully use DVD technology, namely those running Linux, BSD, Solaris, OS/2 or any other non-Microsoft Windows operating system.
It is my opinion that those who reverse engineer DVD encryption systems to ensure interoperability of DVD products on officially unsupported platforms should be exempt from the clauses in the DMCA prohibiting circumvention of access control technologies. I have in mind, of course, the authors of deCSS, software designed to defeat DVD encryption, and the LiViD project, a group working on creating a DVD player for Linux (which relies on deCSS, and is intended for legal viewing of properly acquired DVDs).
This leads into question number eighteen, twenty-one and twenty-two: with the widespread availability of deCSS, nearly anyone with a computer and some knowledge of computer programming may decode a DVD. To this point DVD encryption has been very weak; this of course facilitated its circumvention. Even if it had been strong, though, it would have been circumvented eventually: no security is perfect. Suppose, for example, that DVDs have been given newer, incredibly strong encryption technologies that ensured only licensed players could decrypt a DVD: it could still be circumvented by merely tapping the cable that connected a player to a television: this signal could be captured and recorded onto another format. Take also into account that most motion pictures are released onto VHS tapes: this format has no built in security at all, yet motion picture producers still use the format widely, because it is popular. Thus, even if copying DVDs becomes widespread, I dare opine that sales of motion pictures in any format will not be harmed.
Thus, I posit for your consideration, that access control technologies are in the end potentially harmful to consumers, as it can, under certain (and not uncommon) circumstances limit availability of copyrighted works to those who wish to lawfully obtain them, as evidenced by the problems with DVDs. Further, I posit that a lack of access control technology has not hurt copyright holders in the past: if illegal copying of VHS cassettes or CD audio disks had been widespread enough to cut deeply into their sales, entertainment companies would have dropped the format for something different: neither VHS nor CD format have been dropped, nor are there publicly available plans to do so in the foreseeable future. Therefore, I further argue that any circumvention of access control technology does not and cannot harm producers of copyrighted content; further, I conclude that the availability of access control circumvention is a boon to the consumer, allowing for greater choice of formats and an insurance that any given format will be interoperable with any and all hardware and software that are capable of interoperating with said format.
-------------->8 cut here-----------------
I have a case like on thier front page (but all purple!), and a cdrom from an old gw2000: it fits just fine, and doesnt look bad at all. save that the beige cdrom doesnt match the purple faceplate...
Point: a signifigant portion of a poverty-ridden state is aware of Napster (even if they don't use it): with cheap computers and free ISP's becoming more and more common here...who knows? have fun dongoodman
=) I love my old PS/2 keyboard. Large, heavy, but with a satisfying *CHINK* everytime you hit a key. its 11+ years old now, and still works perfectly. oh yeah, and it has a ps/2 connector (duh!): no dongles! heh.
It's funnier when you realize that it's a russian nuke from the cold war...
heh
quick quiz: from memory, tell me what these HN prefixes mean (answers here. no peaking, and no searching msdn)
anyway, im sure i could dredge up more examples. one can verify my answers by whipping out msdn, searching for "Hungarian Notation", and reading the handful of docs that come up.
>>result of improved sanitation, so where is the
>>chlorine-treated water and sewage systems?
Well, in Katz' defense (or not), remember his audience has to connect with what he's writing about: Disney is a great example of both the tragedy of technology and something people can connect with. Polio, for most of us, is just something we occasionally read about. I'm not saying this is good, this is just a POV readjustment. Also, remember, Orlando was to be a focus of these articles, and Polio isn't really appropos, whilst Disney is very so.
>>I don't think Katz even gets close to understanding the things he purports to write
>>about, which is the real tragedy here.
I'm tempted to agree with you here on this one. This has been my major complaint with him in the past. Even so, the point he is trying to make isn't one I've really thought about before, and it's interesting to me to have it pointed out to me.
>>constructively - not the war of good with evil as the war of good with good."
>>I see. The real tragedy isn't that the NSA is using technology to spy on me, but rather that
>>Katz is so bored he has nothing better to do than visit Disney?
Yes: The misuse of technology is sad and deplorable, to be sure. Katz' point is that well-intentioned use of technology always ends on a sad note: that is tragic. That no matter our intentions, technology bites us back, either with bombs (wars &c.) or with dissapointment (we have big ideas that never come out right. sometimes not at all due to any number of forces at work in this world).
now, im still trying to decide if i agree with katz, but that fact that im thinking about it says something: normally i can't stand katz' writing. but consider what he is saying.
Usually (sorry, Katz, but its true) usually I gloss over Katz' stuff like so much blather. Sometimes theres a kernel of something interesting, but not always.
However, this one has caught my attention. First off, the writing was entertaining; but most importantly, it was (*surprise*) thought provoking.
I'll think on it some more and post my thoughts later. Just thought I should comment on the rare occasion Katz writes something good.
try this: Tim
the other link worked, it just took you to the front page, instead of directly to the Tim page. heh.
Its written in python. html/xml support is implemented as a series of plugins, not hard coded in. at some point, we'll figure out how to write python wrappers for the netscape plug-in api so 3rd parties can do a re-compile of thier netscape plug-ins for Tim. of course, were still writing the first version: nothing publically available yet. yet. none of us want this to be vapourware...
have fun
there are too many good ideas in that book to ignore, and i know im not the only one to think that. i've been gathering parts to build my own gargoyle suit (on a budget of nada) for four years now. i want my own librarian.
and so do you.
have fun
mostly.
first, just as way of introduction, i am a hacker. you know what i mean: i program computers, and play with my legos, and generally have way too much fun making electronic thingies do what i want. i've never been, nor intend to be, a cracker: i personally found the show (not to mention the movie of a few years back which was just as bad) to be comical at best.
however: there are some of us who are fairly intelligent, understand parts of linux at the source code level, and hate mtv with a passion that fit your stereotype for mtv-genic haX0r material.
i.e., yeah ive got long hair, which has been purple/green/blue/red/whatever at times. though its not for me, i have many competent friends in the same field with a variety of bodily adornments...blah blah blah.
just pointing out that physical apppearance is never an indicator of someone's worth/IQ/what-have-you.
unless you want to work for disney, but that's a different story.
have fun
http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/think pad/iseries/cover.html
its not as cool looking as one would think
Where is the Passport profile and wallet data stored?
All Passport profile and wallet information is stored on secure Microsoft servers. Passport is subject to its own privacy commitment to its members, which prohibits Microsoft from sharing or selling members' information without their consent. Participating sites will also be able to store core profile and wallet data on their own servers. [my emphasis]
WTF is this? not only do we get the world-recognized insecurity of MS, but they have the option of whoring out Passport users' CC numbers to other parties?
*sigh*
i seem to recall that at some point he had succesfully registered fuck.com; i have vague memories of visiting it...
although whois says if it was justin hall's, it ain't now...
2004: U.N. adopts subsidized time
Year of the Trial-Sized Dove Bar: Nigh everything in the U.S. is franchised out: every restaurant, every general store, every road. The U.S. government begins selling off smaller offices and branches to make ends meet.
Year of the Depends Undergarments: American mega-corps, in light of the reduced authority and power of the U.S. government, declare thier sovereignty; Microsoft becomes the world's first corporatation-state nuclear power. and so forth...
Is this testing style in keeping with the spirit of Open Source software distribution? Yes. The recruitment of outside Beta testers is part of the initial development process of Corel LINUX and will allow Corel to release the first version of Corel LINUX to the general public at an earlier date than would be possible if Corel relied only on its internal testing resources. Once Corel LINUX is ready for general distribution, it will be distributed in accordance with the criteria for Open Source software.
whoa. they do go on to say that all of thier additions, including thier new file manager et al. will be released open source. at least that. but i dont think that the beta license we saw was a boilerplate/mistake. ick.