So, what about all the folks that have the FCKGW license key for their Windows installations? I know many people who still have that code in their windows setups.
I know there is a procedure that can change the installation key, but it is time consuming to go to each computer and reset the key. Plus, it may also break any shareware programs that use a hash of the license key for their registration/serial number check.
My question is this - is this a plan to force everyone who has a - ummm how can I put this? - illegitamate copy of Windows to buy a license or shut down? Moral, ethical, and legal issues aside, I think I can safely say that it is piracy (both the "casual use the same disk to install all the computers at home" and the "professional" pirates in the far east that make disks that look almost identical to a genuine microsoft disk) that made Microsoft what it is today.
Just my do-you-have-8-floppy-disks-I-can-borrow's worth... -RickTheWizkid
This could also be useful for folks with certain types of conductive hearing loss, such as Treacher collins syndrome, which generally results in small, or no external ear structures, and other similar conditions.
This technology has been used in some types of hearing aids for years - again, for people who have small or missing external ear canals.
Just my winamp-in-a-headset's worth. RickTheWizKid
We've got plugmold all around the shop on the walls at bench-height. There *still* isn't enough outlets!
Of course, I remember on the wall at my Grandmother's (very old) farmhouse in the bathroom there was a ceramic strip with two looooong slots spaced for plugs, and you could fit in as many plugs as you could on the slot. Fun, but probably illegal and dangerous.....
Just my 120-volts-just-ain't-enough worth -RickTheWizKid
... and nobody's figured it out yet. I actually use several passwords, depending on the level of security. The "lowest" password, "password", is used for signing up to things like mailing lists, etc where there's little chance of me returning. The mid-level password, a pair of words with numbers in them, is used for mid-level security, such as my email, etc. The highest level password, a random collection of numbers, letters, and symbols, is used for the most secure information, such as my bank account, slashdot login and my pr0n encryption key.
Now if I could only remember the combination to my safe.....
Just my 46fctfj6&*23's worth.... -Rick the WizKid (oooops...)
It's checked and uptated yearly, as well as mailed yearly to all homes and business in the 10 mile emergency planning zone.
Also, the plan is tested every other year, I worked as part of the communications plan, as an adjunct to the NH OEM radio system and the commercial telephone system. Last time, I was sitting in the fire station less than 10 feet from the console that controls the emrgency sirens in my town!
The plan seems to be pretty thorough. The equipment is kept up-to-date, although the main emergency center for Seabrook Station looks run-down from the outside...
Think about it... user buys product now, with a hot new feature promised within a short time via firmware download.
Now, three months later, the download that enables that feature comes out, but lo and behold - the download also includes a bunch of "features" you don't want - such as DRM or embedded advertising.
It's happened before... my sound card (A SB Audigy) has a digital 5.1 output... but the software running on the computer can disable it, so you can't get a perfect digital copy of that music file you're playing.
Or, take the case of ReplayTV - most people don't know or realize this, but the OS in the ReplayTV can be set up to display advertising on the pause screen - it was only used once IIRC, but there's nothing saying that the owners of ReplayTV can't do it again. The ReplayTV is particularly nasty in this since the files that run the ReplayOS are in fact digitally signed so you can't "tinker" with the operating system.
What am I afraid of? The general public is getting used to paying monthly fees to have things that were previously "free" - Cable TV, for example. Radio will probably end up going the same route - check out XM and Sirius Radio. Now, imagine if you bought a hardware device - for example a PDA. Right now, I can go to Best Buy and drop a few dollars on a Palm Tungsten something-or-other... and it's _mine._ I don't have to pay Palm one red cent over that initial purchase I made if I don't want to.
Now imagine 10 years from now - you go to Best Buy to pick up that PDA. But now, instead of paying a few hundred dollars once for a Palm Pilot, you now have to pay to purchase the unit, PLUS subscribe to some sort of subscription service if you want your PDA to, for example, connect to your PC.
Already the world of personal gadgetry is heading this way. Check out the "Get it now!" service from everyone's favorite cellphone carrier. You have to pay to download a game, PLUS you have to pay a monthly fee (if the author of the game wants you to) - and many cell phones now have the ability for the carrier to "turn off" certain features on various cell phones.
The same thing goes for my ReplayTV - two exact same models hardware-wise - the exact same software inside! Yet, on the newer "5500" series units, two features (commecial skip and Internet Video Sharing) are disabled. One option bit in the internal "registry" turns these features off. Now, this was in response to a settlement with Hollywood, but what is to prevent hardware manufacturers from doing the same thing for profit? Or, charging you a monthly fee to enable certain features - if you don't pay, the features are disabled! It's not like a service is being provided, since all you are paying for is a little "command" to be echoed to your device to enable whatever it is you're doing - similar to cable boxes of old that could have their IR receivers disabled by the cable company if you weren't renting a remote from them - so you couldn't use any universal remotes for free.
The long and the short of it... Whenever a company does something like this, dollars are involved....
Just my pissing-and-moaning-about-companies-trying-to-make -people-dependant-on-them's worth.... -RickTheWizKid..."You can NOT leave the magic!"
I remember as a kid going from a 170k single sided 5.25 in my Commodore to a 1.44 meg 3.5" disk in my PC and thinking "Wow! I'll never use all that storage space!" Of course, I said the same thing about my 1 GB hard drive that cost me $300, and my CD-R (not RW!) that cost nearly as much.
Needless to say, this might just be the time for me to acquire a DVD burner - Staples has a nice DVD burner for $129 after rebate that does support DVD -R[W] and +R[W]
I would imagine that their GameCube is not nearly as "tough" - just because it has an optical drive in it. I've had just about every Nintendo system out there, and they are tough.
It's not that surprising, considering this stuff was meant to be used by children. Maybe we should have Nintendo design a computer. I know that people have put PC motherboards into old NES cases.... it would be cool if Ninteno were to design a "retro" styled computer - most of the kids who played with the original NESs are now 20-30 year old computer buyers.
Compare that to my old Intellivision, which never seemed to work all that reliably. And, of course, the controllers were desgined to make your hands hurt, or so it seemed...
Another use for dongles is in cell phone repair tools that run on a computer. For example, I repair cell phones, and on my computer I have a program that can completely erase and re-flash the software (like a computer BIOS) in a phone.
This software has a dongle on the paralell port. The theory is that it is there to protect the end-user from somehow obtaining an illigetimate copy of the software and destroying their phone with this specialized BIOS-flashing software.
Of course, each manufacturer has their own software, and each software has its own dongle. Fun.
Just my just dial *2-for-customer-service's worth -RickTheWizKid
Heh! I worked in a commission based store right across the border from MA. Right next to a liquor store too, which drew a lot of people. Of course, the best people to sell to were the people who were already drunk.:)
1 REM VOIP PROGRAM BY RICKTHEWIZKID
10 LET VOIP$ = "VOIP + 802.11 = BAD NEWS FOR PHONE COMPANIES"
20 PRINT CHR$(147)
30 PRINT "{DOWN 8 TIMES}{LEFT 16 TIMES}"; VOIP$
Write it in BASIC, the only real programming language!
(Bonus points if you know what version of BASIC it's written in!)
Just my 6510's worth!
-RickTheWizKid
I wonder... Is it the people who are paying for the SPAM also paying for these attacks? I can imagine a campaign among these sleazeballs drumming up support for a DDOS of the spam blacklists...
Just my act-now-to-get-a-six-foot-penis worth... RickTheWizKid
Of course, I learned to program on an Apple//e.... Don't forget the traling semicolon! I even kinda taught myself 6502 assembly in 7th grade or so. I think it made me a better hacker.
...I only buy a system when I can get Zelda for it for less than retail. For some reason, the Funco's near where I live don't have any used copies yet.
802.11 channel: 6 SSID: RickNet IP addresses via DHCP, or if you want static, use 192.168.1.30, DNS server 192.168.1.1, gateway 192.168.1.1
Encryption is usually not enabled, but if you want, the key is 6036596363. If it's something else, that means I don't want anyone on my network.
I've also given out enough information that anyone who wants to get on my network is able to. If you can't figure out my general location from the information above, then I don't want you on my network anyway.
...is going to become more mainstream in my opinion. Some of those cases at the hardware hacker website looked nice. Heck, if Harry Potter had a PC, it would look like this.
Just my PC-with-a-magical-core's-worth. RickTheWizKid
Of the times when I was "cool" because I had 64k RAM, three voices, and 16-color graphics on my C64 and I thought it was the greatest thing to type in 10 PRINT "RICKY" : GOTO 10 and impress all the first grade teachers because I knew how to work the newfangled computer in the classroom.
I wonder though - did my dad do me a favor when he brought home the computer all those years ago?
Just my TRS-80's-worth... RickTheWizKid
PS: and to think that I actually work at the 'shack now...:)
What if the VOIP program was directly from my computer to the other party's computer with no "central server" as such that all the traffic flows through. As I see it, CALEA is only feasable on systems such as POTS or cellular where all calls go through a switch of some sort. If one were to set it up so that my computer talks directly to your computer over an encrypted link (maybe with SSL etc) there is no central switch to be compromised...
Of course, one can always use a pay phone. Cash still works.
Just my please-deposit-nintey-cents-for-the-first-three-mi nutes'-worth RickTheWizKid
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So, what about all the folks that have the FCKGW license key for their Windows installations? I know many people who still have that code in their windows setups.
I know there is a procedure that can change the installation key, but it is time consuming to go to each computer and reset the key. Plus, it may also break any shareware programs that use a hash of the license key for their registration/serial number check.
My question is this - is this a plan to force everyone who has a - ummm how can I put this? - illegitamate copy of Windows to buy a license or shut down? Moral, ethical, and legal issues aside, I think I can safely say that it is piracy (both the "casual use the same disk to install all the computers at home" and the "professional" pirates in the far east that make disks that look almost identical to a genuine microsoft disk) that made Microsoft what it is today.
Just my do-you-have-8-floppy-disks-I-can-borrow's worth...
-RickTheWizkid
This could also be useful for folks with certain types of conductive hearing loss, such as Treacher collins syndrome, which generally results in small, or no external ear structures, and other similar conditions.
This technology has been used in some types of hearing aids for years - again, for people who have small or missing external ear canals.
Just my winamp-in-a-headset's worth.
RickTheWizKid
We've got plugmold all around the shop on the walls at bench-height. There *still* isn't enough outlets!
Of course, I remember on the wall at my Grandmother's (very old) farmhouse in the bathroom there was a ceramic strip with two looooong slots spaced for plugs, and you could fit in as many plugs as you could on the slot. Fun, but probably illegal and dangerous.....
Just my 120-volts-just-ain't-enough worth
-RickTheWizKid
... and nobody's figured it out yet. I actually use several passwords, depending on the level of security. The "lowest" password, "password", is used for signing up to things like mailing lists, etc where there's little chance of me returning. The mid-level password, a pair of words with numbers in them, is used for mid-level security, such as my email, etc. The highest level password, a random collection of numbers, letters, and symbols, is used for the most secure information, such as my bank account, slashdot login and my pr0n encryption key.
Now if I could only remember the combination to my safe.....
Just my 46fctfj6&*23's worth....
-Rick the WizKid
(oooops...)
Actually, the Seabrook emergency plan is available on the 'net at http://www.nhoem.state.nh.us/TechHazards/Seabrook. shtm
It's checked and uptated yearly, as well as mailed yearly to all homes and business in the 10 mile emergency planning zone.
Also, the plan is tested every other year, I worked as part of the communications plan, as an adjunct to the NH OEM radio system and the commercial telephone system. Last time, I was sitting in the fire station less than 10 feet from the console that controls the emrgency sirens in my town!
The plan seems to be pretty thorough. The equipment is kept up-to-date, although the main emergency center for Seabrook Station looks run-down from the outside...
-RickTheWizKid
Give us Screenshots!!!
Of course, doesn't the Mac run Unix as the base for OS X? Does the NT kernal run "under" the base OSX or is it an operating system unto itself?
I'm not a mac user so I don't know....
Just my 68040's worth!
-RickTheWizKid
Think about it... user buys product now, with a hot new feature promised within a short time via firmware download.
... but the software running on the computer can disable it, so you can't get a perfect digital copy of that music file you're playing.
... Whenever a company does something like this, dollars are involved....
e -people-dependant-on-them's worth.... ..."You can NOT leave the magic!"
Now, three months later, the download that enables that feature comes out, but lo and behold - the download also includes a bunch of "features" you don't want - such as DRM or embedded advertising.
It's happened before... my sound card (A SB Audigy) has a digital 5.1 output
Or, take the case of ReplayTV - most people don't know or realize this, but the OS in the ReplayTV can be set up to display advertising on the pause screen - it was only used once IIRC, but there's nothing saying that the owners of ReplayTV can't do it again. The ReplayTV is particularly nasty in this since the files that run the ReplayOS are in fact digitally signed so you can't "tinker" with the operating system.
What am I afraid of? The general public is getting used to paying monthly fees to have things that were previously "free" - Cable TV, for example. Radio will probably end up going the same route - check out XM and Sirius Radio. Now, imagine if you bought a hardware device - for example a PDA. Right now, I can go to Best Buy and drop a few dollars on a Palm Tungsten something-or-other... and it's _mine._ I don't have to pay Palm one red cent over that initial purchase I made if I don't want to.
Now imagine 10 years from now - you go to Best Buy to pick up that PDA. But now, instead of paying a few hundred dollars once for a Palm Pilot, you now have to pay to purchase the unit, PLUS subscribe to some sort of subscription service if you want your PDA to, for example, connect to your PC.
Already the world of personal gadgetry is heading this way. Check out the "Get it now!" service from everyone's favorite cellphone carrier. You have to pay to download a game, PLUS you have to pay a monthly fee (if the author of the game wants you to) - and many cell phones now have the ability for the carrier to "turn off" certain features on various cell phones.
The same thing goes for my ReplayTV - two exact same models hardware-wise - the exact same software inside! Yet, on the newer "5500" series units, two features (commecial skip and Internet Video Sharing) are disabled. One option bit in the internal "registry" turns these features off. Now, this was in response to a settlement with Hollywood, but what is to prevent hardware manufacturers from doing the same thing for profit? Or, charging you a monthly fee to enable certain features - if you don't pay, the features are disabled! It's not like a service is being provided, since all you are paying for is a little "command" to be echoed to your device to enable whatever it is you're doing - similar to cable boxes of old that could have their IR receivers disabled by the cable company if you weren't renting a remote from them - so you couldn't use any universal remotes for free.
The long and the short of it
Just my pissing-and-moaning-about-companies-trying-to-mak
-RickTheWizKid
No... it's the end of FLOPPIES! :)
I remember as a kid going from a 170k single sided 5.25 in my Commodore to a 1.44 meg 3.5" disk in my PC and thinking "Wow! I'll never use all that storage space!" Of course, I said the same thing about my 1 GB hard drive that cost me $300, and my CD-R (not RW!) that cost nearly as much.
Needless to say, this might just be the time for me to acquire a DVD burner - Staples has a nice DVD burner for $129 after rebate that does support DVD -R[W] and +R[W]
-Rick
I would imagine that their GameCube is not nearly as "tough" - just because it has an optical drive in it. I've had just about every Nintendo system out there, and they are tough.
It's not that surprising, considering this stuff was meant to be used by children. Maybe we should have Nintendo design a computer. I know that people have put PC motherboards into old NES cases.... it would be cool if Ninteno were to design a "retro" styled computer - most of the kids who played with the original NESs are now 20-30 year old computer buyers.
Compare that to my old Intellivision, which never seemed to work all that reliably. And, of course, the controllers were desgined to make your hands hurt, or so it seemed...
-RickTheWizKid
Oh, so *that's* what you're supposed to do with that thing!
-RickTheWizKid
Sounds good to me! As long as it works better than the "plug and play" in Windows 95! :)
Just my gives-a-new-meaning-to-plug-and-play's worth...
-RickTheWizKid
Another use for dongles is in cell phone repair tools that run on a computer. For example, I repair cell phones, and on my computer I have a program that can completely erase and re-flash the software (like a computer BIOS) in a phone.
This software has a dongle on the paralell port. The theory is that it is there to protect the end-user from somehow obtaining an illigetimate copy of the software and destroying their phone with this specialized BIOS-flashing software.
Of course, each manufacturer has their own software, and each software has its own dongle. Fun.
Just my just dial *2-for-customer-service's worth
-RickTheWizKid
Heh! I worked in a commission based store right across the border from MA. Right next to a liquor store too, which drew a lot of people. Of course, the best people to sell to were the people who were already drunk. :)
Just my 8%-meals-tax worth
RickTheWizKid
Actually it should be
1 REM VOIP PROGRAM BY RICKTHEWIZKID
10 LET VOIP$ = "VOIP + 802.11 = BAD NEWS FOR PHONE COMPANIES"
20 PRINT CHR$(147)
30 PRINT "{DOWN 8 TIMES}{LEFT 16 TIMES}"; VOIP$
Write it in BASIC, the only real programming language!
(Bonus points if you know what version of BASIC it's written in!) Just my 6510's worth! -RickTheWizKid
I wonder... Is it the people who are paying for the SPAM also paying for these attacks? I can imagine a campaign among these sleazeballs drumming up support for a DDOS of the spam blacklists...
Just my act-now-to-get-a-six-foot-penis worth...
RickTheWizKid
Of course, I learned to program on an Apple
I even kinda taught myself 6502 assembly in 7th grade or so. I think it made me a better hacker.
Just my 64k's-worth
-RickTheWizKid
Would be great for all the times my dad used to yell "don't fumble... catch the ball... CATCH THE ^&%^&$ BALL!!!"
Just my $0.02 worth
RickTheWizKid
Of course, I can see it now;
but then, I haven't been on the warez boards for a long, long time. Do they still use the FILE_ID.DIZ?
RickTheWizKid
... of table- soccer? You mean, that game with the little spinny men on bars, right?
That's sad. Very sad.
Oh well, to each his own
Just my Insert-two-quarters-for-one-credit's worth
-RickTheWizKid
...since my servers are named after the Fraggles...
gobo is my mailserver, boober is the fileserver, boober is my printserver and red is my web surfing machine.
Just my 2-radishes-worth...
RickTheWizKid
Here are the technical parameters:
802.11 channel: 6
SSID: RickNet
IP addresses via DHCP, or if you want static, use 192.168.1.30, DNS server 192.168.1.1, gateway 192.168.1.1
Encryption is usually not enabled, but if you want, the key is 6036596363. If it's something else, that means I don't want anyone on my network.
I've also given out enough information that anyone who wants to get on my network is able to. If you can't figure out my general location from the information above, then I don't want you on my network anyway.
--RickTheWizKid
...is going to become more mainstream in my opinion. Some of those cases at the hardware hacker website looked nice. Heck, if Harry Potter had a PC, it would look like this.
Just my PC-with-a-magical-core's-worth.
RickTheWizKid
Of the times when I was "cool" because I had 64k RAM, three voices, and 16-color graphics on my C64 and I thought it was the greatest thing to type in 10 PRINT "RICKY" : GOTO 10 and impress all the first grade teachers because I knew how to work the newfangled computer in the classroom.
:)
I wonder though - did my dad do me a favor when he brought home the computer all those years ago?
Just my TRS-80's-worth...
RickTheWizKid
PS: and to think that I actually work at the 'shack now...
My remote control costs almost as much as my TV set.
Of course, I don't watch that much TV, so it may seem like a waste of money to me...
Just my 13-inches-worth...
RickTheWizKid
What if the VOIP program was directly from my computer to the other party's computer with no "central server" as such that all the traffic flows through. As I see it, CALEA is only feasable on systems such as POTS or cellular where all calls go through a switch of some sort. If one were to set it up so that my computer talks directly to your computer over an encrypted link (maybe with SSL etc) there is no central switch to be compromised...
i nutes'-worth
Of course, one can always use a pay phone. Cash still works.
Just my please-deposit-nintey-cents-for-the-first-three-m
RickTheWizKid