A mac port of pygame is available here: http://pythonmac.org/packages/py24-fat/ It uses some form of wrapper program for the SDL surface so it doesn't need X11... Take a look.
US Code Title 18 Section 1030e:
(2) the term "protected computer" means a computer--
(A) exclusively for the use of a financial institution or the United States Government, or, in the case of a computer not exclusively for such use, used by or for a financial institution or the United States Government and the conduct constituting the offense affects that use by or for the financial institution or the Government; or
(B) which is used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication, including a computer located outside the United States that is used in a manner that affects interstate or foreign commerce or communication of the United States;
This doesn't protect anybody but the government... Back to the drawing board I guess.
Google Desktop Search to the rescue
on
Creative Data Loss
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· Score: 5, Informative
I found myself in a predicament a few weeks ago where I had just finished adding three pages to a term paper and went to back it up to my USB drive. Needless to say, I somehow managed to delete the file and corrupt the copy on the USB drive. As I was frantically thinking about solutions I glanced down at the taskbar clock to see how much time I had before it was due.
At this point one of my tray icons caught my attention... Google Desktop Search. I had been playing with it for a few days and remembered the caching functionality. I opened it up and did a search for the file. Magically, it appeared with a cache and the entire document, in all of it's glory.
This was proof enough for me that aside from the security concerns, desktop search tools do have distinct advantages. Especially instant backups:)
I have found an alternative to the constant plague of problems with RealPlayer.
It's called Real Alternative. The idea is that it only installs the Real codec and nothing else (although they do have a lightweight player and Mozilla plugins if you want)
Although their site is a little cluttered, their software isn't. Real Alternative
I remember my first school hack... It wasn't as much of a hack as it was luck. One of the admins forgot to logout of the Novell admin program on one of the library machines that were intended for student use... A few clicks and I had my very own admin account... Those were the days...
I don't quite see why you would want to pay for internet access... There are many free (and legal) ways of getting wireless internet access these days.
Starbucks now offers it's wireless services free of charge because it's cheaper for them than the support costs
Hobbyists in large cities have started setting up free networks for general use (eg. Seattle Wireless)
3. I have also seen lots of small computer stores opening up their networks for customers.
4. Most colleges have some form of wireless network now. All you have to do is ask any student for the WEP password if there even is one.
I'm just trying to point out that you don't have to pay $5 for internet access in the US... I would guess that the same holds true for some other places like the UK.
There are a couple problems with this if you are a *nix user...
1. You have to mount the CD first
2. The copy protection software is a Windows Executable
Is it my fault if the copy protection doesn't work on my chosen platform?
What if I decided to take the SPDIF output from my stereo and run it into my sound card?
The bottom line is that this is an imperfect technology... Unless they want to invent a new CD format and obsolete every CD player on the planet, these copy protection schemes seem to be a lost cause.
Really... I work at a community college where the only languages they offer are Java, VB6, C, and COBOL. I still haven't figured out why COBOL is in the list and not ASM.
This actually wouldn't be such a bad idea if the pen had a lot of storage, say somewhere on the order of 1 TB... I know this isn't really feasible but bear with me. Fedex is the highest bandwidth network in the world, you could shove 6 200 GB hard drives into a package, and have it sent same-day air to another person and have it arrive in 5 hours... I'd like to see you transfer that much data that fast over the net. BTW, if you figure out how to do that over the net let me know;)
While this seems like a good idea for people that aren't tech savvy, in the article they hint at the fact that you will need a special wireless station setup for doing the real communication of the data. Doesn't that mean that someone with technical skills will have to set the station up at some point defeating the purpose of the device?
As we have already seen with the Linksys line of wireless access points, most people are not willing to go any further than plugging it in.
I think that this would be a much more refined use of technology if they had built a pen with a small flash chip and a lightweight (Bluetooth, USB-Wireless, etc) wireless interface into it. That would enable you to put the data directly on the pen and not have to have any infrastructure to support the communication other than the need for compatible devices.
Unfortunately, the device I have described would probably run about $300 USD on the market today. Most people just aren't willing to spend that much money on something that they can already do with the current technology. It only takes a few more minutes to send the data and requires a bit more technical expertise than they would need with this pen.
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This is literally how the book Avogadro Corp starts. Singularity ensues. http://amzn.com/0984755705?tag=synack-20
What happens if you print a test page? Does it build a giant HP logo?
A mac port of pygame is available here: http://pythonmac.org/packages/py24-fat/
It uses some form of wrapper program for the SDL surface so it doesn't need X11... Take a look.
I've just recently completed this project exactly as you've described except for the fact that I used electrical tape instead of duct tape ;)
http://lab46.corning-cc.edu/dslab/gumcar.php
"...ability to designate subpoenas as secret and punish disclosure of their existence with up to one year in prison."
Sounds a lot like double secret probation to me :)
US Code Title 18 Section 1030e: (2) the term "protected computer" means a computer-- (A) exclusively for the use of a financial institution or the United States Government, or, in the case of a computer not exclusively for such use, used by or for a financial institution or the United States Government and the conduct constituting the offense affects that use by or for the financial institution or the Government; or (B) which is used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication, including a computer located outside the United States that is used in a manner that affects interstate or foreign commerce or communication of the United States; This doesn't protect anybody but the government... Back to the drawing board I guess.
At this point one of my tray icons caught my attention... Google Desktop Search. I had been playing with it for a few days and remembered the caching functionality. I opened it up and did a search for the file. Magically, it appeared with a cache and the entire document, in all of it's glory.
This was proof enough for me that aside from the security concerns, desktop search tools do have distinct advantages. Especially instant backups :)
I have found an alternative to the constant plague of problems with RealPlayer.
It's called Real Alternative. The idea is that it only installs the Real codec and nothing else (although they do have a lightweight player and Mozilla plugins if you want)
Although their site is a little cluttered, their software isn't.
Real Alternative
I remember my first school hack... It wasn't as much of a hack as it was luck. One of the admins forgot to logout of the Novell admin program on one of the library machines that were intended for student use... A few clicks and I had my very own admin account... Those were the days...
Just one question...
Why did you bring a 9mm to a LAN party? Do you play with somebody that cheats?
I don't quite see why you would want to pay for internet access... There are many free (and legal) ways of getting wireless internet access these days.
I'm just trying to point out that you don't have to pay $5 for internet access in the US... I would guess that the same holds true for some other places like the UK.
There are a couple problems with this if you are a *nix user... 1. You have to mount the CD first 2. The copy protection software is a Windows Executable Is it my fault if the copy protection doesn't work on my chosen platform? What if I decided to take the SPDIF output from my stereo and run it into my sound card? The bottom line is that this is an imperfect technology... Unless they want to invent a new CD format and obsolete every CD player on the planet, these copy protection schemes seem to be a lost cause.
Really... I work at a community college where the only languages they offer are Java, VB6, C, and COBOL. I still haven't figured out why COBOL is in the list and not ASM.
This actually wouldn't be such a bad idea if the pen had a lot of storage, say somewhere on the order of 1 TB... I know this isn't really feasible but bear with me. Fedex is the highest bandwidth network in the world, you could shove 6 200 GB hard drives into a package, and have it sent same-day air to another person and have it arrive in 5 hours... I'd like to see you transfer that much data that fast over the net. BTW, if you figure out how to do that over the net let me know ;)
As we have already seen with the Linksys line of wireless access points, most people are not willing to go any further than plugging it in.
I think that this would be a much more refined use of technology if they had built a pen with a small flash chip and a lightweight (Bluetooth, USB-Wireless, etc) wireless interface into it. That would enable you to put the data directly on the pen and not have to have any infrastructure to support the communication other than the need for compatible devices.
Unfortunately, the device I have described would probably run about $300 USD on the market today. Most people just aren't willing to spend that much money on something that they can already do with the current technology. It only takes a few more minutes to send the data and requires a bit more technical expertise than they would need with this pen.
That's just my two cents.