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User: six025

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  1. Calling home on Speed Test 2: Comparing C++ Compilers On WIndows · · Score: 1, Insightful

    >> its annoying habit of occasionally "calling home" to check licensing information

    Calling home for the latest NSA exploits to inject in to your application? /tinfoil-hat-no-so-paranoid-these-days-dept

  2. There goes the neighbourhood. on Users Identified Through Typing, Mouse Movements · · Score: 5, Funny

    So that means no more posting on Slashdot while drunk?

    Not sure If this post is funny or insightful ;-)

  3. Re:Default ding. on Ask Slashdot: Communication Skills For Programmers? · · Score: 1

    Send an email to the whole team at the end of each day, summarizing what you've been doing.

    Please don't do this. Updates are good, but not every day via email. It's just annoying and a waste of everyones time. Can you imagine if everyone took this advice? 20 status update emails each day at 4:30, ffs ;-)

    As for the main question: go make tea a couple of times a day, or grab some water instead of staying chained to your desk. Set an alarm if you have to. Walking around the office you will bump in to people, which is a good opportunity to say hi, tell them what you're up to or find out what they are up to.

    Classic water cooler stuff, really.

    Also don't make the mistake of thinking it's really easy for everyone else to start up conversation, and that you have some problem. Pretty much everyone one of us has some kind of hangup, phobia, social awkwardness that makes communication difficult - it just manifests itself in different ways. For example, someone might be an extrovert to compensate for feeling inadequate around other people. Inside, the same voice of self doubt is telling us "don't do that, it will only end in failure".

    Hint: it won't or rarely does. There is nothing to lose from saying Hi to your colleagues.

    Peace,
    Andy.

  4. Re:I watch chess... on Why There Shouldn't Be a Chess World Champion · · Score: 1

    The slow motion replays of Chess have nothing on this.

    Note: for the true sporting connoisseur only.

  5. Dianne Feinstein about face on Even the Author of the Patriot Act Is Trying To Stop the NSA · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In related news Dianne Feinstein has turned around her opinion and stated she is now 'totally opposed' to NSA surveillance of US allies.

    Quite surprised at this, hopefully it is not empty rhetoric and actually goes somewhere. Very interested to see what the two leading goons of the NSA have to say for themselves in front of the House intelligence committee on Tuesday.

    Peace,
    Andy.

  6. Re:Get your priorities in order on Ask Slashdot: Best Cross-Platform (Linux-Only) Audio Software? · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yeah there is more software available on MacOS or Windows in this field but you are way way way overstating your case.

    The GPP is absolutely not overstating the case. I love Linux and open source, but it really isn't ready for audio recording and MIDI processing, let alone the myriad of other apps and plugins required for effects processing and mastering. I would be extremely surprised if there are any serious audio professionals using Linux as a DAW.

    As for the rest of us: inspiration can be difficult to find. When an idea for a song strikes your chosen platform and toolset must be ready to record perfect audio with low latency now. No configuration, no messing about. Load host, press record, start playing. Anything else is a compromise and will hamper your creativity.

    OS X and and Windows allow this to happen with very little configuration. The plugins are available, both free and paid. Linux does not. It may do in the future with host like Bitwig being made available (soon ...), but until that day it's Mac or Windows for consistently repeatable high quality audio work.

    Peace,
    Andy.

  7. Re:Cross Platform Host Bitwig on Ask Slashdot: Best Cross-Platform (Linux-Only) Audio Software? · · Score: 3, Informative

    Will there be a command-line version und can I pipe it to /dev/snd ?

    I'm guessing the answer would be no ;-)

    Sox (free, open source) is what you want for that type of processing.

    http://sox.sourceforge.net/

    Peace,
    Andy.

  8. Re:Cross Platform Host - PyDAW on Ask Slashdot: Best Cross-Platform (Linux-Only) Audio Software? · · Score: 4, Informative

    There is another option for Linux which is open source - PyDAW. Check out the project here:

    http://sourceforge.net/projects/libmodsynth/

    Although I have no experience with PyDAW, it has been in development for some time and should be very stable.

    Peace,
    Andy.

  9. Cross Platform Host Bitwig on Ask Slashdot: Best Cross-Platform (Linux-Only) Audio Software? · · Score: 4, Informative

    Forget using an audio editor for song composition, what you need is a proper audio host (commonly called a DAW).

    The options for Linux have been a bit lacking but that is about to change with the impending release of Bitwig. Developed for Mac / Win / Linux, it functions similar to Ableton Live, which is incredibly popular for a good reason - it's unique take on music arrangement means it is great for jamming, live performance and experimenting with ideas. Check it out here:

    https://bitwig.com/en/bitwig-studio

    Peace,
    Andy.

  10. Addicted to surveillance on UK Telcos Went Above and Beyond To Cooperate With GCHQ · · Score: 1

    One of the most telling omissions from the reasons GCHQ cite for keeping the surveillance a secret is the so called War on Terror. It's not mentioned at all.

    Their biggest fear is / was the public finding out, and challenging their right to spy in the courts.

    Something feels very wrong about that ;-)

    Peace,
    Andy.

  11. Re:slight correction. on Visionary Nintendo President Yamauchi Dies · · Score: 1

    Anything you did back then was fun because you were at a point in your life where you could enjoy it the most.

    No doubt that was a factor, but we had access to Play Station and yet we always returned to the N64 games I mentioned above. ;-)

  12. Re:slight correction. on Visionary Nintendo President Yamauchi Dies · · Score: 1

    Oops, correction: Eternal Darkness was originally planned for the N64 but actually released for the Gamecube.

  13. Re:slight correction. on Visionary Nintendo President Yamauchi Dies · · Score: 1

    And I don't think anybody has forgotten Goldeneye 007 on the 64.

    Yup!

    N64 may not have had the numbers, but some of the games were among the most played of all time among my group of friends. We had the most fun with the N64 and that is really what counts.

    Diddy Kong Racing was freakin' awesome.

    Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem is one of the best ever horror themed titles to hit the shelves.

    Peace,
    Andy.

  14. Re:Meaningless ... on Google Speeding Up New Encryption Project After Latest Snowden Leaks · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's far from perfect, but at least Google are trying to do something and it's better than the current status quo.

    It's an admirable goal, but it comes down to trust. How does Google know, or more importantly how do we know, that someone from the NSA has not embedded themselves in the implementation team in order to weaken the encryption or insert a back door?

    At this point it's kinda like introducing time-travel as a plot device to the Star Trek cannon. Once time travel is introduced, absolutely anything is possible. In terms of encryption, hence forth it will be very difficult to trust anything related to computing.

    Peace,
    Andy.

  15. Except ... on New Snowden Revelation: Terrorists Attempting To Infiltrate CIA · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The anomalous behavior that sent up red flags could include staffers downloading multiple documents or accessing classified databases they do not normally use for their work, said two people familiar with the software used to monitor employee activity.

    Except, apparently, one Edward Snowden. Which means for all of the paranoia, someone still got through.

    What about the other Snowdens that aren't whistleblowers but real, actual spies?

    This is another reason the NSA et al are foolish to dismiss Snowden as a threat, another reason why he should be embraced as a hero for shining light on a serious problem!

    Peace,
    Andy.

  16. Re:Obfuscated python code? on Researchers Reverse-Engineer Dropbox, Cracking Heavily Obfuscated Python App · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Sounds remarkably like security through obscurity to me. With the predictable outcome.

    You have no right to feel secure if you only think you're secure assuming noone else examines your source code.

    To what level do you take the paranoia, though?

    As early as 1984 (hah!) it has been known that a compiler could be developed in such a way as to produce binaries containing a back door:

    http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?TheKenThompsonHack

    The next level is CPU microcode. Where does it end? One day we can fab our own CPUs from Open Source designs ... but will that be enough?

    Peace,
    Andy.

  17. Re:50,000 GCHQ documents? on Report: Britain Has a Secret Middle East Web Surveillance Base · · Score: 1

    Mr Miranda supplied the police with all his passwords (as you must under the law in the UK) so no encryption needed breaking, just unlocking.

    He may have been forced to supply all of his [i]own[/i] passwords, but that does not mean he had passwords for all of the documents he was carrying!

  18. Re:Yes, and? on Report: Britain Has a Secret Middle East Web Surveillance Base · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And I should add: huge kudos to the Independent for having the balls to stand up and keep reporting in the face of what appears to be a War on Journalism.

    Peace,
    Andy.

  19. Re:Yes, and? on Report: Britain Has a Secret Middle East Web Surveillance Base · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Whether Greenwald gave some stuff to the Independent or Snowden did that earlier is unknown.

    But my guess would be the whole episode of the UK Gov't detaining Mr. Miranda and forcing The Guarding to shred some systems seriously pissed off the British Press. Releasing UK-specific material is most likely payback. Spreading it around to other papers is most likely a signal that "threaten the Guardian with prior restraint, you better be ready to shut down every paper in the UK".

    GCHQ and Whitehall fucked up royally with that and they are now going to pay for threatening a major newspaper.

    Just a guess, mind you.

    Rather telling is that a) the story appears in the Independent and b) article makes no reference as to the source of the allegations, other than stating that the information was found in the documents leaked by Edward Snowden:

    Information about the project was contained in 50,000 GCHQ documents that Mr Snowden downloaded during 2012. Many of them came from an internal Wikipedia-style information site called GC-Wiki. Unlike the public Wikipedia, GCHQ’s wiki was generally classified Top Secret or above.

    The disclosure comes as the Metropolitan Police announced it was launching a terrorism investigation into material found on the computer of David Miranda, the Brazilian partner of The Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald – who is at the centre of the Snowden controversy.

    Prior to this story most UK articles appeared in the Guardian and clearly stated that Glenn Greewald provided the information. The game has changed, and I think it is going to get a whole lot uglier from here.

    Peace,
    Andy.

  20. Slashvertising. on Twinkies: The Breakfast of Champion Programmers Still Hard To Get · · Score: 1

    *n/m*

  21. SPAM on More Encryption Is Not the Solution · · Score: 1

    Sad to say this but maybe spam serves a useful purpose after all, it's probably the most realistic option here save fixing the root cause of the problem. If everyone sends millions upon billions of spam emails, the system might be so overloaded as to become ineffective.

    On a related note, I've often wondered what some spam emails with gibberish text actually mean. Maybe it's some kind of encrypted communication hiding in plain site - it only takes 1 message to get through to the intended recipient to be effective.

    Peace,
    Andy.

  22. Re:Ah, Utopia! on Reconciling Human Rights With Ubiquitous Online Surveillance · · Score: 1

    There are 300 million people in the U.S. -- that's 214 for EACH soldier -- and guess what else? There is at least one civilian-owned gun for EACH of those 300 million.

    There are a lot of children, elderly and just plain incapable people included in your sums.

  23. How to make money selling drugs. on Bitcoins Seized In Drug Bust · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Anyone under the misapprehension that the drug war is about catching scum bag drug users or dealers should watch this excellent documentary:

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276962/

    You'll learn who the really big players are. Hint: it's not who you think it is ;)

    Peace,
    Andy.

  24. Re:Finally they are recognized! on New Moons of Pluto Named Kerberos and Styx; Popular Choice 'Vulcan' Snubbed · · Score: 1, Funny

    Pleas don't put Rush in the same thread as Styx and Floyd.

    Not to nitpick, but you just put all 3 in the same sentence ;-)

  25. Re:And that's the way it should be done on New Zealand ISP Offers "Global Mode" So Users Can Circumvent Geo-Restrictions · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There are no borders in the Internet. End of story.

    There are no borders, anywhere - END OF STORY. ... except those invented by "man" for the purposes of control, so why would the internet be any different? Because it's cyber? ;-)

    Anyway, I agree with the premise that there should be no borders on the 'net so just playing the devils advocate here. And I also truly believe that borders between countries now cause more problems than they solve, but that's just an ideal not the reality, unfortunately.

    Peace,
    Andy.