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User: dhasenan

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Comments · 1,168

  1. Re:The big problem on ISPs to Create Database to Combat Child Porn · · Score: 1

    Another point--

    Do you prefer having all your packets logged to combat child pornography, or do you prefer comparing hashed packets to combat child pornography?

  2. Re:Resignation. on Immaturity Level Rising in Adults · · Score: 1

    Yes, but Latin 'flavor' is pronounced like English 'flower'. When (at age six) I learned this, my mother became extremely grateful that no belladonna grew nearby.

  3. This just in on TUAW Recommends Joke App · · Score: 1

    This just in: Microsoft ships free calendar application with Windows.

  4. Re:Similar stuff done at aibohack.com on Robot Dogs Evolve Their Own Language · · Score: 1

    The simple way is to program imitation and have the bot perform the trick when there's any sort of audience.

    Now, if the dogs could describe the necessary action instead, I'd be extremely impressed.

  5. Re:Debian (or derivative) on Linux Distributions for Embedded Development? · · Score: 1

    For Gentoo: gentoo-portage.com

  6. Re:Firefox? on Windows Live Messenger with VoIP · · Score: 2, Funny

    Quite true.

    Myself, I use telnet on a virtual machine on a remote computer across a firewall running OS/2 as the host OS and an OS I created specifically for security as the guest OS; every hour, the host OS is refreshed from a ROM backup according to a hardware process.

    When I have verified a site as being safe, I then allow myself to access it via a separate SSH tunnel using Mosaic as the rendering engine. Even then, I'm running it in WINE on a virtual machine under NetBSD.

    You just need to take sensible precautions, really.

  7. Re:The real problem on Telecommuting Backlash · · Score: 2, Funny

    A handful of strychnine will solve that, albeit in a somewhat unpleasant manner.

  8. Re:Why doesn't poison kill the host? on Army Sent to Fight Millions of Invading Toxic Toads · · Score: 1

    Toads are poisonous, not venomous.

  9. Re:Diversity is strength. on Army Sent to Fight Millions of Invading Toxic Toads · · Score: 1

    There are predators that can eat the cane toads without dying. Ravens flip the toads onto their backs and eviscerate them, without touching the poison sacs.

    You just need a clever native creature to oust the little pests.

  10. Re:How do you read a thermited platter? on A New Technique to Quickly Erase Hard Drives · · Score: 1

    You, sir, have given a very good suggestion. Then we can make the charge as large as we like.

    There's an issue, though, of how reliable the mechanism is. Since it could be based off bomb doors, it should be pretty reliable, unlike experimental tech such as was posited by the article.

  11. Re:First question: on A New Technique to Quickly Erase Hard Drives · · Score: 4, Insightful

    At the present level of computing technology, the expression "billions of years" pales in comparison to the length of time required to brute force a 4096-bit key.

    Given Moore's law, and assuming it holds beyond physical limits, the expression "billions of years" accurately describes the length of time required to brute force a 4096-bit key.

    Given the possibility of quantum computing, the only thing you can do is use one-time pads for all your needs, provided you need these things to stay secret for more than the 50-100 years required to develop quantum codebreaking systems.

    Now, that solution is quite feasible, but time-consuming. Here's how you'd do it:
    1. Have a secure [D]RNG fill a hard drive to capacity. Copy that to the plane's hard drive.
    2. Have a filesystem that writes raw data to the disk--you only want one file containing all data that's collected, and that should be append-only.
    3. Instead of simply writing data, XOR the block you're writing with the one that's currently on disk.
    4. Once you're back on base, another XOR gets your information back.

  12. Re:First question: on A New Technique to Quickly Erase Hard Drives · · Score: 1

    Because then you're broadcasting your presence to everyone around. You're in a frikkin spyplane; you want to be clandestine.

  13. Re:FSM Strikes Again! on Scientists Find Missing Link in Bird Evolution · · Score: 1

    Try going to the biology department of your local university. The reason you haven't found rational conversation on the subject is because you're consulting nonexperts.

    Unfortunately, the only expert on creationism that I am aware of is Kent Hovind, who clearly lies in each of his lectures (or at least uses deliberate omissions to make his points and fails to do appropriate research; if you're talking about stratigraphy, for instance, you might want to know who came up with the idea, and if you're trying to show how a textbook admits its own failings, you should actually include context in your quotations).

    Perhaps you could point out some rational creationists and their arguments? I'd be interested to see what they have to say.

  14. Re:HOW!?!!?! on Microsoft Confirms Excel Zero-Day Attack · · Score: 2, Informative

    Anything beyond basic usage requires a macro language--especially a spreadsheet program. Now, whether the macro language should be allowed to interface with the filesystem is a different matter entirely. I'd say that a user should be given a standard "Overwrite file $FILENAME? yes/no/cancel" dialog whenever a macro tries to overwrite a file; opening or listing the contents of a directory is a bit of a tricky matter, but I don't think many users would miss that feature.

    Now, if the macros were available to an external scripting language like bash or one of the P's, then there would be no reason for the macro language to be able to list or open files, only write to them. Then you'd only have, as the above poster mentioned, buffer overflows and the like.

    If we wanted, we could alter our standard libraries so that, for instance, strcpy does bounds checking. Is there a reason not to?

  15. Re:Minority Modmaking on Is Bughunting Still A Way Into the Games Industry? · · Score: 1

    It's a good way to start a studio without previous experience.

    It's a bad way to get a job without previous experience, unless you're determined to start out with your own studio. The best way to get a job is probably to start with artistic aspects, I think--game artists get more Want ads that I've seen. So if you're a good texturer and a good programmer, Bob's your uncle.

  16. Re:this means little to consumers on Cellular Companies Join to Improve Linux · · Score: 1

    Would it be legal for them to keep the drivers closed? The Kororaa project was recently spotlighted for this issue, recall; I'm sure that an operating system qualifies as a derivative work of the Linux kernel, even if the attendant applications are not included in that.

  17. Re:this means little to consumers on Cellular Companies Join to Improve Linux · · Score: 1

    Competition helps the consumer.

    In this case, who is the consumer? The manufacturers of mobile phones.

  18. Re:Where's the Firefox Extension for this? on Browser Tools Aim to Warn Surfers of Spyware, Spam · · Score: 5, Funny

    Better yet, where's the one that automatically directs me to red-rated sites?

  19. Re:Repackaged content deserves copyright?! on New IP Treaty Looming? · · Score: 1

    Yes, but formerly I could record the broadcast on paper, word for word, and sell copies of that text. Now, I have to find a copy that's not broadcast or webcast.

    This isn't a problem for texts. It is a severe problem for audio or video content--depending on how 'broadcast' is defined.

  20. Re:Filtering on VoIP's Security Vulnerabilities · · Score: 1

    There is a method around this. A few, actually.

    - The VoIP provider could decide it's enough of a feature to implement, and even devote some GUI space to.
    - Hackers could reverse engineer the VoIP provider's protocol and implement their own client, which would almost certainly have that feature.
    - The VoIP provider, to cut costs, uses an open source solution that already has a good client with this feature and merely rebrands the client, at most.

    Really, requiring a particular VoIP client is much like requiring a particular web browser or a particular model of telephones in order to use the Internet or a telephone service. Still, it'll be a while before people decide they want to keep one predictable interface no matter their VoIP provider--and that will probably happen when Microsoft bundles a client with their OS.

  21. Re:Yes... on Fast File Encryption for Windows? · · Score: 1

    Actually, that's probably the fastest method of data transfer. Faster than pigeons or snails, even.

  22. Re:Cheaper Macs? on Intel To Slash Prices Up To 60% · · Score: 1

    It means I might actually be able to get an Intel chip that understands the SSE3 instruction set so I can modify my computer and actually run OS X, at least.

    Don't ask me why I'm doing it. I have no idea.

  23. Re:Not news for nerds. Not stuff that matters. on Dvorak on Our Modern World · · Score: 1

    You're going about it wrong. If you want to criticize the merit of the article to be published on Slashdot, you have to be amusing or insightful. Easiest to be amusing. If you simply assert that the article is bullshit, you get little reaction. But if you state "This is the best article I've seen in a while", people automatically disagree with the statement and agree with your intent--namely, that the article is worthless.

  24. Great... on Fedora Core 5 Re-spins Available · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now, instead of downloading up-to-the-minute patches after I install, I can download up-to-the-week ISOs before I install! That means rather than an additional 50-100MB, I get to download an entire 4GB DVD image.

    Hold on a minute....

  25. Re:They may have a winner on Wii Graphics 'Better Than At E3' · · Score: 1

    Moreover, if you're a hardcore gamer, an extra $250 for the Wii is relatively minor, even if you've already bought another console. At this point, Nintendo doesn't have to be the single exclusive desire of every gamer; market penetration rather than comparative market share is the current goal.

    The next Nintendo console may well be more targeted toward market share, but at this point, no. The Gamecube performed poorly in comparison to its competitors, so Nintendo is using the Wii to regain its reputation.