You poor, poor Americans and your shitty internet infrastructure.
My 100Mbps fibre connection will dowload a 1200MB movie in ~3 minutes. Sometimes faster*. I just use that time to make some popcorn, mix up a drink, or go take a piss.
* 1200MB / 6MB per sec = 3.3333333 minutes. I can easily reach speeds of 11MB per sec, depending on if the source can keep up
On Android, I use "Thumb Keyboard". Mostly because it was the first keyboard I tried that allowed me to customize pretty much everything in both landscape or portrait, also has directional keys which is really handy when editing files in nano over ssh in ConnectBot.
In Android's case it is the manufacturer's, not Android's, fault for lack of updates. Samsung is among the worst. Don't buy them.
Since Lenovo bought Motorola, they seem to be pushing out updates in a timely manner. I myself own a Moto X Play (not available in US), running Marshmallow. My wife has a Moto G3, also running Marshmallow. Indeed these phones are not very old, so time will tell, but from what I can tell, Lenovo is moving towards a more ASOP experience, allowing updates to be quicker.
What the networks don't seem to comprehend is customers will do without or resort to piracy. There simply will not be users switching from netflix back to cable, like they seem to believe is going to happen.
I live in a townhouse style home. 3 floors. 3 bedrooms. One washroom. Kitchen. Dining area. Living room. Basement contains a play room for the kids, my office, and laundry room. My yard is small will admit. I have a single 60W Halogen floodlamp that fills the yard nicely at night.
1 60W equiv bright white/daylight (4000-6000K) throws a lot more light around the room than a 60W shitty incandecent at 2500K.
I think you are mistaken. You can still tune GCC, but it defaults to safe compiler optimzation flags.
I use Funtoo, and I have my CFLAGS tuned to my architecture. Things run real zippy even on older or low end hardware when optimized for your architecture.
I think you are out of touch with what LED bulbs cost, and how many bulbs people actually need.
I just bought 12 Philips 8W (60W equiv), bright white (5000K), 900 lumen LED bulbs for $60 CAD (~$42 USD), or $5 CAD (~$3.50 USD) each. If you need 280+ bulbs then the amount of power they use are probably the least of your worries.
The 12 I bought covered my whole house, minus the yard where I use a 60W halogen floodlamp. I have a small house. But I suspect the majority of households use between 15 and 30 bulbs.
Search for "rolling release linux distro" on your favourite search engine.
Some popular distro's: - Gentoo: www.gentoo.org (or Funtoo www.funtoo.org - created by the original founder of Gentoo) - ArchLinux: www.archlinux.org - Sabayon Linux: www.sabayon.org - Lunar Linux: www.lunar-linux.org
Oh, don't worry, they'll take a pledge for your first born, and if you fail to deliver they will come and rape your wife/girlfriend/significant other then send you a bill for their time.
I don't use Windows, so Edge/IE is out of the question. I dont own a Mac, so Safari is out of the question.
That leaves me with Firefox, Chrome, or about 100 other less known browsers.
Mozilla is actively working towards a secure, open platform for developers and users alike.
Google is developing a browser because they are fixated on controlling and collecting data on their users.
On the operating system I use, Firefox is compiled to my system hardware (CPU architecture and features) making it highly optimized and very speedy. In fact, I've never experienced a crash I didn't cause myself (I develop web applications). I regularily monitor the RAM usage, and even with 10+ tabs open I never see Firefox use more than 500MB.
The few times I've used chrome, I have found it to be slow and bloated on my system. Not being able to compile it to my CPU arch and features makes it slow as it is compiled with the least optimized features so it runs on more hardware.
I am aware of chromium and I do compile it to my hardware, but firefox still outperforms it on my system... not really sure whats going on there.
I trust Mozilla a hell of a lot more than I trust Google, and due to my great experience with Firefox, I use will continue to prefer it in the forseeable future.
I spent some time as an installer for a local security company at one point in time.
I don't know what Comcast is using, but most security systems (wired or wireless) can be configured to be Normally Open, or Normally Closed. Also, some can be configured to fail open or fail safe.
This could in part be a configuration issue.
But I also didnt read the article. Just speculating... haha
What I am saying is the general population wants impressive specs so they can brag to their friends about how awesome their phone is. People like my older brother who will spend 3x more on a phone to have one marginally better than mine, even though they will/never/ utilize the device to the fullest.
This is the market Samsung markets to with their S-line of phones. This strategy works because they shove their marketing babble down your throat at every possibility.
If Mozilla was serious about breaking into the handset market, this is what they needed to do, and it still would not have been easy by any means.
(Accidentally hit the Submit button. Touchscreens...)
I've been trying to find a source for big lots of Meccano but I can't seem to find much more than the simple 3-in-1 kits with very few parts and too many instructions.
Amazon has some bigger kits, but they are either stupidly expensive, or dont ship to Canada... rather frustrating.
My six year old son has expressed interest in taking things a part to see how they work.
It started over a year ago when I had to replace the screen on my Nexus 4 phone. Since then he is pretty interested in electronics and wants to know more about what is inside. Some of things he makes with lego (old fashioned, plain jane lego, none of the Kinects or whatever they are called) is rather impressive. He shows creativity with a nack for functionality... reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger.
I think the next step is Mecco (that's what we call Erector sets in Canada). But not the kid friendly crap. I've been trying to f
The smartphone situation wasn't much of a success because they did it backwards in my opinion. I understand where they were coming from, and it was noble indeed (if you don't follow, they started selling "affordable" phones in developing countries). If they had gone the other way and shot for the moon and announced a superphone in North America, and did a good job of it, they would be in a better position today in my opinion.
In my experience people want the best specs for their money. I feel the sweet spot is 5-inch+ display, 2-3GB RAM, 16GB+ storage, quad-core CPU in the $300-$400 range. Bonus points if they can get it for $0 on a 2-year contract, but thats not my cup of tea.
Personally, I would have been all over a Firefox OS phone if they offered something with nice spec's and made it easy to obtain in Canada.
The thing about Safari that really irks me is they discontinued Safari for Windows a few years ago. Trying to debug a website in Safari is a nightmare if you don't own a Mac.
Yes, I am well aware of the W3C standards that all browsers follow (*rolls eyes*). Yes I am aware of Webkit and how it is open source... they dont seem to use Vanilla webkit in Safari.
Unfortunately Safari is much like IE in the sense that it only works on what Apple wants it to work on. That also means it is tied to specific hardware, too. Personally i find their products overpriced and anti-consumer, so I do not purchase them.
I say this as a long time PHP developer. I've fiddled with other scripting languages (Python, NodeJS, Java/Tomcat), and I just find they are not very well suited for a web environment, so I always come right back to PHP.
The problem is actually a few different things, not necessarily related to PHP itself: - Outdated installations are everywhere - Outdated and very poorly written Tutorials are even more prevalent - Lack of general understanding of security is a problem not relevant to any programming language
Many of the security problems with PHP have been addressed long ago when the initial release of PHP 5 came out, and a few more since then.
When interfacing with a Database, developers are now using PDO or a mechanism provided by their framework (usually built on top of PDO). This in and of itself has completely eliminated SQL injection attacks. The problems still cropping up are legacy applications that haven't been updated. Many of these can partially be attributed to outdated PHP installations.
The majority of web hosts run cPanel. cPanel has been making big changes to their product. A few things they have done recently: - Dropped support for old PHP versions (oldest supported is now PHP 5.4) - Shifting to a binary package system (via yum repository) for PHP/Apache with safer default configs; previously it was up to the Admin to compile, install, and configure, also supports automatic updates - Included a mechanism in Apache to configure/utilize multiple PHP versions on a per-user, per-directory basis - Included support for Apache MPM-ITK; allows each virtualhost to be run as a specific UID:GID instead of all sites running under the same UID, greatly increasing per-account security so long as each accounts file permissions are secure.
I was in a bit of a rush to finish up my comment, and forgot to expand on why the sheer-pin is a problem.
The pins are straight. They are not anti-pick pins. For those who dont know, anti-pick pins are not smooth on the sides. When you apply pressure against them with your turning tool, it locks up, you have a much more difficult time moving the pins up and down while trying to pick them.
I was short on time, and didn't want to get too in depth.
I grew very fond of the American series padlocks as well. Easy to recode, and, as you mentioned, use the extra pin for extra resistance to picking. Not too much 'slop' in the cyl or chambers, very configurable, 3 difference shackle lengths and girth, removable cylinder, a few drop in cylinder replacements for different keyways. Very useful.
I like the Abus padlocks for all the same reasons as I liked the American padlock, but the body is much lighter (made of a unique Aluminum alloy) and they came in a much wider array of colours (useful on work sites where you need different colours for different things).
My favourite thing about these types of padlocks (American, and Abus) is the ability to set up a master/working key system on them. Yes, they are tiny little pins and sometimes a pain to set up, but the usefulness outweighs the hassle.
I used to apprentice for a local locksmith company.
The Masterlock #-series locks are sheer pin locks. That is, in order to set the pins, you literally insert the key you want it keyed to, and sheer the pins off to the lengths that match the cuts in the key. This makes them really easy to pick already, I've gotten into one with a small paperclip, so I wouldn't even recommend them for minor things like keeping the kids out of your wifes box of dildos. They can be convenient only in a situation where you need lots of them fast (I had it down to ~20 seconds per lock).
As mentioned in the article, American Padlock (owned by MasterLock), Abus (I really like these personally), or even Guard brand padlocks are a safer bet.
The American and Abus padlocks can have the cylinder removed and recoded easily (as long as you have a key), saving you from buying a whole new lock if you simply want to keep one keyholder out for whatever reason.
It's been a while since I've done a fresh install... but last time I did it, the docs encouraged OpenRC over other init systems, unless you were planning to run a BSD kernel.
Perhaps it has changed, and I am just unaware. I do have -systemd in my USE flags to encourage portage to not install, or to remove, any systemd related parts of packages.
Slashdot Mirror
Half hour or more?
You poor, poor Americans and your shitty internet infrastructure.
My 100Mbps fibre connection will dowload a 1200MB movie in ~3 minutes. Sometimes faster*. I just use that time to make some popcorn, mix up a drink, or go take a piss.
* 1200MB / 6MB per sec = 3.3333333 minutes. I can easily reach speeds of 11MB per sec, depending on if the source can keep up
Anyone on Linux knows how to set up a VPN.
Also anyone on Linux knows how to set up a seed box.
Why proxy when there are far better alternatives?
It seeds while streaming...
If you have a use case that requires a specific FPS, any of the so called "Desktop Environments" are probably way overkill.
A lightweight WM like Openbox, Fluxbox, enlightenment, or even IceWM is probably better suited.
I use IceWM on my custom HTPC. If works for my needs with very minimal configuration.
On Android, I use "Thumb Keyboard". Mostly because it was the first keyboard I tried that allowed me to customize pretty much everything in both landscape or portrait, also has directional keys which is really handy when editing files in nano over ssh in ConnectBot.
In Android's case it is the manufacturer's, not Android's, fault for lack of updates. Samsung is among the worst. Don't buy them.
Since Lenovo bought Motorola, they seem to be pushing out updates in a timely manner. I myself own a Moto X Play (not available in US), running Marshmallow. My wife has a Moto G3, also running Marshmallow. Indeed these phones are not very old, so time will tell, but from what I can tell, Lenovo is moving towards a more ASOP experience, allowing updates to be quicker.
What the networks don't seem to comprehend is customers will do without or resort to piracy.
There simply will not be users switching from netflix back to cable, like they seem to believe is going to happen.
One per room/hallway.
I live in a townhouse style home. 3 floors. 3 bedrooms. One washroom. Kitchen. Dining area. Living room. Basement contains a play room for the kids, my office, and laundry room. My yard is small will admit. I have a single 60W Halogen floodlamp that fills the yard nicely at night.
1 60W equiv bright white/daylight (4000-6000K) throws a lot more light around the room than a 60W shitty incandecent at 2500K.
I think you are mistaken. You can still tune GCC, but it defaults to safe compiler optimzation flags.
I use Funtoo, and I have my CFLAGS tuned to my architecture. Things run real zippy even on older or low end hardware when optimized for your architecture.
I think you are out of touch with what LED bulbs cost, and how many bulbs people actually need.
I just bought 12 Philips 8W (60W equiv), bright white (5000K), 900 lumen LED bulbs for $60 CAD (~$42 USD), or $5 CAD (~$3.50 USD) each. If you need 280+ bulbs then the amount of power they use are probably the least of your worries.
The 12 I bought covered my whole house, minus the yard where I use a 60W halogen floodlamp. I have a small house. But I suspect the majority of households use between 15 and 30 bulbs.
Search for "rolling release linux distro" on your favourite search engine.
Some popular distro's:
- Gentoo: www.gentoo.org (or Funtoo www.funtoo.org - created by the original founder of Gentoo)
- ArchLinux: www.archlinux.org
- Sabayon Linux: www.sabayon.org
- Lunar Linux: www.lunar-linux.org
Oh, don't worry, they'll take a pledge for your first born, and if you fail to deliver they will come and rape your wife/girlfriend/significant other then send you a bill for their time.
Everyones situation is different.
I don't use Windows, so Edge/IE is out of the question. I dont own a Mac, so Safari is out of the question.
That leaves me with Firefox, Chrome, or about 100 other less known browsers.
Mozilla is actively working towards a secure, open platform for developers and users alike.
Google is developing a browser because they are fixated on controlling and collecting data on their users.
On the operating system I use, Firefox is compiled to my system hardware (CPU architecture and features) making it highly optimized and very speedy. In fact, I've never experienced a crash I didn't cause myself (I develop web applications). I regularily monitor the RAM usage, and even with 10+ tabs open I never see Firefox use more than 500MB.
The few times I've used chrome, I have found it to be slow and bloated on my system. Not being able to compile it to my CPU arch and features makes it slow as it is compiled with the least optimized features so it runs on more hardware.
I am aware of chromium and I do compile it to my hardware, but firefox still outperforms it on my system... not really sure whats going on there.
I trust Mozilla a hell of a lot more than I trust Google, and due to my great experience with Firefox, I use will continue to prefer it in the forseeable future.
I spent some time as an installer for a local security company at one point in time.
I don't know what Comcast is using, but most security systems (wired or wireless) can be configured to be Normally Open, or Normally Closed. Also, some can be configured to fail open or fail safe.
This could in part be a configuration issue.
But I also didnt read the article. Just speculating... haha
Don't forget different versions of the same compiler. Eg. gcc-1.0 may have a different binary output than gcc-2.0
What I am saying is the general population wants impressive specs so they can brag to their friends about how awesome their phone is. People like my older brother who will spend 3x more on a phone to have one marginally better than mine, even though they will /never/ utilize the device to the fullest.
This is the market Samsung markets to with their S-line of phones. This strategy works because they shove their marketing babble down your throat at every possibility.
If Mozilla was serious about breaking into the handset market, this is what they needed to do, and it still would not have been easy by any means.
(Accidentally hit the Submit button. Touchscreens...)
I've been trying to find a source for big lots of Meccano but I can't seem to find much more than the simple 3-in-1 kits with very few parts and too many instructions.
Amazon has some bigger kits, but they are either stupidly expensive, or dont ship to Canada... rather frustrating.
My six year old son has expressed interest in taking things a part to see how they work.
It started over a year ago when I had to replace the screen on my Nexus 4 phone. Since then he is pretty interested in electronics and wants to know more about what is inside. Some of things he makes with lego (old fashioned, plain jane lego, none of the Kinects or whatever they are called) is rather impressive. He shows creativity with a nack for functionality... reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger.
I think the next step is Mecco (that's what we call Erector sets in Canada). But not the kid friendly crap. I've been trying to f
Mozilla needs to step up their game.
The smartphone situation wasn't much of a success because they did it backwards in my opinion. I understand where they were coming from, and it was noble indeed (if you don't follow, they started selling "affordable" phones in developing countries). If they had gone the other way and shot for the moon and announced a superphone in North America, and did a good job of it, they would be in a better position today in my opinion.
In my experience people want the best specs for their money. I feel the sweet spot is 5-inch+ display, 2-3GB RAM, 16GB+ storage, quad-core CPU in the $300-$400 range. Bonus points if they can get it for $0 on a 2-year contract, but thats not my cup of tea.
Personally, I would have been all over a Firefox OS phone if they offered something with nice spec's and made it easy to obtain in Canada.
The thing about Safari that really irks me is they discontinued Safari for Windows a few years ago. Trying to debug a website in Safari is a nightmare if you don't own a Mac.
Yes, I am well aware of the W3C standards that all browsers follow (*rolls eyes*). Yes I am aware of Webkit and how it is open source... they dont seem to use Vanilla webkit in Safari.
Unfortunately Safari is much like IE in the sense that it only works on what Apple wants it to work on. That also means it is tied to specific hardware, too. Personally i find their products overpriced and anti-consumer, so I do not purchase them.
I say this as a long time PHP developer. I've fiddled with other scripting languages (Python, NodeJS, Java/Tomcat), and I just find they are not very well suited for a web environment, so I always come right back to PHP.
The problem is actually a few different things, not necessarily related to PHP itself:
- Outdated installations are everywhere
- Outdated and very poorly written Tutorials are even more prevalent
- Lack of general understanding of security is a problem not relevant to any programming language
Many of the security problems with PHP have been addressed long ago when the initial release of PHP 5 came out, and a few more since then.
When interfacing with a Database, developers are now using PDO or a mechanism provided by their framework (usually built on top of PDO). This in and of itself has completely eliminated SQL injection attacks. The problems still cropping up are legacy applications that haven't been updated. Many of these can partially be attributed to outdated PHP installations.
The majority of web hosts run cPanel. cPanel has been making big changes to their product. A few things they have done recently:
- Dropped support for old PHP versions (oldest supported is now PHP 5.4)
- Shifting to a binary package system (via yum repository) for PHP/Apache with safer default configs; previously it was up to the Admin to compile, install, and configure, also supports automatic updates
- Included a mechanism in Apache to configure/utilize multiple PHP versions on a per-user, per-directory basis
- Included support for Apache MPM-ITK; allows each virtualhost to be run as a specific UID:GID instead of all sites running under the same UID, greatly increasing per-account security so long as each accounts file permissions are secure.
I was in a bit of a rush to finish up my comment, and forgot to expand on why the sheer-pin is a problem.
The pins are straight. They are not anti-pick pins. For those who dont know, anti-pick pins are not smooth on the sides. When you apply pressure against them with your turning tool, it locks up, you have a much more difficult time moving the pins up and down while trying to pick them.
A lot of great info in parent post.
I was short on time, and didn't want to get too in depth.
I grew very fond of the American series padlocks as well. Easy to recode, and, as you mentioned, use the extra pin for extra resistance to picking. Not too much 'slop' in the cyl or chambers, very configurable, 3 difference shackle lengths and girth, removable cylinder, a few drop in cylinder replacements for different keyways. Very useful.
I like the Abus padlocks for all the same reasons as I liked the American padlock, but the body is much lighter (made of a unique Aluminum alloy) and they came in a much wider array of colours (useful on work sites where you need different colours for different things).
My favourite thing about these types of padlocks (American, and Abus) is the ability to set up a master/working key system on them. Yes, they are tiny little pins and sometimes a pain to set up, but the usefulness outweighs the hassle.
I used to apprentice for a local locksmith company.
The Masterlock #-series locks are sheer pin locks. That is, in order to set the pins, you literally insert the key you want it keyed to, and sheer the pins off to the lengths that match the cuts in the key. This makes them really easy to pick already, I've gotten into one with a small paperclip, so I wouldn't even recommend them for minor things like keeping the kids out of your wifes box of dildos. They can be convenient only in a situation where you need lots of them fast (I had it down to ~20 seconds per lock).
As mentioned in the article, American Padlock (owned by MasterLock), Abus (I really like these personally), or even Guard brand padlocks are a safer bet.
The American and Abus padlocks can have the cylinder removed and recoded easily (as long as you have a key), saving you from buying a whole new lock if you simply want to keep one keyholder out for whatever reason.
It's been a while since I've done a fresh install... but last time I did it, the docs encouraged OpenRC over other init systems, unless you were planning to run a BSD kernel.
Perhaps it has changed, and I am just unaware. I do have -systemd in my USE flags to encourage portage to not install, or to remove, any systemd related parts of packages.