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::: Friday, October 31 ::: |
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::: Thursday, October 30 ::: |
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Erk: E-Vote Software Leaked Online
Just in case anyone thought it was only Diebold mucking up our democracy, here's an article about Sequoia Voting Systems. They appear to be even shadier than Diebold, claiming that their system runs on a "proprietary operating system" which turned out to be Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) running on Windows.
I'm beginning to think that if we want a tamper-proof system we need to give the contract to the guys who design video poker machines for bars. They have already designed a touch-screen kiosk custom-tailored for a hostile environment. They certainly couldn't prove to be less trust-worthy than Diebold or Sequoia.
4:24 PM CST ::
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Uhm: Gateway debuts wide-screen TV
Gateway has a new 56" rear-projection wide screen tv that, at 19 inches, is supposedly one-third the depth of most other sets and retails for $3800. Not to be a nit picker, but my 57" Hitachi is 26 inches deep and only cost me $2500 including a three-year extended maintenance package, tax, delivery, and setup. I can't recall ever seeing a set that was 60" deep.
I'm hoping this was a simple misunderstanding and that Gateway isn't making claims which can be so easily disproved.
[link courtesy of Gizmodo]
1:56 PM CST ::
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::: Wednesday, October 29 ::: |
Hmm: Pioneer DVD Recorders - DVR-810H-S
It may be time to investigate a DVR. This one looks to have everything but a butter dispenser for your popcorn. It's a bit pricey at the moment, but it might be worth getting in on the ground floor before the DRM nazis talk them into ruining a good product.
9:25 AM CST ::
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::: Thursday, October 23 ::: |
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Yep: US Senate cans spam
As far as I can tell putting your email address on the "Do Not Spam" list is much more likely to increase spam than decrease it. The problem, as mentioned at the very end of this article, is that it's tremendously easy to send untraceable spam. High volume spammers will certainly subscribe to the list, not to avoid sending to those addresses, but to receive millions of pre-verified email addresses.
Not only that, but this bill defines spam as "fraudulent or deceptive messages" and excludes so-called Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE). As a result as lot of companies who were afraid to spam before have now been given a green light by the government to glut our inboxes. This law could turn into the death knell for SMTP as we know it.
3:21 PM CST ::
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::: Wednesday, October 22 ::: |
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::: Tuesday, October 21 ::: |
Erk: E-Vote Firms Seek Voter Approval
This is getting ridiculous. Instead of fixing the machines, the eVote companies are getting ready to go on a nation-wide propaganda campaign to "reduce substantially the level and amount of criticism from computer scientists and other security experts about the fallibility of electronic voting systems." Damn those computer scientists and their steadfast adherence to reality!
11:47 AM CST ::
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::: Thursday, October 16 ::: |
Urgh: Bill Gates admits 'Longhorn is going to be late'
Gates is optimistic about meeting the challenge of the new security threats, he told reporters. "We have to. We invented personal computing. It is the best tool of empowerment there has ever been. If there is anything that clouds that picture, we need to fix it."
I can't believe The Reg didn't comment on this one. I'll speak slowly so everyone can understand it once and for all: Microsoft never invented a single thing, much less "personal computing". They obviously have done an amazing job at making personal computing cleaner and more ubiquitous, but that doesn't really fall under the "invention" subheader.
Excel was designed to compete with Lotus 123 which was itself an expanded version of Supercalc. Access is a GUI version of dBase which was a mass-market version of a hobbyist's tinkering called Vulcan. Word was devised as a Wordperfect killer, while Wordperfect itself was little more than an overly complicated version of Wordstar.
Internet Explorer is based on Spyglass Mosaic which was an off-shoot of the original Mosaic project started at the University of Illinois. Windows was adapted from the bones of a joint venture with IBM to create OS/2 which was based on Mac OS which borrowed liberally from the work of researchers at Xerox Parc. Even lowly MS-DOS was preceded (and some say exceeded) by CP/M.
I could go on, but I think you see my point. Microsoft has been instrumental in the process which allowed personal computing to evolve to the position it maintains today. They do not invent, they homogenize products for public consumption.
I would have expected The Reg to be the first to point this out.
11:18 AM CST ::
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Odd: NQ7100 DVD Player/Harddrive recorder
Having the ability to swap out the hard drive of a PVR is a pretty revolutionary feature. That said, it seems a little backward to me that this unit has an integrated DVD player, rather than a DVD burner. Recording from DVD to hard drive doesn't make nearly as much sense as archiving shows from your PVR to DVD.
I suppose you could just have multiple hard drives on standby to avoid running out of recording space, but it doesn't solve the problem of wanting to take a copy of your favorite program to a friend's house. That's where DVD recordables really shine.
[thanks to Gizmodo for the link]
10:31 AM CST ::
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Hmm: Macrovision to "Fade" Games
As much as I dislike copy protection because it often persecutes the legitimate owner more than pirates, Fade seems like an elegant solution. That is assuming it works as designed and doesn't accidentally "fade" original versions of the software.
I suppose the real test will be whether people will realize that the copy protection is to blame for their in-game problems. Without proper education, most folks would probably assume it was just a buggy game. I doubt anyone would rush out to buy a copy of a game they perceive to be an ungainly mess.
9:27 AM CST ::
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::: Wednesday, October 15 ::: |
Sheesh: With update, Mozilla introduces fees
Man, what a hugely irresponsible headline. Although I'm sure it will generate traffic for an article which really doesn't deserve to be read, I think they really overstepped their bounds with this one. Worse yet they end up spreading FUD for Microsoft in the process.
I'll summarize so you don't have to waste your time. Starting with v1.5 Mozilla is going to offer a consumer support service which will cost $40 per incident. The browser itself and all its associated extensions will remain free of charge.
That doesn't quite equate with fee-based browsing does it?
4:52 PM CST ::
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Incredible: Is IBM set to dump Windows, inside?
I'll be interested to see how this one develops. Microsoft will likely offer to give IBM a free world-wide site license before they lose the contract to Linux, but would it really matter? What if IBM is concerned more with putting their money where their mouth is than they are about saving $50 per workstation?
Hmm...
4:28 PM CST ::
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Wow: Blog noise achieves Google KO
It's odd to think that two of the biggest web success stories are now at war. Even if it works out to eventually benefit both parties, this sort of thing is obviously only the tip of the proverbial iceburg. What is the web going to be like when there are millions of mom and pop retailers running Quicken Web Services™?
3:48 PM CST ::
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::: Wednesday, October 8 ::: |
Alas: HP to outsource Laserjet printer development
Ah, well. I guess you can't expect a company to make a good product forever. Eventually someone figures out that if a device never fails it never gets replaced.
What this camp hasn't figured out is that, as a director of IT purchases, I am much more likely to recommend HP for new purchases (that is, non-replacement purchases) if I have had excellent service from LaserJets in the past. By lowering the overall quality, even if restricted to the lower end models, companies like HP risk losing enterprise sales when those little companies become big companies.
It's sad to think that in a few years HP will either not exist or, perhaps worse, simply be a holding company selling products and services produced by others.
4:16 PM CST ::
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::: Tuesday, October 7 ::: |
Sweet: bass-station photos
Stylish and practical. A very clean job from the outside. I'd be a little apprehensive about having big speaker magnets that close to a hard drive though.
[thanks to Gizmodo for the link]
9:02 AM CST ::
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::: Monday, October 6 ::: |
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::: Saturday, October 4 ::: |
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Eep: Half-Life 2 Source Leak Update
I find it somewhat ironic that several of the ads served up by Google for this post are for keystroke logging programs. It's almost like a how-to for miscreants.
Update: They seem to have fixed the ads now. I guess I should have taken a screencap.
8:52 PM CST ::
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::: Friday, October 3 ::: |
Shocker: We report, you get it wrong
People who watch Fox News are misinformed about Dubyah and his war. I can't say I'm surprised. What is surprising is that 45% of Fox News viewers hold multiple misconceptions including that WMD have been found in Iraq and that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11.
Contrast that to 4% of NPR listeners with similar misconceptions. It's very obvious there is a problem in the way mainstream news is being interpreted by the public.
Fascinating stuff.
[thanks to Jake for the link]
3:06 PM CST ::
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Hmm: Halflife2.net - I need the assistance of the community
Just in case this post goes "missing" I've archived it here. The source was not stored on a publicly accessible machine as I originally assumed, but through a very well planned sequence of events outsiders took control of a privileged machine within the Valve offices. The saddest revelation in this post is that they are still using Outlook with the preview pane enabled.
Some people never learn. Using Outlook is bad enough, but leaving the preview pane turned on is tantamount to putting out a welcome mat and inviting the nasties over for tea and crumpets.
[thanks to Ceej for the link]
11:31 AM CST ::
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Whoops: Embarrassment for Valve as Half-Life 2 source leaks
Besides the obvious hardship of having the code for their rendering engine spread hither and yon, Valve has to be most concerned about the leak of licensed third-party code. This could conceivably bankrupt the company if the third-parties in question decide to fire up their legal engines. There is really no excuse for such content to be available on a publicly accessible server.
10:15 AM CST ::
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Zing: Penny Arcade [10/3/2003]
"A couple months ago, I told Scott that we were waiting with much enthusiasm for the day he would act against us, and he has not disappointed in the slightest."
Well, that certainly didn't take long.
9:46 AM CST ::
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::: Thursday, October 2 ::: |
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Hmm: Digital-rights group knocks 'trusted' PCs
Perhaps I'm reading too much into a document which is heavy on hype and light on details, but indulge me for a moment. I'm going to assume that this "remote attestation" will be based upon some sort of signature such as an MD5 checksum. Following this logic, any change to a program's files would change the checksum. This is a great boon to software makers because they can find out who is tampering with their products and attempt to make them stop.
Now consider anti-virus inoculation. During the inoculation process a checksum is added to the executable file itself to allow the system to detect infection by unknown viruses. Unfortunately, inoculating a file in this manner would alter the checksum reported to the software maker which could result in your software being disabled remotely.
Taking two cures turns out to be worse than the disease.
3:29 PM CST ::
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Heh: PvPonline [10/2/2003]
I wonder how long it will take Tycho and Gabe to respond? Perhaps a web comic duel is in the offing. Actually, considering who we're talking about they probably all got together and pre-planned this months ago.
Sneaky bastards.
2:38 PM CST ::
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::: Wednesday, October 1 ::: |
Hmm: Matrix Revolutions Trailers
It's unfortunate that Reloaded and Revolutions had to be separated into two movies. It's pretty obvious from these trailers that they are very much two halves of a single whole. Regardless, I'll be there on November 5th with my popcorn in hand.
4:44 PM CST ::
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Yep: Hitachi 57S500
I finally bit the bullet and bought a new tv. Chele says I better enjoy it because it is my anniversary, birthday, and Christmas present for this year. I don't mind though. It's worth it.
You just haven't lived until you've played SSX Tricky in widescreen. Most of your peripheral vision is covered by the edges of the screen and the sense of speed is simply incredible. DVD's look pretty amazing, too.
My only real complaint is that with our analog NTSC cable the picture is a bit grainy and pixelish at times. My uncle has a similar projection set with a digital cable hookup, I may have to pay him a visit and see if would be worth the extra cash each month. Regardless, we're all gonna be rolling in HDTV by 2006 if you believe the FCC.
3:04 PM CST ::
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dinoneil[at]newdream[dot]net
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