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10351

Living Room / Re: The entitled generation....Are they right?

« Last post by 40hz on April 16, 2009, 04:21 PM »

Interesting short article over at techdirt that gives one artist's perspective on the issue:

Amanda Palmer Shows How Her Fans Support Her
http://techdirt.com/...405/1659514392.shtml

Here's Amanda commenting on her record label's attitude that Twitter "is worth bothering with":

it's a lesson in how the future of music is working - fans are literally (and i mean that....literally) lining up at the signing table after shows and HANDING me cash, saying "thank you".

i had to EXPLAIN to the so-called "head of digital media" of roadrunner australia WHAT TWITTER WAS. and his brush-off that "it hasn’t caught on here yet" was ABSURD because the next day i twittered that i was doing an impromptu gathering in a public park and 12 hours later, 150 underage fans - who couldn't attend the show - showed up to get their records signed.

the times they are a-changing fucking dramatically, when pong-twittering with trent reznor means way more to your fan-base/business than whether or not the record is in fucking stores (and in my case, it ain't in fucking stores).

twitter is EVERYTHING that you explain in your rants: it is a MAINLINE insta-connection with the fans. there is ZERO middleman.

I found this intriguing because I myself cannot stand Twitter in any way, shape, or form. (Probably more a function of my age than anything else. ) But here is Amanda Palmer talking about how it fits in to what she is attempting to do for her fans while she butts heads with the Industry. And even more important, how it is actually working.

Which made me realize things are changing even more than I thought.

What a humbling experience! 

10352

Living Room / Re: Gothic's New Blog on Server Administration and a cool console-y wordpress theme

« Last post by 40hz on April 16, 2009, 08:42 AM »

Love the look.    Reminds me a bit of the theme used at this website:

http://retro.kerrywebster.com/



I like what you've done much better.

I always wanted to theme a a hardcore tech website with this sort of look. But the, um....reaction I got from everybody I showed the mock-ups to convinced me that maybe I'd better not.

Thanks for letting me live vicariously through your blog's theme John S.!

10353

Living Room / Re: The entitled generation....Are they right?

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2009, 05:40 PM »

But are the artists really losing anything? or the record companies? If the music would not have been bought if piracy was not an option ...

-Grorgy (April 15, 2009, 03:56 PM)

That's an assertion. An assertion does not prove anything. It begs the question rather than answers it. The only way to know for sure would be to see what would have happened if piracy had not been an option. As such, we have no way of knowing if that statement is really true.

It's also a fairly specious argument when you take a closer look at what it is saying. The underlying logic is flawed. Change a few terms and you'll see how quickly it falls apart.

• She wouldn't have been murdered if murder weren't an option.
• The bank wouldn't have been robbed if robbery weren't an option.
• I never would have hit you if hitting you wasn't an option.

See the pattern?

And the economic 'justification' doesn't work either

  - Whoever is declining to pay the asking price is saying that the work in question has no value to them.

  - But if that were true, then why did they exert the effort download/copy it?

---

We really need to be a little more careful with what we accept as reasons and justifications for our actions- or the actions of others. No matter how sympathetic we are to a cause.

10354

Living Room / Re: Tweenbots: A Social Experiment with Human-dependent Robots

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2009, 01:48 PM »

how long until the artist gets arrested for creating "Devices Which Could Be Used for Terroristic Purposes" ? 

-mouser (April 12, 2009, 10:48 PM)

Being charged with littering is much more more likely. 

One thing that didn't completely surprise me was this:

From the website www.tweenbots.com/:

Over the course of the following months, throughout numerous missions, the Tweenbots were successful in rolling from their start point to their far-away destination assisted only by strangers. Every time the robot got caught under a park bench, ground futilely against a curb, or became trapped in a pothole, some passerby would always rescue it and send it toward its goal. Never once was a Tweenbot lost or damaged. Often, people would ignore the instructions to aim the Tweenbot in the “right” direction, if that direction meant sending the robot into a perilous situation. One man turned the robot back in the direction from which it had just come, saying out loud to the Tweenbot, "You can’t go that way, it’s toward the road.”

Having spent my share of time in NYC, I've found that the majority of the 'natives' I've met are remarkably sympathetic and helpful towards people & pets in need of assistance. Being nice to a cute little cardboard bot strikes me as a natural extension of that behavior.

NY is also one of the few American cities I've ever been in where asking for directions is seldom a problem. They seem to enjoy pointing people in the right direction. (I've even had people come up and ask me if I needed help when it was obvious I was either lost or looking for something.) I get the feeling that most New Yorkers are rather proud of how well they know their way around town.

It would be interesting to try this experiment in some other cities and compare the results.

10355

Living Room / Re: The entitled generation....Are they right?

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2009, 10:58 AM »

Boy has Jim ever hit each nail in this discussion squarely on the head with his comments above. Excellent post Jim!.

10356

Living Room / Re: The entitled generation....Are they right?

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2009, 05:43 AM »

I find it ironic that it was technology (cassettes, CDs) that helped a lot of these artistes earn incomes grossly disproportionate to the effort put in

-nosh (April 15, 2009, 01:37 AM)

You lost me on that one. How do you mean "disproportionate to the effort put in"?

10357

General Software Discussion / Re: Make Linux magically disappear

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2009, 06:24 PM »

I'm surprised it didn't jump to a pure CLI and drop x-windows.

-zridling (April 14, 2009, 05:21 PM)

Funny. That's what I thought it would do too. Or maybe even hard-hang. Must come from seeing our share of BSODs back in our younger days.

I think it didn't  because what was left on the screen and semi-working was already in RAM. Just goes to show there's something to be said for the Unix concept of 'graceful' system degradation.

'Course, if he logged off or restarted it would have been all over.

(Damn! I just know I've gotta try it one of these days. Boy do I ever I hate this guy...)

The other way is to twist the arms of netbook manufacturers. Or pay off the Ministers of poor governments.

-Gwen7 (April 14, 2009, 12:27 PM)

Makes your blood boil doesn't it? That's one reason why I also stopped following the OLPC story. Listening to Nick Negroponte try to put a positive spin on that blatant 'sell-out' is enough to make a snake blush. 

Shame Nicholas! Shame!

10358

Living Room / Re: Should we have a yearly Best Avatar award on DC?

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2009, 06:07 PM »

I'm very partial to cyberdiva's avatar.

Reminds me of an Egyptian royal cartouche.

10359

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: P2CheckSum - Another free utility from P2Labs!

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2009, 05:58 PM »

Personally, I never compared a single checksum to check if integrity has been breached (and I guess at least 99.99% of all users neither). I try to only download from reliable sources though.

-brotherS (April 14, 2009, 04:34 PM)

I think most people don't bother because they don't know how to use checksums or even what they're for. I nearly always check the MD5 if one is available. Much more public education is needed.

10360

Living Room / Re: XP-iso for reinstall after crash ? Dell Precision 380

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2009, 06:29 PM »

Now I do wonder how to determine for sure that my drivers are USB 2.0, although they came with the system and the Precision 380 is supposed to be 2.0.  I have some special pages to read on that .. apparently in that area the vendors are a little slack in giving clear info.

-Steven Avery (April 13, 2009, 12:09 PM)

Simple solution is to plug in a USB 2 device (a thumb drive?). If it isn't USB 2.0 windows should complain and say that you could run it faster with a USB 2 port.

-Carol Haynes (April 13, 2009, 12:35 PM)

Quick, clean, and effective solution. Bravo Carol!

10361

Living Room / Re: The entitled generation....Are they right?

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2009, 07:58 AM »

Are they right?

In a word: No.

- Just because somebody wants something does not mean they also have the right to take it.
 
- Just because something is relatively easy to steal does not give someone the right to steal it.

- And the unlikelihood of being caught does not change the fact that theft is wrong and ultimately hurts everybody.

Just my 2¢

10362

Living Room / Re: XP-iso for reinstall after crash ? Dell Precision 380

« Last post by 40hz on April 13, 2009, 07:23 AM »

Be careful with that little FAT32 partition. Some systems keep a small partition reserved for diagnostic/recovery information: special drivers, license keys, etc.

Still, I wouldn't worry about it too much since most systems (IBM, some HPs, etc) that do have them won't use a DOS/FAT partition for that purpose. AFAIK, Dell doesn't use a diagnostic partition, but I can't be completely sure they don't.

However, if you see any small (10-20MB) non-DOS (i.e. type = "unknown") partitions when you run fdisk, do not delete them until you know what they're used for. Those usually are used for diagnostic purposes. There is a chance you won't be able to use a recovery CD if you get rid of them.

I'm guessing that Dell originally set up a small partition for use with the 'hibernate' power-save option. If that's the case, and you don't use hibernation, you can get rid of it.

 

10363

General Software Discussion / Re: Microsoft planning to 'push' upgrades to IE8

« Last post by 40hz on April 12, 2009, 09:16 PM »

I actually think IE8 is a vast improvement over IE7 and would have no issues deploying it on any network I maintain.

-Josh (April 11, 2009, 09:38 PM)

I'd still like to wait for the initial flurry of security patches that tend to follow most new IE releases. I'm thinking something like a July-August deployment. 

10364

Living Room / Re: XP-iso for reinstall after crash ? Dell Precision 380

« Last post by 40hz on April 12, 2009, 09:03 PM »

I'd just use the supplied Dell Reinstallation CD. It's the easiest and fastest way to get your machine back if that's all you have to work with.

The reinstallion CD contains the licensed copy of Windows you paid for. You shouldn't need to buy anything else from Dell to get your PC working again.

The Dell Reinstallation CD will give you a fresh install of your OS in whatever version and at whatever Service Pack it was on when you originally bought it. You will also most likely need to reinstall some device drivers once you complete the OS install.

Before you do this, you might want to consider removing the modem card (if you have one) unless you still use dial-up - or send faxes directly from your PC. For most of us, modems do little more than waste power and tie up a slot.

The recommended reinstallation procedure (per Dell) is to redo your original OS installation using the recovery disk; then download and install all relevant Microsoft updates starting with the most current service pack; then reinstall your drivers using the supplied disk.

In practice, this sequence doesn't always work. Especially if the OS installation doesn't recognize your NIC because it's missing the driver.

Having restored my share of Dells, I've found the best approach is to get your machine back to the original factory configuration first (i.e. OS & drivers); then install any Microsoft updates; then install your antivirus tool of choice; and then see if any hardware drivers need updating.

I'd also run PC Decrapifier to get rid of any 'affiliate' product garbage that came along for the ride.

Super important point: minimize your use of the web until you completely update Windows and get a decent antivirus app installed. I've found an installation of Avira's AntiVir Personal and PCTools ThreatFire to be an exceptionally effective combination. Both are free for personal use. AntiVir and ThreatFire also play very nicely with each other, which is an important consideration if you're running multiple anti-malware apps.

---

If you don't have a copy of XP's Service Pack 3, I'd download that using your working machine and burn it to a CD while you are reinstalling XP on your Dell. By the time you've reformatted the Dell drive and reinstalled Windows, SP3 will be ready and waiting for you. That's a big time saver, better for security, and gives you an archive copy for the next time you need to repeat this exercise.

---
It is usually possible to get Windows XP off a manufacturer's recovery disk so that it can be used with nLite or the RVM Integrator. Doing the same for a Vista recovery disk gets a bit more complicated. But that's a topic for it's own thread.

---

Hope this was helpful.


P.S. IMHO Hebrew National is better - although Ball Park All-Beef Franks will do in a pinch. Especially if you can score some SilverFloss Sauerkraut   to go with them.

10365

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« Last post by 40hz on April 12, 2009, 06:33 PM »

I sincerely hope this DoCo thread continues forever.

Thanks to everyone who posted for providing such excellent recommendations and commentary.

10366

General Software Discussion / Microsoft planning to 'push' upgrades to IE8

« Last post by 40hz on April 11, 2009, 09:28 PM »

Microsoft would very much like you to upgrade Internet Explorer to version 8. So much so, that they're planning another 'push' install via their Automatic Update system. Shades of IE7!

An IE8 blocker is available at this link:

http://www.microsoft...C&displaylang=en

There's a nice write-up about this on Mary Jo Foley's All About Microsoft blog over at ZDNet.

As it has done with previous Internet Explorer (IE) releases, Microsoft has made available an IE 8 blocking toolkit to allow users to keep Microsoft’s browser from being downloaded automatically on their Windows machines.

In a January 6 posting to the Microsoft IE blog, company officials noted that Microsoft is planning to push the final IE 8 release via its Automatic Update (AU), Windows Update (WU) and Microsoft Update (MU) update systems. To keep the release from being pushed, customers can download the blocker toolkit from the Microsoft Download Center.

You can read the full article here:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1794

 

10367

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the new desktop?

« Last post by 40hz on April 11, 2009, 03:59 PM »

Ah, you'd be surprised, 40hz. Paper is purchased only during extraordinary sales or on Ebay (Levenger actually has an Ebay ID and sells off stuff there cheaper than usual - often used but what do I care!), and the same goes for fountain pens. I either hit up Ebay for deals or I use Craig's List or the For Sale forum at the [url=http://http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/]

-J-Mac (April 10, 2009, 11:06 PM)

Thanks for the info J-Mac! Greatly appreciate it. I'm one of those people that has been on a lifelong quest to find the perfect writing instrument. Many times I've come very close. But my "perfect pen" is still waiting to be discovered.

I own two exquisite Waterman pens, along with some other nice but lesser offerings from Pelikan. Unfortunately, I don't use a fountain pen as often as I should. And now, sad to say, my penmanship has deteriorated horribly due to the lack of practice. Bloody keyboards!

People who grew up using ballpoints or felt tips seldom appreciate the amount of skill needed to use a fountain pen correctly. Because they're pressure sensitive, you can vary the ink flow, thereby changing the visual weight of your handwriting on the fly. Once mastered, a fountain pen allows you to pack an incredible amount of 'expression' into your handwriting. A well-penned letter by somebody who really knows how to use a fountain pen is almost a work of art.

You just can't get that from Twitter!

---
P.S. I actually do like the Pilot G2, although I prefer their Dr. Grip model rather than the lightweight plastic versions.

10368

General Software Discussion / Re: Free support ends for Windows XP and MS Office 2003

« Last post by 40hz on April 11, 2009, 01:13 PM »

So this indicates that Terrykim Jin's explanation of the the general Service Pack support policy for Windows might not be quite correct,

-mwb1100 (April 11, 2009, 01:05 PM)

Swell. Even they get confused.

10369

General Software Discussion / Re: Free support ends for Windows XP and MS Office 2003

« Last post by 40hz on April 11, 2009, 01:07 PM »

Day 2: still waiting for a reply. Second e-mail sent.

-40hz (April 10, 2009, 12:05 PM)

For better service, please pay a Bill at the pearly gates.

-cranioscopical (April 10, 2009, 02:22 PM)

Actually, I understand there won't be any more heading up to the Pearly Gates for any of us after April 30th of this year.

Microsoft's Latest Technology Takes Heaven by Storm



Starting May 1st, 2009 all new discorporate entities will be synchronized with their heavenly counterpart using the new Microsoft Extremely Remote Cloud Server with SoulSync Technology and backed up on a regular basis.

At the official unveiling of this exciting new technology last week, Steve Ballmer said, "This is a very exciting time for Microsoft. This new patented technology has finally allowed us to crack the very competitive spiritual/virtualization market, thereby bringing major benefits to our customers and investors. EEEEE-YAHHHH-HAH!!!"



Mr. Ballmer then danced a bit for the audience before taking questions from an extremely supportive crowd.

There was only one dissenting comment during the entire Q&A  which came from an elderly woman sitting in the back row. "Suppose I don't want to be syn...synchro...whatever you call it? Suppose I just want to go up to see St. Peter the way we used to?"

Mr. Ballmer replied with characteristic heat "Look it's not a requirement that you use our product. But as far as I'm concerned, anybody that doesn't want to take advantage of the significant benefits that SoulSync Technology has to offer can just go to..."

Mr Ballmer's comment was interrupted at that point by a studly Microsoft staffer, who hit Mr. Ballmer over the head with a laptop. Mr. Ballmer was then quickly carried off the stage by a medical team that had apparently been waiting in the wings all along.

With Mr. Ballmer gone, and the Q&A period officially ended, strobe lights began to flash as area DJs took the mike to get the celebration party underway..."

10370

General Software Discussion / Re: Free support ends for Windows XP and MS Office 2003

« Last post by 40hz on April 11, 2009, 12:28 PM »

Ok.

Terrykim Jin of Microsoft finally got back to me with the bad news. (The grammar is a little dicey in places, but I think it's still pretty clear. )

Looks like free support for Win XP Pro ends on April 14,2009 regardless of which service pack you are on.

Here's the official word (my emphasis on key info added):

Dear Ed,

 

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Online Support Service. My name is Terrykim Jin, and I am glad to work with you. For your reference, the case ID for this service request is SRX1098936905. You can contact me directly by sending an email to [email protected] with the case ID in the subject line.

 First, I would like to apologize for your support request being unexpectedly delayed. Please be assured you have successfully contacted the correct support team and I will be working with you to address your concerns as quickly as possible.

 From your description, I understand that you would like to know the mainstream support information for Windows XP. If there has been any misunderstanding, please let me know.

 I understand the inconvenience you have experienced. Please be assured that I will do my best to help you.

 Regarding to April 14, 2009, according to information we currently received, I would like to explain it as below

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Mainstream support will be stopped at April 14, 2009

2. Mainstream includes following things

   1) Security Updates: Microsoft will stop new security updates development from April 14, 2009 step by step. Of course, basic updates will still offered.
   2) Windows XP Service Pack 3 free support will be stopped at April 14, 2009. After April 14, 2009, the support service will be charged. Generally, free support for Service Packs should be 12 months after it's first launched.


3. Support service for XP will be stopped until 2014.

 
Since we are Windows XP system tech support side, for latest information, you can contact our Microsoft Customer Service for further consult.

 Microsoft Customer Service (800) 426-9400 is available Monday through Friday, from 6:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. Pacific Time.

 Note: Microsoft Customer Service mainly handles issues regarding replacement manuals, disks, drivers and service packs, product IDs, lost CD keys, product orders, policies related to copying software on additional computers, licensing, and product registration.

 If there are any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.

 I look forward to your reply.

 Best Regards,

 Terrykim Jin
[email protected]
Microsoft Windows Support Professional

-----------------------------------------

Satisfied customers are my top priority.

So there you have it.

What I find interesting is the statement: "Generally, free support for Service Packs should be 12 months after it's first launched." This contradicts the 24-month SP support window referenced on the website.

I suspect that generally is the operative the weasel-word here. By saying  'generally' I guess they mean you'll get free support on a service pack for 12 months after it is released - unless they change their mind and decide you won't.

Well...that clears things up rather nicely, don't you think?

10371

General Software Discussion / Re: Where can I get Libra (collection manager)?

« Last post by 40hz on April 11, 2009, 12:01 PM »

Hi 40Hz - I googeld for hours last night and gave up - thanks very mich for the link. I hope it's still got a future with the official site having gone. Looks great.

-rancohn (April 11, 2009, 03:20 AM)

You're quite welcome. Happy Googling!

10372

Living Room / Re: Is your online life in your will? (Backups, passwords, etc.)

« Last post by 40hz on April 11, 2009, 10:06 AM »

I haven't actually set this up yet, but it is the only system I've thought of that I'd be prepared to trust. atm, I'm trusting my longevity and paper chaos that no-one else is likely to find their way through. I've not wanted to write anything clearly for fear a thief would break in and access it (and everything). It's all very much like a will.

-Dormouse (April 11, 2009, 04:44 AM)

You can also implement a system like this the old-fashioned way: let your attorney handle it for you.

You could instruct your attorney to hold and deliver sealed envelopes to whomever you designated under whatever conditions you wanted. If the information is in an encrypted digital format, you could even give each future recipient the decryption key in advance. They wouldn't be able to use it until they got the disk you prepared for them. And it would only work on their disk.

You might even want to have a little fun with this. Imagine quietly pulling a friend or relative aside at a party. Put on your best Peter Lori expression and, in a hushed voice, say:

If anything should ever happen to me, somebody will get in touch with you. He'll give you an envelope which will explain everything. But no matter what happens...please!...you must remember this code word...

 
---

Using an attorney has some ramifications however.

If you are in the United States, handing your attorny those sealed envelopes would give you the advantage making them privileged client-attorney communications, which are not subject to disclosure under normal circumstances. This would protect them from virtually any attempts to get access to them.

Unfortunately, if this information would only be released upon your demise, the situation changes significantly. Because all your assets become part of your estate when you die, any post-demise communications or instructions your executor receives are subject to probate review for possible tax consequences. Uncle Sam doesn't care if you love him and leave him so long as you leave him enough, to paraphrase Mae West.

So you might as well forget about quietly slipping that waitress (who was always so nice to you) the access codes to your secret Cayman Island bank account. You can still leave it to her - but she'll have to pay taxes. And needless to say, anything in your estate that's illegal (like maybe those bank accounts) would be subject to seizure by the courts.

And don't forget that the courts are increasingly ordering people to decrypt data files. There is no longer such a thing as absolute legal privacy. If your recipient has the key to whatever you sent them, a judge may order them to unlock it for review by a court.

So if you're really trying to hide something of a dubious nature, forget about using an attorney. They're allowed to represent and counsel you in complete privacy. But they're not allowed to help you break the law.

10373

Living Room / Re: *nix /usr - where it came from, why it's still there, and how to get rid of it.

« Last post by 40hz on April 11, 2009, 07:13 AM »

I think we're starting to have two separate conversations here. I was discussing what I believe are factors contributing to the inertia surrounding any attempts to radically change the Linux "standard" file hierarchy.

Linux is a kernel not a guideline, nor a standard.

-Gothi[c] (April 11, 2009, 12:15 AM)

I was using the word Linux in its colloquial sense as a term referring to the entire environment (i.e. the kernal, the GNU codebase, the user/developer community). So in this sense, it is a guideline. Or a convention, or a philosophy, or anything else you may want to call it. But the one thing that it is not is a 'standard.'

People have argued for 'standardizing' Unix for years without success. There have also been some halfhearted attempts to do the same with Linux. To date, it hasn't gotten very far. While most developers in the Linux environment recognize the need for some standards, very few seem willing to agree on just what those standards should be. So in place of a standard, there is now a corpus of "generally accepted ways of doing things."
Sure sounds like a guideline to me.

And yes, POSIX is a standard. Mostly on paper IMHO. Because in actual use it has also become more of a guideline. Even if you ignore actual deployments, only a relatively small number OSs (BSD, OSX, Solaris, and a few others) completely comply with it. Most shoot for being "mostly compliant" in that they follow POSIX standards where there is a clear benefit in doing so, and deviate from it when there isn't. Microsoft implements what POSIX compliance it has via a compatibility feature.

It has also been noted, that there is a fair amount of ambiguity in the POSIX standard itself. Furthermore, an OS does not need to implement every function in the standard in order to be certified as being compliant with it. A "significant fraction" is sufficient for certification. So maybe POSIX isn't as much a 'standard' (in the colloquial sense ) as many people think?

Re: #2 (BTW, since you "won't even comment on 2" , should I ignore the next three sentences that follow?  Sorry... couldn't resist. Still friends right?  )

Anyway...

I was using the word amateur in its original sense as one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession. I did not mean to imply anything negative by it.

So in that sense, yes - much of what gets developed in the Linux is done by amateurs - who may also be professional developers elsewhere. Linus Torvalds himself still often refers to Linux as his "hobby-thing" .

The point I was trying to make, was that one contributing factor to the 'inertia' is that most Linux developers are not doing it for a living. For many, there is a limit to the time and energy they can put into working on their hobby so to speak. They are also not centralized, as they would be if working for a company. Each developer is working at his/her own pace on whatever he/she feels is most important.

And if they're like most people, they tend to be reluctant to do a rewrite of their working code just to comply with some vague standard unless they have to. In this environment, the general feeling is "What's good is what works!"

Which in turn leads to a lot of (dare I say it?) 'quick & dirty' development. Maybe I should have said recursive improvement cycles instead?

If developers want to their apps to run on your distro, they had better stick to good coding practices. It's the only way to change the situation. Every time a compatibility layer is added, developers have less incentive to change their ways.

-Gothi[c] (April 11, 2009, 12:15 AM)

Agree 100%. Which leads me back to numbers 1,2, and 3 above...

10374

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by 40hz on April 10, 2009, 11:05 PM »

(see attachment in previous post)

-f0dder (April 07, 2009, 07:53 PM)

Re: Seen Kyle

Awesome!!!

10375

Living Room / Re: Is your online life in your will? (Backups, passwords, etc.)

« Last post by 40hz on April 10, 2009, 10:59 PM »

There was a program that addressed many of these concerns several years ago.

 It was a Windows application called Dead Man's Switch.

It worked something like that computer terminal with the countdown sequence in Lost. First, you entered a countdown time value. Then, if you didn't reset the counter prior to it running out, the program would perform any (or all) of the following actions:

• Post entries to webpages (this feature was very limited and unreliable at the time this app came out)
  
  
• Send e-mail messages to specific recipients (good for sending bank account info, lock combinations, GPS coordinates for where you buried your pirate treasure, etc. Also good for firing off all those final messages you hoped you'd be able send people before you died: "Just wanted to let you know I did know about your little affaire back in 2002 - so there!" )
  
  
• Encrypt files on local hard drives (perfect for locking everybody out all those 'technical' jpg collections you accumulated over the years)

I've been told there was also 'nuke' version that had the ability to securely wipe listed files, but I have never been able to locate a copy. I strongly suspect the 'nuker' capability was one more of the many myths that surrounded this piece of software.

Here's the interface for the most famous version, which I believe is still available for download.



The interface is pretty self-explanatory. I'd be careful about using it however. The last release was in 2002, and I don't believe it's been updated since.

A more modern version this app might make a nice coding project for somebody.