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1351

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Surfulater 50% discount @ www.bitsdujour.com on Mar 4

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 05, 2009, 06:30 AM »

One speaks as one finds.

I like Surfulater and I've found Neville to be very helpful,
plus he gave DonationCoder a discount.

I feel a bit uncomfortable at the 'bad press' that's being created here.
There may be feelings of outrage at price increases, but it's up to each one of us to decide what a product is worth, and I don't really understand the strength of ill feeling. Let the market do its job and assess the price/value ratio.

My own view is that it would be a pity if readers were dissuaded from trying Surfulater by comments in this thread.
Remarks about price really have no bearing on the performance of Surfulater, which I feel is very good.

No offence intended to anyone.

-cranioscopical (March 04, 2009, 10:05 PM)

The catch-22 here is that since most of us here (even the critical ones) are potentially or former customers of Surfulator, we are part of the market.

Remarks on the price do have a bearing on the performance of Surfulator because it does involve upgrades and hence it is related to what you should expect out of Surfulator. (say if you were to be unsatisfied with some quirks of Surfulator and are looking to wait it out by helping increasing the revenues of the product despite being short on cash in the hopes that in the future, your quirks may be addressed.)

I do get your concern though but I believe that part of why the market works is because they are free to address their concerns without guilt if the offer does not satisfy them. If this were to be removed and we should all feel guilty then the market becomes no more different than an ad. If anything, these posts not only creates a niche for a competitor to address the concerns of the market or motivate Surfulator to try to change things up and if successful, end up not only creating a better offer for critics but make their products more appealing to more potential buyers.

1352

Living Room / Re: Someone needs to expand our WikiPedia article

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 03, 2009, 06:39 AM »

I sort of agree with 40hz but IMO outside of wikipedia, I rarely check another site's wiki mostly because you're never too sure how much content it has and by the time you do, you've already found that specific content you were looking for in that wiki and there's no point in browsing the other contents anymore.

I think in the long run it's better to just create a downloadable FAQ and have it linked to Wikipedia and the DC homepage. That way you at least have a formatted document rather than an unbrowsable history of random things you're not really sure you want to read.

Edit: This is also a good way of letting the actual dedicated wikipedians do all the work of working through the system. Just sprinkle the FAQ download into the Wikipedia reference and have them argue what's notable or non-notable in the discussion page and then sit back and relax in the thought of knowing that whatever content they argue on, the full details is still there for anyone to read.

1353

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2007 / Re: New Getting Organized Experiment?

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 02, 2009, 08:53 AM »

Well, I wasn't in any of the ones before so I don't really mind the date.

1354

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Surfulater 50% discount @ www.bitsdujour.com on Mar 4

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 25, 2009, 12:25 PM »

Yes it's limited because unlike say a notepad where you would possibly input some random less important text to it, even if you can export the files out of a web clipper, you don't really think to test it. You just use it and expect it to grow and then a few months later, realize what you like and don't like about it.

That's why with a 30-day model, you're still limited because you still have to have that nagging feeling that your data is insecure within the program and that defeats the true feel of a web clipper which is to clip as much sites as you think you want to keep at random intervals and random moods and then organize it from there.

Basically a 30-day trial model screams "Don't try this unless you're just really looking for a specific feature and have definitely made up your mind that you do indeed want a web clipping program much less this web clipping program you are about to buy because you know this program fills what you've been missing from all the other free web clippers"

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General Software Discussion / Re: Password Protect File Or Folder?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 25, 2009, 10:30 AM »

I would assume the first part is to get customers. From my own experience when I was just starting out, it wasn't the encryption model that attracted me to an application but the number of encryption types it supported.

It's stupid from a user that understands how these models work but from a casual point of view, can you imagine a user hearing how all these models are good enough that no one can even crack AES-256 for a long long time? Then factor in that most users aren't that anal in keeping their files private (the whole obscurity matters more in privacy thing) and then multiple models just start to look more attractive from a casual buyer perspective which seems to be the target market of Androsa.

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Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Surfulater 50% discount @ www.bitsdujour.com on Mar 4

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 25, 2009, 10:21 AM »

Darn, thanks for the the link. This does indeed make it more tempting to buy Surfulator.

I've really been on the fence on this one. I love the power Surfulator might have but the traditional trial model just doesn't work IMO.

Unlike any other data gatherer, can anyone tell me what average user would double-clip their clippings so that they have one clipping on a fallback software they regularly use and one on Surfulator just to test how well it works for them? Plus the lack of online syncing...

Then again, the combination of Evernote free + Scrapbook just isn't powerful enough for my needs. Ugh! Brain hurts...

1357

General Software Discussion / Re: Password Protect File Or Folder?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 23, 2009, 06:27 AM »

In my opinion, it's mostly because you're seeing it through the question of "How is this software flawed?" rather than "How does technology shape our minds and what am I saying that's weakening the goals of this app?"

Skimming Technopoly in my opinion would really help if you can afford to grab the book. It doesn't really deal with TrueCrypt per se but the core introduction may be better at making you see through my perspective than anything I say. (though as I pointed out in my previous post, it isn't the sole or major reason why I feel TrueCrypt isn't secure enough.)

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General Software Discussion / Re: Password Protect File Or Folder?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 22, 2009, 09:31 PM »

@fodder

That's also my current stance but that is also why I said it's not secure enough. I'm not limiting the discussion to the technologically best choice, I'm putting the discussion to where TrueCrypt's core functionality is concerned: on privacy first and not on software capability.

It also has something to do with open source because your original problem with my comment addressed only the open source vs. closed source debate prior to switching to the angle of best technological choice.

I guess we're getting nowhere here and you're probably wondering why I'm focusing on about it. (I guess it's not a common stance in the internet world yet.)

Well basically I've currently been reading about Technopoly which deals with how technology can change one's mindset on how to tackle a problem for better and worse and the previous book I've read was The Revolution: A Manifesto which somewhat deals with your issue about DieBold machines and other political structures (but it's really at it's core all about the U.S. Constitution) that explains how we as a culture (or at least Americans) are made to think differently on dealing with problems because the structure of a concept has been kept from our minds although you might really need to research more about the author's stance to really find it's relation with privacy in general.

I'm not saying you should read these books or that you can get the same conclusion as my own but it did cause a light bulb in my head to light up and made me value the importance of not only how I saw software with altruistic goals like TrueCrypt but in general it made me value the fact that you can't short hand privacy and constantly let the software trump the goal. At the end of the day, I believe we're either recommending these things to either help someone's privacy or we're recommending these things because it's an effective application and I'd rather still value the former even if I'm doing the latter just so we don't get used to settling on the value and end up creating a new generation of pseudo-blind sheeps not because I'm accusing you of a fanboy (I think your last comment hinted at a suspicion that it is what I'm trying to call your choice of TrueCrypt as) but because we ourselves didn't do anything to remind people that technologically best enough isn't the same as being able to secure our privacy enough.

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General Software Discussion / Re: What's your mouse of choice?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 22, 2009, 09:07 PM »

Thanks ayryq. I forgot about that app for Logitech mouses.

@app103

Hmm... I also haven't tried that mouse. I just assumed since it's a vertical mouse that the wheel would be much closer to a smaller ball so I used that image.

Oh well. Still thanks for all the details. I'm inching closer and closer to trying that mouse out but I don't think we have a local distributor here of that model so I can't request for a test copy but I'll try it as soon as it becames cheap enough. Any idea where to look for discounts on these kinds of mouses?

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General Software Discussion / Re: Password Protect File Or Folder?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 22, 2009, 12:16 PM »

I would say that the difference between a privacy encryption app like TrueCrypt and the examples you've used are that the ones you listed especially with the DieBold machines which centers around voting rather than privacy all revolve around the flaw of being translucent rather than transparent in their execution of their jobs where as a privacy app need not be that way. It simply needs to be 1. effective and 2. not be as you pointed out "shitware"

In fact such examples though different in category highlight what happens when people become apathetic towards the value by which they claim to cherish and then only find out later on that they have been screwed yet continued to bitch about it rather than make a difference because the technology forced them to remain clueless yet paranoid. A common result when people are led to believe in technology blindly (sometimes not even led, just apathetic to any cons technology brings which isn't help by ones own subconscious apathy towards the voting system)

I would also say that the flaw of saying something is the best at what it does must still assume that the user wants to have the best encryption program rather than the best way to keep their privacy. This leads to two major flaws IMO:

a) By saying that you are merely pointing out to what you consider the best choice totally throws out your earlier argument of Open Source vs. Closed Source:

Imho this is wrong. The only thing closed-source gains you is obscurity - and everybody who's into security is going to say that security through obscurity never works. For stuff like encryption, having the source code open inspires more trust than depending on bugs (and backdoors?) not being discovered.

Why? Because you are inherently comparing the best Open Source model in TrueCrypt and justifying the model of Open Source through that one app rather than addressing the actual model of Open Source.

I don't think that opinion is wrong and I did hint of it's popularity in my reply but it still does throw out the open source model and rather makes a case that the popular optimum model is the best choice when choosing a privacy app and that being Open Source only has relevance to it because the current popular program happens to be one.

b) By assuming it is the best choice, such attitudes (especially when it becomes one adapted by a group large enough) becomes the very influencing factor in convincing people (especially people ignorant of the backbones of privacy applications) to assume that it is the sole Holy Grail of privacy apps and yet even as you point to it being what you perceived as the best choice, you also allude to it only to being a "decent" encryption program (something I disagree with btw, I think most apps have reached that stage of being great encryption programs for their purposes) and also that there is more to security than it alone.

Words like those in my opinion only prove that TrueCrypt isn't exactly secure but only considered secure enough by the majority of tech users. Words like those also hide the fact that TrueCrypt still requires improving so even though it is the best choice considered by many currently, it is only if you enforce that belief from the software design and effectiveness perspective rather than the privacy perspective that it becomes "secure enough".

1361

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your mouse of choice?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 22, 2009, 04:04 AM »

Thanks app, superboyac and steeladept. I think based on your clarifications that there really is no way to generalize the free-scrolling/smooth scrolling/loose scrolling technology into a mouse as this is just too subtly different between each models to figure out.

I think if possible this topic should also address this as a side issue. Which model's actual scrolling feels best? I know it can switch from person to person but for someone looking at these topics in order to find the right mouse, it could be troublesome to not trying to find out and forcing them to find each models of mouse hoping that it will give them that special feeling yet not knowing what special scrolling feeling they should be looking for.

Edit:

slaps forehead

Oh wait. Apologies app. When you were talking about scroll wheel feeling, I thought you were referring to a different model than the ergonomic one. Unless I'm mistaken, the reason it doesn't have bumps is because it's like a smaller scroll ball on the mouse right?

Something feeling like this if the size of the wheel was bigger and more exposed?

1362

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your mouse of choice?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 22, 2009, 01:53 AM »

Yep, I think the MX Revolution model is the same hence I originally coined it "loose" but after reading app's post, I think she might have a gentler touch and that's the reason it works extra well for her. It could be that the resistance is enough that once she goes past the "zone of tightness" she's not really pushing on the wheel as much as driving it. (The wheel has two phases. The first being a slightly more tighter scroll than I'm used to for when moving in short areas and only once you continue scrolling will smooth scrolling activate)

1363

General Software Discussion / Re: Password Protect File Or Folder?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 21, 2009, 11:33 PM »

@steeladept

You could do a search for Crypto-Nerd's Imagination and then add XKCD to Google.

@fodder

That's true. Security through obscurity ALONE isn't security but remember we're talking about privacy here not which apps is flawed or we should and shouldn't use. Obscurity helps alot when dealing with privacy. That's one other thing a commercial model theoretically has: accountability...plus increasing resources from profits.

This doesn't mean that there is one true commercial alternative that is inherently better for being closed source on it's own. It does mean however that if someone wants to provide as secure a privacy app, then the more resources they have from the profits the better experts they can hire to improve an application. This isn't focused on encryption programs per se. I was thinking less of the specifics of TrueCrypt when I posted the url but more on the general concept of the term "privacy app". Simply put a privacy company who's core goal is the privacy of it's customer base can take more risks in implementing newer and better programs while being better at remaining obscure. They're also the ones who's goal is more focused in that area because they aren't there to satisfy the current status quo feel of privacy but rather they sail or sink based on how well they provide that service to their customers.

That's why I used the analogy of the open source Antivirus.

This doesn't mean an open source Antivirus can't be good enough and certainly a large enough community can still make up for any lack of resources but at the same time when you factor in innovations in the antivirus software category, it will not only come first from someone with more resources and more passion for that category but they also aren't limited to the software model and they can utilize such techniques as cloud computing with more trust because they are holding people's money and if they fail at that service, it would ruin them.

It doesn't mean it exists now and true enough Open Source programs gain more trust but I think the trust there also trickles down to blind faith as the userbase becomes bigger and hence more ignorant and therefore it is negated in the end.

This is why as steeladept pointed out: I wasn't talking about encryption. TrueCrypt is valuable but when it's value becomes so much that tech users go "TrueCrypt is secure" anytime someone asks for how to keep their data private then really we as a society are basically telling them to stay clueless and use this and believe in what you believe even though that's not really most TrueCrypt fans' goals. Of course at the same time, I think evangelizing this point especially when someone isn't looking to stay private but just wants a program to set passwords for their files as well as me being not a security expert is overtly rubbing my face in other people's business so I feel the words "not secure enough" should be short and concise enough and people should decide on their own from there.

However I do think that eventually the day will come when this must be brought out and not only among security experts but to people who are simply looking to retain their privacy or else privacy apps will stagnate and instead become more about software loyalty apps because we didn't brought it up and only felt in defending TrueCrypt's quality as a software (or even worse, TrueCrypt's quality as open source) rather than helping people become more secure in their lives through educating them not only on how to remain private (especially if that is their goal) but ultimately in creating a community where we value privacy to the point that most everyone understands privacy rather than through erecting an idol and saying "if you want computer privacy, then download this one." "If you want <insert other areas> privacy, then worship this one."

Of course I think I'm also at fault for seemingly trying to just focus on Open Source but really I'm not educated enough to know what specific angle to focus on in this case. I only know that we're slowly becoming a society who want privacy but is slowly not valuing enough our own wants that even our best tools to remain private are slowly becoming our worst enemies as we transform them into our "miracle pill" to prescribe to clueless people and hence even though the tools become better, we become less private as the net effect of our society not valuing true privacy gets exposed.

P.S.

@siouxdax

Apologies for causing the thread to be hijacked.

1364

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your mouse of choice?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 21, 2009, 10:29 PM »

Thanks again app.

With regards to the smooth wheel, as someone who hates it, I can't really say it's analogous to an old TV knob but I might be thinking of a different model.

It's really just a mouse scroll wheel that goes from really stiff to really really loose so if you do tons of scrolling, you could theoretically "drive" the precise scrolling motion with your fingers where as a normal scroll wheel it would be up a page then up a page then up a page.

I think the best way to get a feel of it is to middle mouse click on either Opera or Firefox. The cursor should change to a 4 sided icon and you can quickly scroll with the mouse around except imagine doing this without moving the actual mouse but just moving the scroll wheel.

Edit: Also IMO it feels different from a two sided trackpad but I've never used one of those. I'm just trying to imagine their feel by basing it around the Ipod's touch circle. Also IMO the lighter touch is set back by the heavy mouse and the larger than normal scroll wheel but I'm referring mostly to the MX Revolution model since that's the one I tried.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Password Protect File Or Folder?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 21, 2009, 03:57 AM »

Yes, that's what I meant by secure enough.

I would say the problem with privacy apps is that the inherent structure of Open Source doesn't yield as much benefit to this category of software compared to other categories. It's the same with Open Source Antiviruses. It's not that these aren't good enough for common usage especially when you're not being targeted but reactive countermeasures as well as the source being exposed means as soon as you get just bits of black sheeps bent on hacking it, you never know when you can be exposed and it becomes a battle of who gets victimized first and then reports it:

http://www.darkreadi...?articleID=211201156

This doesn't mean that commercial products are inherently superior though. I myself believe in this xkcd strip:

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General Software Discussion / Re: What's your mouse of choice?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 21, 2009, 03:41 AM »

Thanks app. One final question, does the mouse need proprietary drivers and is it compatible with Linux?

1367

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your mouse of choice?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 20, 2009, 11:27 PM »

How's the feel of that vertical mouse app? I've always been curious about ergonomic designs but I hear so much complaint about them. This one's more like a scroll wheel than a mouse right?

1368

General Software Discussion / Re: Password Protect File Or Folder?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 20, 2009, 11:23 PM »

Nah, they're too heavy for me either and it still scares me to try them. Unfortunately, these are all I know of.

The lightweight ones are often based around a specific file format or something close to that.

1369

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your mouse of choice?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 20, 2009, 10:40 PM »

For some reason, I couldn't get into the "loose" scrolling wheel feel of the MX Revolution and it just didn't beat the feel of a cheaper mouse so I settled for the A4-TECH OPTICAL MOUSE OP-620D PS/2 BLACK:



It's lighter than your average mouse. Same design. Has a single double click button. Scroll wheel feels fine. Mouse buttons a little loose which ironically makes it much easier to double click so the double click button is almost useless. Optical. No mouse ball.

I guess as I grew more accustomed to generic mouse, the stuff that wows me about expensive mouses just doesn't justify the price of a cheap, light and durable enough generic mouse.

1370

General Software Discussion / Re: more than a windows movie maker replacement ... does it exist (for free)

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 20, 2009, 10:11 PM »

Not really. No. VirtualDub comes the closest for the "de facto" freeware.

http://www.osalt.com/movie-maker

1371

General Software Discussion / Re: Password Protect File Or Folder?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 20, 2009, 09:22 PM »

TrueCrypte is the most popular freeware but it's not exactly secure but most users consider it secure enough.

Here's also a more varied list: http://www.downloads...ta-privacy-day-2009/

Note that I haven't tried any of these.

1372

Living Room / Re: Why I Avoid Apple Products

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 20, 2009, 06:31 PM »

While I agree with Jimdoria's assessment about marketing trumping technology in the tech business, I believe that as far as Apple being closed source, it really doesn't come to marketing at all and as he stated, it's more because Apple is as much a flash and bang tech entertainment company than a user friendly "stable and solid" hardware/software producing business.

And let's not forget that Apple got where it is because of it's deals with record and movie companies. Those guys are so paranoid they make Bill Gates look like an advocate for piracy. They would never have done the deal with Apple if Apple hadn't promised them a closed, secure platform to ensure that the criminals consumers who buy the product wouldn't turn around and steal share the product with all their friends.

-Jimdoria

I would also like to disagree with Carol Haynes. Apple products are still middle of the line appealing products that provide something the competition doesn't even though often times it doesn't seem to look that way. A lot of that comes from the subtle we rarely feel so important kind of need that all comes down to what justice wrote:

But there isn't anything competitive on the market.

-justice

It's kind of like the ribbon taking over some user interface. Enough people like it. Enough people are converted to it. NOT enough people who are bitching about it has created a superior interface with as much marketing and traction.

IMO the Ribbon would be dead if a new office suite came out with an even more radical but user-friendlier interface and I don't think I'm alone in saying that as far as design concepts go, there are lots of designs that could easily improve upon the Ribbon but no core "team" has really brought any of it into fruition.

Same thing with most Apple products. Smartphone companies blew it by trying to sell their underpowered (for smartphones) gadgets to the point of even alienating their niche group of PDA lovers by dropping most of the PDA-only lines which allowed Apple's Iphone to secure the market by truly embracing the PDA screen with an even more poorly designed but more powerful smartphone.

That alone is a deal seller and combined with Apple's marketing scheme, it was gold that the other companies "reacted" to and at that point, Iphone just as the Ipod became a brand already and traction was there for all the many apps that made it even more appealing to sell the gadget to people who don't even want it. Ex. the casual e-book reading userbase.

Ipod was the same. Internationally it was cheaper than Creative's line and locally, it was already much more of a brand than Creative's cheaper alternatives. Outside of Creative, many companies were mimicking Ipod's touch wheel too much or had other more major problems like Sony's proprietary drivers and when you don't create a heads and above better program, slightly better doesn't beat the established brand.

The Mac in general though IMO is just a foothold for Apple although OSX has that mystical, "Goddamn Apple for keeping it only on their hardware and that's why they'll never beat Windows, GAHHH!!! I have to buy a Mac" mystique.

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General Software Discussion / Re: "National" operating systems; what's up with that?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 15, 2009, 08:08 PM »

Yep, government.

1374

General Software Discussion / Re: "National" operating systems; what's up with that?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 15, 2009, 12:22 PM »

Not sure if this is the official mascot:



Bayanihan Linux Philippines

1375

General Software Discussion / Re: Any easy way to see how much each Firefox addon weights you down?

« Last post by Paul Keith on February 14, 2009, 08:27 PM »

I doubt it. Each machine spec would be different and each extension have different purposes.

Ex. with the Evernote icon, you still have to factor in having Evernote opened as part of consuming your memory.

There's also extensions like Taboo where the more you put in, the more memory Firefox takes up.

The best tip I can think of for someone who's really bothered by Firefox's slowness is to multi-browse with Opera and add only non-Opera giving extensions to Firefox and use Opera's open page in Firefox's capability to supplement sites that you require extensions for.

Either that or upgrade the machine though I'm using more than 14 extensions and FF isn't drastically slowing me down. The back button though is no problem if you multi-browse with Opera although it doesn't bother me that much when using FF.