Recent Posts

3651

Developer's Corner / Re: Anyone here do any mobile development?

« Last post by Renegade on January 28, 2013, 12:52 AM »

I've been thinking about a few things I can do. At the moment, I'm considering doing some content-driven applications, but I have enough on my plate at the moment that I don't need to over-extend myself.

Frackin' Reserve has been a great little application for me though.

I did a Windows version, then a web edition, then a Linux/Mac OS X version (requires Mono), and FINALLY got an Android version done.

Check out the Android version here:

https://play.google....minds.frackinreserve

It's a very simple little program, but I put enough stuff in there to play around when doing it for a new platform. There's a bit of logic, some math, some UI updating, a couple Activities, Google AdViews, some network permissions, etc. etc.

Overall, it was a great way to "get my feet wet" in a more meaningful way. We all piddle around with different platforms and languages and stuff, but without actually having something at the end of the day to show for it, it all kind of feels a bit hollow.

Now, realistically very few people will ever download it, but oh well. It did help with the motivation and idea problem. I'm in a much better position now to come up with new ideas for Android.

3652

Living Room / Re: Facebook Cash

« Last post by Renegade on January 28, 2013, 12:44 AM »

That alternative would divvy up the money among a number of non-profit organizations involved in educational outreach that teaches adults and children how to use social media technologies safely, or are involved in research of social media.

Or just hand the money over to a bunch of buddies... Just a bit skeptical about "non-profits" and "NGOs"... I've lost all faith in them after learning about what some of them really do. Enough to make you vomit through your eye-sockets.

3653

Developer's Corner / Re: Anyone here do any mobile development?

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2013, 10:06 PM »

I've been getting into iOS development (that's why I originally bought my macbook).  Does that count?

-wraith808 (January 27, 2013, 09:07 AM)

Yep. iOS counts too. (There are more out there as well.)

What kind of stuff are you working on? Has Xcode driven you past the edges of sanity yet?

I bought my first Android phone 2,5 years ago (and my second 6 months ago), and read the Google Android development docs with the intention of creating a killer-app, but never actually created any Android app (other than the obligatory demo-stuff).
Time and ideas are lacking..., so if you have a good idea, but no resources, I could jump into that

-Ath (January 27, 2013, 09:25 AM)

Well, I think a good way to go about things is to take a very small application and extend it onto the new platform that you're planning on getting into.

I've been doing a lot of Android stuff (all theory) in Java and C++ for a few years now, but finally made the jump into actually DOING some with a release (yesterday).

My little practice app is "Frackin' Reserve!" It's a small, relatively simple program that I've done a Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and web edition for, and now an Android version:

http://cynic.me/2013...reserve-for-android/

https://play.google....minds.frackinreserve

It's nice because it's a fun little educational program that I just port to new platforms. That gives me time to focus on the cool stuff in the platform, and forget about the core code and all that.

So, if you've got some minor project (the smaller the better I think), then it might be worthwhile to just jump in with that to get your feet wet.

Along the way you learn some of those "gotchas", e.g. I had to uninstall Java & and reinstall Java 6 once I had it in the market as once it is in the market, if it was built with Java 7, things go badly and it won't install - despite numerous tests in emulators and devices.

The publishing process from inside MonoDevelop is pretty smooth too. I was quite happy once I got the hang of it. Simple. Fast. No messy, bothersome 50 mile long command line crap commands. Well, creating a keystore, but that's just done once and they lay out an excellent example so that you don't need to learn 100% of the ins and out of the keystore.exe program.

I'm sure you can think of a "mini-app" that might be fun. I think the key is to have something small and fun to do, then follow it through to completion. It helps give you more ideas along the way.

BTW - For android, "layouts" are a bit tricky. Things cascade in a way that you'd not really expect so much. It's much more like creating a GTK# app than a Windows forms app.

3654

Developer's Corner / Re: CSS Selector Summary

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2013, 09:52 PM »

That was pretty darn good cheat sheet. 

3655

Living Room / Re: Open Letter to Skype

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2013, 09:37 PM »

A lot of countries extend their jurisdiction beyond their jurisdiction and completely ignore sovereign borders. This isn't unusual.

It's even more disturbing when they treat their citizenry like property.

-Renegade (January 26, 2013, 11:10 PM)

A lot of countries extend their reach beyond their jurisdiction and completely ignore sovereign borders.

  It's OK Renny, we knew what you were trying to say.   

-Tinman57 (January 27, 2013, 06:26 PM)

Good point. I cynically muddled that up there.

3656

Living Room / Re: Male Comic Book Character in Female Poses

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2013, 12:00 PM »

I saw some article about Juidge Dredd being gay.

Seriously, who f*****g cares? Is it important to an action comic? I wish they'd just get the sex out. If I want to watch sex, there's porn, and no shortage of it. Pfft.

3657

Living Room / Re: Great Messages in Software

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2013, 06:25 AM »

^^ @Iain - BWAHAHAHAHAAHAAA~! That was hysterical~! Love it!

3658

Developer's Corner / Anyone here do any mobile development?

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2013, 06:04 AM »

Does anyone here do any mobile development?

Android, Blackberry, Symbian, etc. Anything?

3659

Site/Forum Features / Re: Google ad test

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2013, 05:38 AM »

I'm quite interested to hear what happens! I just released an Android app with Google ads. Not expecting much, if anything.

3660

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

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2013, 05:34 AM »

I get some twisted thoughts running through my head every now and then... Here's a piece of "metahumour" that popped into my head while doing some house cleaning (gotta entertain myself somehow - cleaning cupboards isn't exactly exciting):

The greatest redeeming quality of any <insert ideological group here /> is that they are mortal, and will thankfully die one day.

Just use your imagination! Works for politics, programming languages, OS/platform users, browser wars, Coke/Pepsi drinkers, whatever!

3661

N.A.N.Y. 2013 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2013 Submission - FreeNAS Brute Forcer

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2013, 05:05 AM »

Somebody found a decent use for it! Pen testing!

http://www.elithecom...s-brute-forcer-v1-0/

 

3662

Living Room / Great Messages in Software

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2013, 03:31 AM »

Everyone's seem some of those fun 404 messages, so when I got a password change email from StackExchange, I figured I'd pass it on for others to get a laugh:

The password to your Stack Exchange account has been changed.
(If you didn't do this, you should be worried.)

3663

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Frackin' Reserve for Android!

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2013, 12:07 AM »

Frackin' Reserve is a fractional reserve banking simulator that helps illustrate the fraudulent nature of fractional reserve banking. It is highly visual and makes the topic easy to understand.

With a Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and an online web edition, I'm happy to announce the release of Frackin' Reserve for Android!

Release Page:

http://cynic.me/2013...reserve-for-android/

Get it in the Google Play store:

https://play.google....minds.frackinreserve

Screenshots for tablets and smartphones, including older and newer versions of Android:







For other platforms and articles:

Windows: Frackin’ Reserve
Linux and Mac OS X: Frackin’ Reserve
Web Edition: Frackin’ Reserve

Articles:

Part 1 – The Mechanics of Fractional Reserve Banking
Part 2 – What is Money?
Part 3 – “How” Fractional Reserve Banking Creates Money and “Why” it is Fraudulent
Part 4 – Run on the Banks? Or Run on the People?
Part 5 – Compound Interest as Invisible Slavery
Part 6 – Summary & Additional Resources


If you like it, please take a couple seconds to rate it. You can rate it from in the menu. (Thanks!)

3664

Living Room / Re: Open Letter to Skype

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2013, 11:10 PM »

A lot of countries extend their jurisdiction beyond their jurisdiction and completely ignore sovereign borders. This isn't unusual.

It's even more disturbing when they treat their citizenry like property.

3665

Living Room / Re: Phone unlocking ban could hit you in the wallet

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2013, 10:21 PM »

Ummm... Speechless.

Nah! Just kidding! I've always got a smart-alec answer for everything~!

He's an idiot and doesn't understand the first thing about technology. He would do well to learn a bit from some engineers, developers, and perhaps Richard Stallman.

3666

Living Room / Re: Java Update on Tuesday

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2013, 10:16 PM »

Sigh... Java 7 makes me very not happy.

Had to uninstall and go back to Java 6... Checking shortly to see if it solves problems...

3667

Living Room / Re: NASA OOPS!

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2013, 04:28 AM »

Ok, here's a fun conspiracy theory...

Having a patchwork of photos, NASA edits them into place, but due to rotation, an odd triangular portion in one assembled photo is left blank.

Some mischevious NASA officials decide to release the photo, knowing that conspiracy theories (like this one) will pop up all over the place and they'll get a good laugh.

A betting pool is formed, and officials place bets and take odds on whether the most popular conspiracy theories will be about aliens, secret military aircraft, or practical jokes and betting pools at NASA.

3668

Living Room / Re: The end of FreewareBB

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2013, 02:41 AM »

Well, for the second time in nearly as many years, it would appear that FreewareBB is still hanging on in there and the site has now been offered a new home by the owner of http://www.lo4d.com, another download site which shares the same ideals as us here at FreewareBB.

The site owner, Christopher, very kindly offered to host our site because of the difficulties we were having.

That kind of stuff is good to see.

In the broad developer community, most developers have a very cynical and low opinion of download sites. But there are some good ones out there, and there are some good people behind some of these sites. Yes, they're a bit rare. Yes, there are lots of spammy download sites. But again, baby & bathwater situation here.

Just as an aside that tangentially related:

http://cynic.me/2011...ad-site-softoxi-com/

It's a blog post of mine about a site that I was impressed by. Not many out there, but they are there.

3669

Living Room / Re: Open Letter to Skype

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2013, 12:46 AM »

So if I use Skype in the UK to communicate with someone in the UK it is subject to the US Patriot Act?

Yes.

Various provisions allowed for the disclosure of electronic communications to law enforcement agencies. Those who operate or own a "protected computer" can give permission for authorities to intercept communications carried out on the machine, thus bypassing the requirements of the Wiretap statute. The definition of a "protected computer" is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1030(e)(2) and broadly encompasses those computers used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication, including ones located outside the United States.

https://en.wikipedia...wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act

-cmpm (January 26, 2013, 12:39 AM)

Or, the shorter answer:

3670

Living Room / Re: NASA OOPS!

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2013, 12:37 AM »

<seriousness mode="off">

Oh, c'mon everyone! Pull your heads out of the sand!

It's an alien invasion scout ship. It's probably sending mind control rays at this very moment to convince you that this post is pure nonsense! And, the weaker minded ones will succumb to its insidious mind control attacks!

</seriousness>



SOMETHING is going on. What? Who knows. There's always some way to explain away anything that doesn't fit into the mainstream narrative, and that will always trump any kind of questioning or inquisitiveness, because only "conspiracy theorists" ever question anything, and as we "know", all conspiracies are false. 

In the meantime, it sure would be interesting to know what that thing is. It's not like there are a lot of possibilities when you get up to those kinds of altitudes.

As for NASA releasing the picture, I kind of wonder there... Why would you need to "declassify" a photo from orbit? Is truth something that requires sanitation?

3671

General Software Discussion / Re: Why did WinRAR Unplugged (portable Winrar version) get discontinued?

« Last post by Renegade on January 25, 2013, 09:40 PM »

I've met Burak - the fellow who runs WinRar - and he struck me as a smart business fellow.

-Renegade (January 24, 2013, 08:08 PM)

Alexander is no longer in the game?

-f0dder (January 25, 2013, 01:04 PM)

I really don't know. I've never met him. IIRC (could be wrong) I thought he sold it... Dunno. It's been a long time.

3672

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

« Last post by Renegade on January 25, 2013, 12:00 PM »

I kinda like offensive t-shirts, but I'm adult enough to (mostly) know when to not wear them.

-f0dder (January 25, 2013, 11:44 AM)

You're probably more mature than I am. My attitude is "FUCK OFF IF YOU CAN'T TAKE A GOD DAMN JOKE - IT'S A FUCKING T-SHIRT FOR CHRIST SAKES!"

These people that get worked up by a t-shirt... Jeez... Could you possibly find anyone more idiotic?

Yes. I want to fucking destroy all of your civilization, and just to prove it, I have the t-shirt...

Really? People need to be able to take a joke. It's sad really. I feel sorry for the poor morons that don't get it. A lot of them are probably good candidates for a Darwin Award.

3673

Living Room / Open Letter to Skype

« Last post by Renegade on January 25, 2013, 09:12 AM »

Yep. More privacy related stuff.

http://www.skypeopenletter.com/

Open Letter to Skype

From Concerned Privacy Advocates, Internet Activists, Journalists & Other Organizations


Thursday January 24th, 2013;
Skype Division President Tony Bates
Microsoft Chief Privacy Officer Brendon Lynch
Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith

Dear Mr. Bates, Mr. Lynch and Mr. Smith,

 Skype is a voice, video and chat communications platform with over 600 million users worldwide, effectively making it one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies. Many of its users rely on Skype for secure communications—whether they are activists operating in countries governed by authoritarian regimes, journalists communicating with sensitive sources, or users who wish to talk privately in confidence with business associates, family, or friends.

 It is unfortunate that these users, and those who advise them on best security practices, work in the face of persistently unclear and confusing statements about the confidentiality of Skype conversations, and in particular the access that governments and other third parties have to Skype user data and communications.

 We understand that the transition of ownership to Microsoft, and the corresponding shifts in jurisdiction and management, may have made some questions of lawful access, user data collection, and the degree of security of Skype communications temporarily difficult to authoritatively answer. However, we believe that from the time of the original announcement of a merger in October 2011, and on the eve of Microsoft’s integration of Skype into many of its key software and services, the time has come for Microsoft to publicly document Skype’s security and privacy practices.

We call on Skype to release a regularly updated Transparency Report that includes:

More at the site.

3674

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

« Last post by Renegade on January 25, 2013, 07:44 AM »

Hello.

My name is Inigo Montoya.

You killed my father.

Prepare to die.



http://www.huffingto...&ir=Weird%20News

Qantas Passenger's Inigo Montoya 'Princess Bride' Shirt Frightens Travelers

Qantas passenger Wynand Mullins caused quite a stir on a Sunday evening flight from Australia to New Zealand when he wore an Inigo Montoya T-shirt from the 1980s cult film "The Princess Bride," according to New Zealand's Stuff magazine.

The popular name-tag shirt, which reads "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die," became a cause for alarm after several upset passengers expressed their unease with the T-shirt's message.

BWAHAHAHAHA~!

Does anything really get any funnier than real life?

3675

DC Gamer Club / Re: THQ is no more...

« Last post by Renegade on January 25, 2013, 04:46 AM »

Well, I have my wish list there, but not the $30 million for it... Sigh... Guess I'll just continue to work for game companies instead.