Recent Posts

3951

Living Room / Re: Microsoft may be after-taxed $1 Billion by Denmark

« Last post by 40hz on March 04, 2013, 06:36 AM »

I guess Denmark has unique tax laws?

Buying a business and transferring its legal address to some other country purely for tax purposes has been a standard operating procedure used by global corporations (and not just US-based ones) for about the last 40 years.

Be interesting to see how they pursue this case. And under which legal system they'd file it. Jurisdiction and venue is always a tricky thing when dealing with multinationals. I'm guessing about the only thing this will result in is Microsoft pulling Navision development out of Denmark; and (purely for PR purposes) negotiating something (but certainly not $1 billion) with Denmark if they feel it will work to their advantage long-term.

Oh well...I wish Denmark good luck with this one.

3952

Living Room / Re: Long Range WiFi WITHOUT line of sight. HELP!!!!

« Last post by 40hz on March 04, 2013, 06:19 AM »

Lacking line-of-sight or common 'bounce' point, about the only thing you can do to get serious data communications distances is to get an amateur radio license and then set up a packet radio link. At least AFAIK.

Do a google for "Amateur Packet Radio" and "AMPRnet" and have a look at what these super-geeks have been up to. Basically, they're using ham radio frequency bands and technology for data communications. The only challenge is that you'll need a government license (not too difficult to obtain in most places) to legally do any of this.

Alternatively, check out this guy's article here. He claims to get quarter-mile wifi connectivity using a high-power wireless setup using one of these plus a big honking antenna. Can't vouch for it since I've never done anything like that. But I remember enough from my radio amateur days that he's not saying anything that sounds wrong at least.

This sounds like an interesting project btw.

3953

General Software Discussion / Re: Is RedHat willing to concede too much to Micorosoft? Linus Torvalds thinks so.

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2013, 09:11 PM »

@Deo- The Linux Action Show podcast had a recent segment on this which may help explain more of what it's all about - and why Linus reacted the way he did. Podcast page is here. The discussion starts around the 20 minute mark.

There's also a link to a Reddit that summarizes a little better what the issue is:

What he is arguing is that it's pointless and stupid for the Linux kernel developers to put a huge amount of rather nasty code into the kernel in order to accept the way Microsoft signs kernel driver binaries.

UEFI with secure boot allows both users and hardware makers to lock down the machine in different ways via the bootloader. The firmware (code embedded into the mainboard) can be made to only accept cryptographically signed bootloaders. (this signing allows them to know were the bootloader comes from).

The bootloaders can be made then to only accept signed kernels.

The signed kernels can be made to only accept signed kernel modules, which can include drivers for hardware.

So this patch is designed to make is so that the kernel can be made to accept Microsoft signed modules.

The way Microsoft has set things up is that they will only sign modules that conform to the format used by embedded Windows.

So the kernel, with these patches, will be able to take the windows-format, check it, convert it to a format the kernel can use and load it.

Linus contends this is stupid and pointless because the kernel already has proper support for signed kernel modules. If people want to use signed kernel modules they can use that and skip the whole Microsoft bullshit.

The counter argument is that there exists nobody but Microsoft that is willing to maintain a certificate authority (used to do the official signing) AND that Microsoft keys are already used by hardware. If you want to use the X.509 certification system (think: SSL certs) that the Linux kernel supports then you will first need to setup a organization to manage the certificates, get their public key (the portion that tests the signatures for correctness) embedded in the kernel so that people can use it. And even then if you want to be able to sign binaries in a way that is acceptable by UEFI right now you'd still have to go through Microsoft and then develop a way to convert the Microsoft signatures to x.509 signatures that the kernel knows and understands. This is going to be difficult to pull off.

Linus fundamentally believes that kernel signing already exists and if that can't be used by people because they want to ship proprietary kernel modules then that is their problem. They will have to maintain the code and the kernel versions to do that crap and that is not something he is will to do or force others in the kernel community to deal with the burden of maintaining all that stuff.

This is mostly a issue with embedded development. If you are smart and buy hardware that is open and allows you to manage the keys yourself then you can have the benefit of having cryptographically signed kernels and drivers for security, but without all the business of dealing with Microsoft. That is when that stuff gets made and used... this stuff isn't widespread yet.

Hope this clarifies things a bit.

3954

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: Baby Cody is in Los Angeles

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2013, 09:02 PM »

Welcome back. Both of you!

3955

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

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2013, 03:46 PM »

The YouTube link for this recently showed up on the OpenCulture website. Astonishing street performance of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah played on crystal glass harp. The final segment of the performance is mind blowing!

 

3956

Living Room / Re: DOTCOM saga - updates

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2013, 02:04 PM »

Are these people joking?

-Renegade (March 03, 2013, 08:38 AM)

No. It's just that 800lb gorilla showing up with a carrot and the stick again. I'm sure severe political pressure is being brought to bear on all relevant parties in NZ's government - along with some undisclosed percs being placed on the table in exchange for high-level 'cooperation.'

In the end, this won't really be about so much about Kim Dotcom. What it will become is an unofficial referendum on exactly how independent a nation New Zealand believes itself to be.
 

3957

Living Room / Re: What are your favorite movies?

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2013, 01:52 PM »

The Man from Earth

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/

Just a guy telling a story (the setting and supporting characters are irrelevant).

But the guy is 14,000 years old and it's a great story.  Most entertaining.

-AndyM (March 03, 2013, 09:56 AM)

@AndyM - Thx for that recommendation. Looks very cool. Hopefully one of my streaming subscriptions carries it. If so, I'll watch it tonight. Otherwise I'll order the disc via Netflix. Almost like a more introspective version of some of the themes explored in K-Pax - which is also highly recommended. The always superb Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges (Dude!) absolutely nail their respective roles with this one.



If you've never seen K-Pax ...then watch it. If you already have - watch it again! It's a great film.

3958

Living Room / Re: What are your favorite movies?

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2013, 07:49 AM »

@Ren: LOL! And touché.  

My rule: Easiest way to save $11 is to avoid any 'pre-sold franchise' movie with an installment numeral in its title.

The problem with Highlander is that the writers failed to realize that what often makes "unexplained things that go bump in the night" so entertaining is the fact they are (and probably should remain) unexplained. Nobody who genuinely enjoys a stage magic show - and would pay to see one -  ever really wants to know how the tricks were actually done. Same goes for most fantasy fans. As long as it's kept consistent, having an unexplained factor in the story is perfectly acceptable. Much as it is in 'real' life since we don't seem to know all the answers in this reality either.
 

3959

Living Room / Re: What are your favorite movies?

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2013, 07:19 AM »

Initially I didn't think I'd make it past the 10 minute mark but at ~25 minutes it started to get interesting, (I am so shallow   ) - I have to say I started to enjoy the film even after that all to brief interlude with Paz.

-4wd (March 02, 2013, 07:37 PM)

My experience was much the same. I thought I might abandon the picture at first only to find myself oddly enjoying it for some reason the longer I let it run. And Ms. De la Huerta's substantial physical charms did lend an unexpected additional touch of visual 'frission' over and above what was already provided by the scenery and Christopher Doyle's cinematography. (Paz...lovely woman...and all grown up too, I see.)

What can I say? It is what it is. And what you bring to it. Which is supposedly (according to its director) what a good part of The Limits of Control is all about.

BTW, mentioning Paz reminded me of another film (Paz has a supporting role in it) called The Guitar. It was a 2008 Sundance Festival surprise selection by then freshman director Amy Redford.



The Guitar is an unusual "coming of age" movie. Melody Wilder (played by the equally lovely Saffron Burrows) is a woman who finishes up a day where everything in her life goes completely wrong by learning that the annoying tiredness and cough she's been suffering with for some time is far more serious than originally thought. Diagnosed with a particularly aggressive and nasty form of cancer, she is informed she now has, at best, only a few more months to live. How she deals with the reality of her short and utterly unsatisfying life - and her impending demise - is what this story is about...



This may seem to be a rather contrived 'art house' premise. And it is since it's basically a riff on that old drinking question of what you would do if you discovered you only had a year left to live. But it somehow all works without feeling clichéd in the context of this nicely made movie which was shot on a very small budget in only 21 days.

Though it may sound hard to believe from the above, this film actually is a genuine "feel good" movie.

Trailer below:

Recommended.

Note: Contains some very adult themes and (brief) moments. Viewer discretion is advised.

3960

Living Room / Re: Show us a picture of your.. CAR!!!

« Last post by 40hz on March 02, 2013, 02:43 AM »

The current rage now is soju mixed with drinking vinegar

-Renegade (March 01, 2013, 06:26 PM)

?????

3961

Living Room / Re: Show us a picture of your.. CAR!!!

« Last post by 40hz on March 01, 2013, 09:47 AM »

If I lived/worked in a city with decent public transport I would just hire a car when I needed to - a lot cheaper - and use public transport.

-Carol Haynes (March 01, 2013, 03:12 AM)

+1 That's the most cost effective solution I've ever experienced. When I lived in Boston I neither needed to own - or wanted to own - my own car. Their public transportation network was extensive, reliable, and affordable. For everything else, there was always Avis or Thrifty rent-a-car when you needed your own set of wheels. It was liberating!

Unfortunately in the area I live public transport is completely impractical unless you are retired or not working and able to plan your day around the infrequent buses.

At least you still have them in a pinch. There is virtually no local public transportation where I currently live. We did have buses at one time. But most of the routes in my area have been eliminated for cost cutting reasons. And those that survived have had their schedules seriously reduced. Nearest bus stop to my front door is just over two miles away. And that bus doesn't go anywhere I'd likely need to go. My town does have a taxi service of sorts. But it's a small (as in 4 vehicle) operation. Interestingly enough, it seems to adequately cover a population of 59K according to the last federal census. Which kind of gives you an idea of just how many people here own and drive cars - and why the bus lines have mostly disappeared.

Oh well. At least the town provides free senior and disabled person transportation to medical, recreation, and shopping spots. You have to call a day in advance to schedule a ride, but they do provide door-to-door service and are very accommodating when it comes to people with disabilities or age related infirmities. Nice to know some of our local tax money is being spent on a service that's needed - and actually gets used.
 

3962

Living Room / Re: In Car Gadgets & Doodads

« Last post by 40hz on March 01, 2013, 09:18 AM »

I've found the Garmin GPS my GF picked up to be quite handy. And our car came with Sync so we have hands-free use of a lot of what's on our respective smartphones. Sync works pretty well most of the time. That's about all the 'convenience' gadgetry we have or want in our car.

The rest of our kit is pretty low tech: basic set of tools plus a socket wrench set, first aid kit, a handful of paper road maps, flashlights, an antique walki-talki that can also do the CB band, roll of paper towels, small bottle of spray window cleaner, a couple of reflective mylar "space blankets," some homebrew battery "booster boxes" for recharging our phones in an emergency, some basic survival stuff such as: firestarters, waterproof matches, road flares, work gloves, etc. About the only thing a little unusual is our first aid kit - which is pretty seriously tricked out and also includes some veterinary supplies. (We used to do a lot of horseback riding with friends and got in the habit. Those who have done the same will understand. )

I keep meaning to get a power inverter. And after reading App's comment above, I will finally stop procrastinating and order one this weekend. I've only been talking about doing it for something like ten years. Enough already!

 

3963

Living Room / Re: You Don’t Want Super-High-Speed Internet...

« Last post by 40hz on March 01, 2013, 08:30 AM »

They're right. We all want to go back to dial-up speeds and plaintext BBS systems that support RIP graphics for our online communications and shopping needs.

 

or better yet...



Since it is a 'known fact' that all the content people actually watch, listen to, or read is copyrighted (and owned by major publishers and media outlets) there's absolutely no need to ever provide any content over an open Internet or unrestricted device. Set top boxes, media players, e-book readers, and other appliances (that have permanently enabled DRM controls embedded in their hardware) are the only acceptable and 'legal' way copyrighted materials can be delivered or viewed.

To allow otherwise would be to automatically increase unemployment, fuel the spread of terrorism, and disseminate kiddie-porn throughout the "free" world.

And what "right thinking" person would want to see, or be a party to, that?

Time-Warner! They're doing God's work here.  

----------------------------------
Ok Renegade - on that note maybe you'd better hit the B button for this elevator car...

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

@Mouser - Sorry. I just couldn't resist. And I do promise not to do it again. Seriously.

"No joke ever benefits from too much repetition."

Or so my grandmother used to say.

3964

Living Room / Re: Show us a picture of your.. CAR!!!

« Last post by 40hz on February 28, 2013, 09:17 PM »

I don't know what the availability of diesel is like in the US (probably a PITA like Canada) but you get a hell of a lot more miles to the buck!

-Carol Haynes (February 28, 2013, 04:54 PM)

It's readily available at most major gas stations - but priced significantly higher per gallon than gasoline/petrol. Where I live, regular gasoline is averaging about $4.01 this week whereas diesel is running around $4.36. Looks like the US oil companies noticed the increased mileage and adjusted their price for diesel fuel accordingly.
 

3965

General Software Discussion / Is RedHat willing to concede too much to Micorosoft? Linus Torvalds thinks so.

« Last post by 40hz on February 28, 2013, 05:22 PM »

Those of us who follow the Linux kernal dev mailing list have had a 'fun' week following a heated and occasionally expletive laced 'discussion' that erupted when software engineer Dave Howell (who is also an employee of RedHat) proposed allowing Microsoft-signed binary keys to be inserted dynamically in the Linux kernal when running in secure boot mode. That would have been bad enough. But when Matt Garrett (creator of the UEFI shim we've all been reading about) chimed in in support of that request, that was the last straw. And something big enough to provoke a full scale explosion from none other than Linus Torvalds himself:

If you want to parse PE binaries, go right ahead.

If Red Hat wants to deep-throat Microsoft, that's *your* issue. That has nothing what-so-ever to do with the kernel I maintain. It's trivial for you guys to have a signing machine that parses the PE binary, verifies the signatures, and signs the resulting keys with your own key. You already wrote the code, for chissake, it's in that f*cking pull request.

Why should *I* care? Why should the kernel care about some idiotic "we only sign PE binaries" stupidity? We support X.509, which is the standard for signing.

Do this in user land on a trusted machine. There is zero excuse for doing it in the kernel.

And it went on from there.

Some of the dust has settled a bit and Torvalds has clarified and expanded since then on what he sees as the core problem - and how Linux - as an OS - should go about dealing with it.

Rather than provide a pile of quotes and snippets, I was fortunately able to find a good write-up and summary courtesy of ZDNet's Steve Vaughan-Nichols. It gives a neat précis of where Linus Torvalds is coming from, and (by default since it's his baby) where the Linux kernal is going with this. Read it here.

Here's part of what Linus had to say:

On Mon, Feb 25, 2013 at 7:48 PM, Matthew Garrett <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Our users want to be able to boot Linux. If Microsoft blacklist a
> distribution's bootloader, that user isn't going to be able to boot
> Linux any more. How does that benefit our users?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linus Torvalds responds to Matt Garrett's question above:

How does bringing up an unlikely and bogus scenario - and when people
call you on it, just double down on it - help users?

Stop the fear mongering already.

So here's what I would suggest, and it is based on REAL SECURITY and
on PUTTING THE USER FIRST instead of your continual "let's please
microsoft by doing idiotic crap" approach.

So instead of pleasing microsoft, try to see how we can add real security:
.
.
.
It really shouldn't be about Microsoft blessings, it should be about the *user* blessing kernel modules. Quite frankly, *you* are what the key-hating crazies were afraid of. You peddle the "control, not security" crap-ware. The whole "Microsoft owns your machine" is *exactly* the wrong way to use keys.

If you're the 'technical' sort of Linux user, be sure to check it out.

3966

Living Room / Re: Show us a picture of your.. CAR!!!

« Last post by 40hz on February 28, 2013, 12:16 PM »

We own a dark blue Ford Focus. Seems reliable, and it's comfortable to drive.

No need to post a picture. Just drive around for 5 minutes and you'll see two or three just like ours.

3967

Living Room / Re: Why a one-room West Virginia library runs a $20,000 Cisco router.

« Last post by 40hz on February 28, 2013, 11:59 AM »

@Wraith - Sorry for the grumble. It wasn't directed at you. Truth is, you talk to most people about this and we're all mostly on the same page.

It's only the news media and the politicos that can't seem to get - or even hear - what the rest of us are saying.

Drives me crazy at times... (the forum needs a "screaming" emoticon btw. <*grin*> doesn't quite cover it.)

3968

Living Room / Re: Why a one-room West Virginia library runs a $20,000 Cisco router.

« Last post by 40hz on February 28, 2013, 11:19 AM »

I have little patience with the emotionally loaded and frequently manipulative expression: "fair share." Especially when it comes to setting government policies.

I think it might be more constructive if people would focus more on what a responsible level of personal tax contribution should be.

There's far too much emphasis on "human needs" (which are by their very nature boundless) and far too little discussion of personal responsibility and governmental stewardship and accountability as relates to those needs.

Just my

3969

Living Room / Re: WebKit rules!

« Last post by 40hz on February 28, 2013, 11:09 AM »

Ca'n't help but wonder...is it really so much that WebKit rules...or more that Opera succumbs?

-40hz (February 28, 2013, 10:11 AM)

Webkit and Opera are in a BDSM relationship?! 

-TaoPhoenix (February 28, 2013, 11:06 AM)

Only if you're the sort who thinks 'succumbing' is the same thing as 'submitting.'

3970

Living Room / Re: WebKit rules!

« Last post by 40hz on February 28, 2013, 10:11 AM »

Ca'n't help but wonder...is it really so much that WebKit rules...or more that Opera succumbs?

3971

Living Room / Re: Cute jokes' thread

« Last post by 40hz on February 27, 2013, 07:16 PM »

One of my (female) clients sent me this link:

3972

Living Room / Re: WebKit rules!

« Last post by 40hz on February 27, 2013, 07:06 PM »

Seriously...what the absolute fuck is going on recently, and how in the name of all that is holy, do these "Editors" get fucking jobs?!

-Stephen66515 (February 27, 2013, 06:52 PM)

I understand they find them "on the internet." 

3973

General Software Discussion / Re: New cross-platform Vector app [looking for your support]

« Last post by 40hz on February 27, 2013, 06:57 PM »

^I keep thinking that developing an app such as that would be challenging enough without also attempting to pull it off via an experimental approach to coding it...

But who knows? Maybe it is possible to pull off two minor miracles simultaneously.

And yeah, cloud/web/SaaS/'subscription model' is all the rage in tech investment circles. And probably will remain so until the day some super-popular online/cloud product does a major crash and burn on its users. But until that happens, web is where it's at.

And I'm sure you're correct. "Web-based" probably was the only thing they could say that would entice an angel to roost on their rooftop.

3974

Living Room / Re: Bizarre old-school spyware attacks governments, sports Mark of the Beast

« Last post by 40hz on February 27, 2013, 06:46 PM »

After reading it twice I've come to the conclusion I either know far less about how this sort of thing works than I think I do (always a possibility) - or - (also a distinct possibility) that there's considerably less in the article than meets the eye.

Right now I'm coming down more on the side of the second possibility. Grammatical errors aside, there are a few claims being made, and 'explanations' advanced, that are...um...dubious...at best. Which is surprising since ArsTechnica usually vets their articles better than that.
 

3975

Living Room / Re: Why a one-room West Virginia library runs a $20,000 Cisco router.

« Last post by 40hz on February 27, 2013, 09:03 AM »

^I regularly see that sort of thing here with our own municipal governments.

That's the main reason why I don't respond to RFPs from government (or non-profits) any more. Too many "cozy arrangements" and "unvoiced understandings" lurking inside the process. Most times, the preferred vendor has already been selected. The RFP 'cattle call' is only to secure the requisite number of "additional competitive bids" (as required by law) before awarding the contract to the party they originally intended to hand it to.