Recent Posts

626

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 51

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 22, 2008, 01:26 PM »

#6: I hope there won't be any more TLDs being introduced, I think it's a bad idea, and in reality nothing more than a money-making scheme; if you're a big international company, there's already a lot of TLDs you have to consider registering, in order to avoid squatters.

-f0dder (December 22, 2008, 05:19 AM)

I do agree f0d man, but I have to wonder how long it will be before you can't register a sensible name on a decent TLD (for the very reason you mentioned).

#11: they can't win. As long as the content is playable and doesn't require a super-sekrit hardware device, it will be broken. And even if it required such a device, chances are it would be broken anyway. The media fscktards should learn that DRM only hurts legitimate users and costs them silly-money to implement.

-f0dder (December 22, 2008, 05:19 AM)

I really can't imagine anyone sensible calling that a "victory". In 3 months they'll be right back to square 1, with plenty more discs in the carpper.

14. Vote for the Sexiest Geeks of 2008
obama's a geek simply because he uses a blackberry? Wow. I'm amazed at how 'obama' is a brand, not a human being. Tell Steve Jobs he's just been punked by a blackberry user. Just my opinion.

-zridling (December 22, 2008, 06:55 AM)

ROFL. I can't imagine any way that might've been said better

Ehtyar.

627

Older Newsletters / Re: --> Newsletter for December 21st, 2008 - Codename "Tree Ornaments"

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 22, 2008, 04:06 AM »

Excellent as always fellas

Ehtyar.

628

General Software Discussion / Re: VLC making improvements

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 19, 2008, 09:26 PM »

Oh I missed that, awesome

Ehtyar.

629

General Software Discussion / Re: VLC making improvements

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 19, 2008, 07:35 PM »

A fun new feature...


Ehtyar.

630

Living Room / Tech News Weekly: Edition 51

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 19, 2008, 07:31 PM »

The Weekly Tech News

Hi all. Still no button..*sigh*. As usual, you can find last week's news here.

1. Microsoft Releases Fix for IE

Spoiler

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/17/emergency_microsoft_patch/
Microsoft have released an out-of-band patch this week for IE to close a vulnerability being exploited by up to 10,000 websites.

Microsoft has issued a rare emergency update for its Internet Explorer browser as miscreants stepped up attacks targeting a vulnerability on hundreds of thousands of webpages.

In many cases, the websites distributing the toxic payload are legitimate destinations that have been commandeered, allowing an attacker to snare victims as they surf to online banks, forums, and other trusted sites. There are at least six distinct versions of attack code circulating in the wild, according to researchers at iDefense, a security lab owned by VeriSign.

2. AT&T, T-Mobile Fined For Voice-Mail Security

Spoiler

http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212500153
AT&T and T-Mobile have each paid tens of thousands of dollars in fines for advertising secure voice mail that wasn't actually secure.

AT&T and T-Mobile have paid fines and agreed to stop advertising that their voice-mail systems are safe from hackers.

In a permanent injunction filed in a Los Angeles court Thursday, District Attorney Steve Cooley said the wireless operators were overstating how secure their voice mails are. The settlements are the culmination of year-long investigation that was launched after multiple complaints of unauthorized voice-mail access, including some from celebrities Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.

3. American Express Web Bug Exposes Card Holders

Spoiler

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/16/american_express_website_bug/
Amnericanexpress.com has been vulnerable to a cross-site-scripting explot for more than two weeks, putting card holders at risk of fraud.

A glaring vulnerability on the American Express website has unnecessarily put visitors at risk for more than two weeks and violates industry regulations governing credit card companies, a security researcher says.

Among other things, the cross-site scripting (XSS) error on americanexpress.com allows attackers to steal users' authentication cookies, which are used to validate American Express customers after they enter their login credentials. Depending on how the website is designed, miscreants could use the cookies to access customer account sections, said Russ McRee of the Holistic Security blog.

4. Net Firms Rebuff Filtering Plan

Spoiler

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7779547.stm
An interesting interview from a professional: http://www.banthisurl.com/2008/12/exclusive-white-hat-hacker-tears-apart-flaws-in-aussie-net-filtering-scheme/
Australian ISPs have finally all weighed in on the plan to filter the country's internet. Thankfully, neither Optus nor Telstra will support the plans, though as one might have expected, Optus will support a scaled back version.

Telstra, Australia's largest ISP, has said it will not join trials of the filters and others say they will only back a scaled-down system.

The government wants to filter all net traffic and block access to 10,000 sites deemed to hold illegal content.

The initial trials of the filtering technology were due to take place before Christmas.

5. Wikileaks Posts Secret Bomb-Stopper Report — Did It Go Too Far?

Spoiler

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/12/warlock-wikilea.html
From ArsTechnica: http://arstechnica.com/journals/law.ars/2008/12/18/et-tu-wikileaks
Wikileaks have published the specifications for a mostly-obsolete remote bomb detonation jammer. Many are questioning the validity of their claim that it should be published as a "leak".

In July, 2005, I asked a member of a Baghdad-based military bomb squad about the radio-frequency jammers his team was using to cut off signals to Iraq's remotely detonated explosives. His response:  "I can't even begin to say the first fucking thing about 'em." A few days later, one of those jammers seemed to save me and him from getting blown up. Months after that, David Axe was thrown out of Iraq by the U.S. military, for a blog post which mentioned the Warlock family of jammers.

So I was more than a little surprised, when I saw that Wikileaks had posted a classified report, outlining how the Warlock Red and Warlock Green jammers work with — and interfere with — military communications systems. The report, dated 2004, gives specific information about how the jammers function, their radiated power and which frequencies they stop. That Baghdad bomb tech would've put his fist through a wall, if he saw it out in public.

6. ICANN Plan for New TLDs Comes Under Barrage of Criticism

Spoiler

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081216-icann-plan-for-new-tlds-comes-under-barrage-of-criticism.html
It seems most corporations are not interested in having additional TLDs added to the pool, though one has to wonder how long it will before you can no longer find an acceptable domain name for anything under the current system.

For an organization that describes itself as "a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable." ICANN sure seems willing to make decisions that go against the wishes of the corporations and governments it serves. Yesterday was the last day for anyone to submit comments on the organization's plan to launch 200-800 new domain name extensions next year, yet there's no sign that ICANN has actually paid meaningful attention to the vehemently negative reactions of numerous companies.

Currently, there are just a handful of generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs), including well-known extensions like .com, .net, .org, and .biz. ICANN's new plan would expand the number of potential gTLDs by several orders of magnitude, and would allow for extensions 3-63 characters long. Allowed extensions would include pretty much anything a company might want—Ars Technica, for example, could conceivably register *.ars, *.arstechnica, or *.arstech. ICANN claims that this new system would offer domain name holders vastly improved choices and allow for more diversity in domain names, particularly for non-English-speaking countries. In and of themselves, these are worthy goals, but arbitrarily redefining the meaning of gTLDs seems a poor way to achieve them, particularly when said redefinition wrecks the current system so thoroughly.

7. Facebook Profile Used to Serve Legal Docs in Australian Case

Spoiler

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081216-facebook-profile-used-to-serve-legal-docs-in-australian-case.html
Only in Australia.

'Tis the season to be in debt, fa la la la la, la la la la. If you've missed a few payments, however, you might find yourself being hunted down by debt collectors and lawyers looking to serve you court papers. And now—at least if you live in Australia—your Facebook account is fair game. The Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court has approved the use of Facebook to serve legal documents to a couple who was otherwise inaccessible at their home or by e-mail, although the couple has since disappeared from the social networking site as well.

The unnamed Australian couple had defaulted on their home loan for AUS$100,000 (almost US$67,000), which spurred the bank to seek the services of Canberra-based law firm Meyer Vandenberg. Attorney Mark McCormack was assigned to the case and unsuccessfully attempted to contact the couple several times at their home, and then again via e-mail. With nowhere else to turn, McCormack asked the Australian court to allow him to serve the papers electronically to the couple via Facebook.

8. French Regulators Nix Orange IPhone Exclusivity

Spoiler

http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/12/17/french-regulators-nix-orange-iphone-exclusivity
Finally, a country with some balls (I know, I know, but seriously...).

In many countries, Apple has an exclusive deal with one particular carrier to sell and provide service for the iPhone 3G. However, the Conseil de la concurrence ruled today that any French mobile operator should be allowed to carry the iPhone.

The Conseil de la concurrence, or Competition Council, is France's competition regulator. Its decision comes after a complaint filed by Bouygues Télécom, the number three mobile operator in France. The council has complained of the lack of competition in the mobile communications market before, and says that Apple and Orange's deal further stifles competition.

9. Student Sentenced to 15 Years for YouTube Terror Video

Spoiler

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/12/student-sentenc.html
A 27 year old student has been sentenced to 15 year imprisonment in the United States for posting a video to YouTube detailing how to convert a radio remote control unit into a remote bomb detonator.

An Egyptian engineering student was sentenced in the United States on Thursday to 15 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to uploading a 12-minute video to YouTube that demonstrated how to convert a remote-control toy car into a bomb detonator.

In June, Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 27, pleaded guilty in a Florida federal court to one count of providing material support to terrorists. He was a student at the University of South Florida. South Carolina authorities said they found various bomb-making materials in the vehicle he was driving when he was pulled over last year.

10. ;-) Trademark Claim Makes Us Go :-o and Then >:-[

Spoiler

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081214--trademark-claim-make-us-all--o-and-then.html
A Russian "entrepreneur" has trademarked the winking smilie [;-)].

There are certain things on the Internet that the general public uses with great abandon: acronyms (lol!), txt speak, and emoticons. If you run a business in Russia and you make use of the winky smiley face, however, then you may soon find yourself being asked to pay royalties to Oleg Teterin, an entrepreneur who claims he owns the trademark to the popular emoticon in Russia.

Teterin said in an interview with Russian TV channel NTV this week that Russia's patent agency had granted him the trademark to ;-), and that he wouldn't hesitate to go after companies who have exploited the emoticon without paying up. He noted, according to the BBC, that a license would cost "tens of thousands of dollars," and would be renewed on a yearly basis.

11. Studios (temporarily?) Gain Upper Hand in Blu-ray DRM Battle

Spoiler

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081215-studios-temporarily-gain-upper-hand-in-blu-ray-drm-battle.html
It appears the upgradable nature of the BD+ protection algorithm used on blu-ray disks has finally won the major recording studios some time.

Movie studios and software companies fought to maintain (and crack) the efficacy of Blu-ray's BD+ DRM scheme throughout all of 2008, but the content industry has won a round of its own as the year draws to a close. Thanks to an update in late November, there's a growing list of movies Slysoft's AnyDVD HD product can't yet handle; the software company believes it could take three months or more to recrack the algorithm.

The back-and-forth cracking war officially began last March when Slysoft announced that it had cracked the BD+ algorithm and would include Blu-ray backup support in AnyDVD HD 6.4.0.0. At the time, Slysoft poked fun at the notion that BD+ would remain unbroken for any length of time, and noted that it had been just eight months since Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group had predicted BD+ would remain unbreached for the next decade. The company's hubris may have been premature, as BD+ is putting up something of a fight.

12. Data Mining Still Going Strong Under New Yahoo Privacy Policy

Spoiler

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/12/data-mining-una.html
While Yahoo have announced it will keep individual user information for only 3 months, it doesn't appear to have hampered their data mining efforts.

On Wednesday, Yahoo was hailed as a privacy leader among the major search engines: It said it would retain individual user data for only three months, down from 13 months. Google keeps individualized search data of its users for nine months and Microsoft for 18 months.

Privacy groups point out that the change is a good thing if Yahoo lives up to its word. Perhaps only three months' worth of one's search queries and web clicks could be exposed under a data breach, or handed over to the authorities with a warrant.

But Yahoo isn't giving up anything under the plan: Individual internet web surfers' browsing habits will continue to be analyzed under a microscope in order to target web users with ads for products they are likely to purchase.

14. Vote for the Sexiest Geeks of 2008

Spoiler

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/12/every-geeks-a-l.html
Wired have started a poll for the sexiest geek of 2008. Somehow, it seems the ladies have much less of a choice this year, with the list primarily consisting of women.

Every geek's a little bit sexy, somehow. Maybe it's the glasses, the hot talk about black holes or the Asperger's-like obsession with sci-fi, science or gadgets.

But which nerds really moved the sexy needle in 2008?

Welcome to the fourth annual Wired.com Sexiest Geeks contest. Each year we seed the list with some of the smartest, sexiest and most "wired" men and women on the scene, then throw open the competition to our readers.

15. Trek Creator's Widow Dies Aged 76

Spoiler

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7791210.stm
Discussion thread here: https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=16248
Majel Barrett-Roddenberry has died of leukemia at her home in Los Angeles. May she rest in peace.

Actress Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, has died aged 76.

She died of leukaemia on Thursday at her home in Los Angeles, her family said in a statement.

The actress, who featured in nearly every Star Trek TV show and film, nurtured the legacy of the sci-fi series after her husband died in 1991.

Ehtyar.

631

Living Room / R.I.P. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 19, 2008, 05:57 AM »

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry has died, aged 76, of leukemia at her home in Los Angeles.

Majel was a well know and much beloved fixture in the Star Trek universe. Know best perhaps for her role as the voice of Enterprise Computer in each and every Star Trek series  to date, she also played several characters including The Original Series' Number One and Dr. Christine Chapel. She also featured in many television shows throughout her career.

Affectionately know as the "First Lady of Star Trek", she nurtured and cherished the memory of her late husband through her continued embrace of Star Trek and its fans. She had only recently completed recording her final recording as the Enterprise Computer for next year's Star Trek film. She leaves behind her only son, Eugene, to continue the Roddenberry legacy.

I found this video on YouTube, I thought it worth posting:

http://www.youtube.com/v/fJfkYjrbPS4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1

BBC Story

Ehtyar.

632

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 50

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 18, 2008, 05:38 AM »

Thanks for your continued efforts 

Re: 11 -- folks in East Asia wouldn't want to be 404 anyway:

https://secure.wikim.../en/wiki/Tetraphobia

-ewemoa (December 17, 2008, 08:44 PM)

Haha, your replies are always so amusing/interesting ewemoa, thank you

Ehtyar.

633

Developer's Corner / Re: Old features missing from ollydbg 2.0 release

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 16, 2008, 11:47 PM »

Plug-ins are one of the as-yet-unsupported features. A direct answer to your original question is no.

Ehtyar.

634

Official Announcements / Re: DC-IRLDD Champaign, IL - New Years

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 16, 2008, 07:06 PM »

Ehtyar.

635

Developer's Corner / Re: Old features missing from ollydbg 2.0 release

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 15, 2008, 04:05 PM »

Version 2.0 is in Alpha and incomplete. See here for more info.

Ehtyar.

636

General Software Discussion / Re: VLC making improvements

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 15, 2008, 04:03 PM »

See this thread for more details.

Ehtyar.

637

General Software Discussion / Re: Best App to save whole webpage AND its linked pages?

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 14, 2008, 06:04 PM »

If you'd rather not have to deal with .NET for a wget GUI, try WinWget.

Ehtyar.

638

Living Room / Re: Cyan plans to release MystOnline as open source

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 14, 2008, 04:12 PM »

Sweet story 40hz
It will be interesting to see what kind of license we end up with if they're looking for user contribution. A heavy handed one might see a lot of people alienated.
Any info on what language/dependancies we'll be looking at?

Ehtyar.

639

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 50

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 12, 2008, 08:31 PM »

#2 - Good thing for me WordPad is one of the first things I removed from Windows after a fresh install.

#3 - His name is really "Window"?

#7 - Sony just can't seem to do much right for the past few years. Has anyone heard any stories about when Sony has done something right?

#10 - So how many Google applications/services have graduated beta and made it to official 1.0 status (or above)?

#11 - 404 means clueless? That's not even close to what the 404 message means. I think people who use "404" to say "clueless" are the clueless ones.

-Deozaan (December 12, 2008, 08:18 PM)

#2 Well one would hope you're bright enough to not be opening unfamiliar attachments in your email
#3 Her name is really "Window" yes.
#7 No
#10 This is the first? lol
#11 Perhaps like 500 or 408 would have been more appropriate, but really...how often do you see those?

Ehtyar.

640

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 50

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 12, 2008, 05:55 PM »

LOL, indeed irc can get a bit too abbreviated, though I think it most cases it's just an entire lack of grammar that throws people
#11 I just had to add because...well...(404 = clueless) == ROFL

Ehtyar.

641

Living Room / Tech News Weekly: Edition 50

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 12, 2008, 03:17 PM »

The Weekly Tech News

Hi all. I got a "meh" from Mouse Man this morning when I mentioned the expand all button, so I guess we'll be waiting longer for that But perhaps some tech news will lift your spirits As usual, you can find last week's news here.

1. Microsoft Fixes 28 Flaws; 6 Are Critical

Spoiler

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10119227-83.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/10/ms_patch_tuesday_december/
Microsoft has released its biggest ever patch tuesday update, and includes its new "Exploitability Index" to aid administrators in determining the possibility a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild.

Microsoft on Tuesday released its December 2008 security bulletin. The "critical" bulletins affect Windows GDI, Word, Excel, Internet Explorer and Windows Search. The "important" updates affect SharePoint and Windows Media Components.

Microsoft is including within each bulletin an "exploitability index" to help system administrators prioritize the patches. All Microsoft security patches for both Windows and Office software are available via Microsoft Update.

2. Exploit for Unpatched WordPad, IE Flaws in the Wild

Spoiler

http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2008/12/10/exploit-for-unpatched-wordpad-ie-flaws-in-the-wild
An exploit is wild for a vulnerability not patched this month, in WordPad. The exploit involves opening a specially crafted word document in WordPad. The exploit is currently spread via email, using a .wri extensions for the document so as to be certain it opens in WordPad and not Word itself.

Yesterday Microsoft released patches for some 28 flaws in Windows, IE, and Office, most of them critical, in the largest ever Patch Tuesday update. The company also issued a bulletin for another critical flaw—but this one didn't receive a patch, and there are exploits in the wild. The flaw is in WordPad; specifically, in WordPad's converter for opening Word 97 documents, which can be made to execute arbitrary code when given a suitably crafted file.

This flaw does not affect all versions of Windows. Windows 2000, XP with Service Pack 2, and Windows Server 2003 (all versions) are affected; however, XP with Service Pack 3 (slightly surprisingly), Vista, and Windows Server 2008 are not. Accordingly, XP SP2 users can therefore protect themselves simply by installing the current Service Pack. Users of other affected systems can disable the flawed component (details are contained within Microsoft's bulletin), or just sit tight to see how the company responds. There is no word yet of an out-of-cycle update, so as things stand it looks like this flaw may not be fixed until the next Patch Tuesday, which will be January 13, 2009.

3. Security Chief Window Snyder Leaving Mozilla

Spoiler

http://security.blogs.techtarget.com/2008/12/10/security-chief-window-snyder-leaving-mozilla/
Head of security at Mozilla, Window Snyder, is leaving Mozilla to help establish a new start-up venture.

Window Snyder, the head of security at Mozilla, is leaving the company to help found a start-up venture unrelated to security. Snyder has been at Mozilla for more than two years and has been the driving force behind the company’s effort to make security a top priority in its popular Firefox browser.

 Snyder’s departure is a blow to Mozilla, a small organization that counts on participation from the open-source community for much of its work. Snyder has helped raise the company’s profile in the security community and made transparency about security issues a key initiative. The company currently is working on a  security metrics project with security analyst Rich Mogull of Securosis that is designed to measure the relative security of Firefox in a number of different ways.

4. Computer Scientists Find Audio CAPTCHAs Easy to Crack

Spoiler

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081208-computer-scientists-find-audio-captchas-easy-to-crack.html
Audible CAPTCHAs may be next on the menu for those attemping to automate signing up to online services as they're apparently easier to crack than their well developed image-based cousins.

The Carnegie-Mellon University team behind the reCAPTCHA service is continuing to expand its effort to mix basic security and useful work. CAPTCHAs are the distorted text that helps various online services ensure that the entity opening an account is a human, not a bot bent on using the service to dish out spam. The reCAPTCHA service puts the mental horsepower need to interpret these images to good use, harnessing it to identify text in scanned books where OCR software has failed. Now, the team has turned its attention to the audio CAPTCHAs used by the visually impaired.

Audio CAPTCHAs consist of a string of spoken characters, typically masked and distorted by a form of background noise. To start with, the researchers looked into the security of existing audio CAPTCHAs used by Google and Digg. In a paper that will be presented later this week at the Neural Information Processing Systems Conference, the authors demonstrate that these are relatively easy to crack.

5. More SHA-3 News

Spoiler

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/12/more_sha-3_news.html
NIST has officially brought the SHA-3 competition into its first round, publishing all 51 candidates publicly, excluding those already broken.

NIST has published all 51 first-round candidates. (Presumably the other submissions -- we heard they received 64 -- were rejected because they weren't complete.) You can download the submission package from the NIST page. The SHA-3 Zoo is still the best source for up-to-date cryptanalysis information.

Various people have been trying to benchmark the performance of the candidates, but -- of course -- results depend on what metrics you choose.

6. Koobface Worm Targets MySpace, Other Sites

Spoiler

http://www.darkreading.com/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212400218
Against my better judgment, I'm posting yet another Koobface story. Though this time it appears the newest Koobface variant is attempting to spread to other social networking sites.

The Koobface worm which has plagued the Facebook social networking site during the past week, is now targeting MySpace, Bebo, and other sites as well, security researchers warn.

Researchers at security vendor F-Secure said yesterday in a blog about the Koobface worm that the new infection is designed to spread to other popular social networking sites, including MyYearbook.com, BlackPlanet.com, and Friendster.com.

7. Sony Pays $1M to FTC for Illegally Collecting Data On Kids

Spoiler

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081211-sony-pays-1m-to-ftc-for-illegally-collecting-data-on-kids.html
Sony BMG has copped a $1 million fine, among the biggest ever for a case of this kind, to the US Federal Trade Commission for its violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting information from children under the age of 13 without their parent's consent.

Sony BMG will pay $1 million to the Federal Trade Commission to settle charges that it violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting information on users under the age of 13 without their parents' consent. The FTC says that the civil penalty will match the largest penalty ever paid out in a COPPA case.

The FTC filed a lawsuit against Sony BMG just yesterday in the US District Court in Manhattan. The Commission, suing on behalf of the United States, said that Sony has been operating a number of websites since 2004 in order to promote and advertise its music offerings,. These sites—many of which contain social networking functionality that allow users to create profiles and interact with others—apparently did not restrict users under the age of 13 from registering, despite the fact that the sites claimed that users under 13 would not be able to use the sites.

8. Sun Closes 'future' Pay-per-use Utility Computing Service

Spoiler

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/10/sun_closes_cloud/
Sun has decided to close its computer processing rental service, Network.com, after determining the business model was not as successful as they'd hoped.

Sun Microsystems has killed its once high-profile utility computing experiment, Network.com, which let customers buy computing power by the hour.

The company revealed it's no longer accepting new customers after four years, saying parts of the business and technology model "were not in the sweet spot". The 13 customers and 48 applications using Network.com are will be offered continued service.

9. FSF Sues Cisco

Spoiler

http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/2008-12-cisco-complaint
The FSF has finally run out of patience, and has marked the 5th year of its battles to have CISCO properly comply with the GPL on GNU code it uses, by filing suit.

The FSF has sued Cisco for damages regarding their continued violations of the GPL and LGPL by not distributing source for FSF code in a long list of products:

Defendant distributed Plaintiff’s Programs in this manner in the Firmware for Linksys’ models EFG120, EFG250, NAS200, SPA400, WAG300N, WAP4400N, WIP300, WMA11B, WRT54GL, WRV200, WRV54G, and WVC54GC, and in the program Quick-VPN.

10. Google Chrome Out of Beta, Official 1.0 Release Available

Spoiler

http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/12/chrome-10.html
Google has brought Chrome out of BETA with an official v1.0 release. Don't suppose that means they'll stop exploiting it to datamine users?

Google has officially released a 1.0 version of its Chrome web browser, dropping the beta status after a mere one hundred days. It might seem an astounding move for a company best known for keeping projects in an indefinite beta status (Gmail is going on five years as a beta), but Google Chrome isn't just another web app, it's desktop software and to compete with Internet Explorer, Chrome needs to be 1.0.

Unfortunately for Chrome fans there isn't much new in the 1.0 release (nor is there any news on the much-anticipated Mac and Linux versions). Google has been fixing bugs and adding some small new features as the beta progressed — like much improved privacy controls. However, Chrome still lacks some basic web browser features such as reliable RSS detection and form auto-filling tools.

11. Don't Be 404, Know the Tech Slang

Spoiler

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7775013.stm
And now for this weeks odd article. Apparently, the tech industries penchant for acronyms and numeric error codes has translated in verbal and written slang.

A study of new slang terms entering English finds that technology is driving and perpetuating them.

For instance, "404" - the error message given when a browser cannot find a webpage - has come to mean "clueless".

Ehtyar.

642

Living Room / Re: Look what Santa brought us!

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 11, 2008, 04:28 PM »

OMFG, the whole way to work.."there was a farmer had a dog and bingo was his name-o..DAMNIT" <repeat>

** Ehtyar slaughters p3lb0x

Ehtyar.

643

Living Room / Re: Why Vista's DRM Is Bad For You and other jewels by Bruce Schneier

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 08, 2008, 11:07 PM »

You'd be negatively effected if the RIAA were ever to take you to court for circumventing their DRM with AnyDVD. And if you weren't breaking the law as you are by using AnyDVD, you'd be negatively effected by being subjected to their commercials on a product you already paid for *ahem*.

Ehtyar.

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Living Room / Re: Why Vista's DRM Is Bad For You and other jewels by Bruce Schneier

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 08, 2008, 05:48 PM »

Here it is hosted by a service not run by a bunch of tools.
I saved the hi-def version as I expected this to happen, if anyone wants it let me know and I'll upload it when I get home tonight.

Ehtyar.

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Living Room / Re: Why Vista's DRM Is Bad For You and other jewels by Bruce Schneier

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 08, 2008, 05:34 PM »

Did you mean 'something' other than the fact you're probably in violation of US law by doing so?

-40hz (December 08, 2008, 03:43 PM)

I thought we were discussing the limitations placed on playback of hidef audio/video use with "unsafe" hardware. Having re-read the thread, I see that is not the case, my bad.
Josh I find it odd that after all that's been said in this thread you're now admitting you strip the copy protection from DVDs. It seems you're in support of a system you feel you shouldn't be subject to.

Ehtyar.

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Living Room / Re: Why Vista's DRM Is Bad For You and other jewels by Bruce Schneier

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 08, 2008, 01:58 PM »

Actually, I forgot to credit Scan Man for that vid, thanks scancode

Ehtyar.

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Living Room / Re: Why Vista's DRM Is Bad For You and other jewels by Bruce Schneier

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 08, 2008, 01:21 PM »

Ehtyar: I own my physical disc, I own the case it came in. I do not own the movie. The movie is licensed out, as has always been the case. The company places measures on the disc to ensure I do not attmept to rip and distribute it. In the society where a good majority of teenagers who are internet saavy feel that all media should be free, what is the industry to do? With the internet age comes a new method of pirating materials in a manner far easier than ever before. Now, I am not saying I do not pirate, but I have calmed down almost 300 fold compared to my earlier days because now, I can afford to purchase what I want. The companies have every right to protect THEIR property which is being licensed to us for private home viewing, not distribution by means other than what they wish.

Microsoft hasn't gone to the same extent? What is product activation, WGA, and the other methods microsoft is employing to protect it's products? It started with Windows 3.11 where you had to have a code to install it (Or was it Windows NT 4), granted you could use the famous ALL 1 code, but still they attempted to protect their software by requiring a key to install. And now they have inspired many major software companies to do the same.

-Josh (December 08, 2008, 05:36 AM)

You also own your PC, which now thanks to MS and their OEMs, the movie studios control should you play one of their movies. How is everyone missing this part?
Microsoft's product activation applies only to their software, not to any third parties, as the DRM does exclusively.

I remember there was a thread about SuperBoyAC (iirc) not being being able to playback a DRM-protected movie he bought. Multiple DRM vendors have taken down DRM license servers in the past, leaving consumers with unplayable media files. DRM-protected files only work on media players that support DRM, and not all of them do. There used to be a lot of trouble finding a working mix of high-definition playback devices and HDTVs that would actually work, causing many people to curse HDCP (dunno if the issue is largely resolved now, though).

And at the same time, every single content-protection mechanism either has been broken or will be broken. Only the legitimate customers are hurt by this insane crippling shit, whereas the pirates just laugh and enjoy hassle-free media, games and programs.

-f0dder (December 08, 2008, 06:38 AM)

Well said as usual f0d man.
http://au.youtube.co.../watch?v=j-uulRB1OmY

Ehtyar.

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Living Room / Re: Why Vista's DRM Is Bad For You and other jewels by Bruce Schneier

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 08, 2008, 05:10 AM »

This kind of apathy is how Hollywood gained control of our computer systems in the first place. The less consumers care that they no longer control their own property, the less they will retain control.
Those of you suggesting that DRM is there for the purpose of protecting the content owned by the major movie studios perhaps ought to consider why Microsoft has not gone to the same extent to prevent software piracy.

Ehtyar.

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Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 49

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 06, 2008, 01:40 AM »

LOL @ f0dder, morons ++ indeed.

Ehtyar.

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Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 49

« Last post by Ehtyar on December 05, 2008, 06:33 PM »

Thanks guys

the Australian situation continues to entertain - I get a "Bad Request" though from the link ..

-tomos (December 05, 2008, 06:17 PM)

Sorry, my bad. Pasted the link twice by accident.
Indeed the Aussie internet filter story is somewhat of a running joke. However as an Aussie myself, I am somewhat concerned both my the fact the idea has even been tabled, and by the fact that the Aussie gov't seems to think it's possible. The thought of DPI on country-wide internet is horrifying.

Ehtyar.