Recent Posts

6576

General Software Discussion / Re: AdBlock Plus To Not Block All Ads

« Last post by 40hz on December 12, 2011, 07:23 PM »

Wonder what "inducement" (or threat) was offered to the creators of AdBlock to "fix" how their product operated? Because I strongly doubt this decision was made purely after a philisophical discussion around the company cracker-barrel. The somewhat defensive tone in the announcement leads me to believe AdBlock is getting something in return for  making this change.

It's an annoying change in policy even though I permit ads from most sites I visit regulary for exactly the justifications given. But that's *MY* choice, and not one made for me by AdBlock.

In the last few months I've made a conscious effort to spend far less time on the web than I previously have. Mainly because I'm getting so sick of the commercialism (and juvenile crassness) I'm starting to see creeping in everywhere.

Maybe I'll just need to cut back a bit more going forward. 

6577

Official Announcements / Re: Cody got into the electrical cables again .. Server went down on 12/8/11

« Last post by 40hz on December 12, 2011, 04:37 PM »

the vmware virtual machine running donationcoder.com; we could see the cpu load go off the chart right as it started performing backups and it just never came down on its own and we couldn't get into the vmware console for it.  very strange.

-mouser (December 12, 2011, 04:15 PM)

Agree. Didn't know that could happen. I always thought the hypervisor monitored the heartbeat and would just auto restart the VM if it detected a lockup.

Hmm... learn something new every day.  

6578

Official Announcements / Re: Cody got into the electrical cables again .. Server went down on 12/8/11

« Last post by 40hz on December 12, 2011, 04:13 PM »

Was that a virtual machine, or the hardware server itself that a maxed out?

6579

General Software Discussion / Re: PC World: Free Downloads That Are Worth a Donation, Part 2 (Recommends a DC app)

« Last post by 40hz on December 12, 2011, 12:23 PM »

Congratulations Mouser!

Screenshot Captor on the same page with WriteMonkey too? That puts you in *very* good company as far as I'm concerned.

6580

Living Room / Re: NBA vetoes a trade: exposes the protection in place for large corporations

« Last post by 40hz on December 11, 2011, 02:11 AM »

All animals are equal, except that some animals are more equal than others...

-Renegade (December 11, 2011, 12:05 AM)

Pretty much.

Like I said, when it comes to 'voluntary' associations and leagues, the rules are what you agreed to when you joined. As long as there's not a violation of public safety laws, you can get away with just about anything in the US. Same goes for closed-shop labor unions, fraternal organizations, churches and so-called 'faith-based' organizations, etc.

Not to say those rules will hold up in court. But judges usually cut private associations a lot of slack when it comes to that. And most associations have some broad "for the good of the league" clause that allows for discretionary actions.

I think, in the end, this will be a tempest in a teacup and end with the team owners and players getting their way.

6581

Living Room / Re: NBA vetoes a trade: exposes the protection in place for large corporations

« Last post by 40hz on December 10, 2011, 07:01 PM »

Despite being businesses, professional sports are still considered "private associations" which is why they're also sometimes referred to as "sports clubs."

The rules and laws governing such associations have a few quirks and wrinkles in them that don't make them work quite the same way as what would be considered a simple business.

6582

Living Room / Re: Beyond Gamification. Designing up Maslow’s Pyramid.

« Last post by 40hz on December 10, 2011, 12:55 PM »

Just wanted to drop by and say how glad I am you two found each other. 

I doubt you'd find many other DC members with the focus, love of definition, and gluteal stamina to get into a topic like the two of you sometimes do.

I think the DC forum is a more interesting read because of it. Trot on!

6583

Living Room / Re: The plot thickens - iPhone and iPad sales banned in Europe ...

« Last post by 40hz on December 10, 2011, 12:30 PM »

It ain't over yet. Let's join f0dder and bring plenty of popcorn (pretzels for 40hz!) and beer. This is gonna be a long one, I'm sure.

On second thought, let's do a kegger and have some barbeque while we're at it. Don't forget to throw on some pineapple/veggie kebabs for Mouser!

Two disturbing articles spotted courtesy of OS News.

This one describes how Apple has recently gotten into bed with a heavily funded patent troll: Link here.

Apple Made a Deal with the Devil (No, Worse: A Patent Troll)
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 10th Dec 2011 10:09 UTC, submitted by Valhalla

Apple Just when I thought the company I once admired greatly couldn't sink any lower. "Over the last two years, Apple has been engaged in vicious legal battles over smartphone patents, many of which are aimed at squelching (or squeezing money out of) manufacturers of devices running Android. And now, for some reason, it has given valuable patents to a patent troll - which is using them to sue many of the top technology companies in the world."

Link to referenced article here.

The next article details how Apple has continued to use abusive patent filings and litigation practices to impede the creation of open standards. Link here.

Apple Using Patents to Undermine Open Standards Again
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 9th Dec 2011 23:10 UTC

Think companies only use patents to block competition? Heck no, they apparently also use them to hinder the w3c standards process. As Opera's Haavard details, Apple is yet again using patents (or even just patent applications) to hinder or block the development of open standards. Sickening.

Link to referenced article (very good read btw) here.

On a more positive note, is this article which discusses the issue of "obviousness" as it relates to Apple's iPad. This article is probably one of the most interesting I've seen in quite some time. Hopefully, a judge with a brain (along with the appeals court that Apple will file with if sanity and common sense prevails) will read and digest this article along with the links found within. A must read for Apple friend and foe alike.

The CrunchPad is Proof the iPad was Obvious
posted by Thom Holwerda on Fri 9th Dec 2011 23:41 UTC


The CrunchPad (and its eventual consumer incarnation the JooJoo) is often presented as prof of obviousness in the iPad's design. For the first time, we have an interesting insider view on this matter - Nik Cubrilovic was involved with Micheal Arrington's CrunchPad project from the very beginning, and has written a lengthy blog post about how the CrunchPad really is proof the iPad's design was obvious.

Most of the time, arguments surrounding prior art and obviousness come from lawyers and their drummed up experts in court cases. It's also pretty common for us regular folk to discuss these matters. What isn't common, however, is to have someone who actually worked on a product that makes up prior art and/or proof of obviousness in important and possibly far-reaching legal cases provide his or her view.

Nik Cubrilovic worked on the CrunchPad project (he even built prototypes), and thus, can offer interesting insights into this matter. "[The CrunchPad] was an attempt to build a cheap tablet computer and we started the project a full two years before the iPad was announced. Apple is attempting to patent protect features of a design that we had published years before the iPad was announced. Our own designs were inspired by previous tablet designs, and minimalism in a tablet wasn't first seen with Apple and the iPad," he details, "We had no idea about the iPad, nor the patents, and I would consider us to be ordinary observers, and the design we came up with is exactly like what iPad became."

 

6584

Living Room / Re: Amazon Signs Up Authors, Writing Publishers Out of Deal

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 04:15 PM »

@SB - not caring (in this context) is the wisest strategy.  

A female friend of mine had a good take on most celebrity 'news.' She said she found anybody's sex life (other than her own) to be, quite frankly, boring.

How true!

6585

Living Room / Re: nice personal message just received from a new friend

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 02:34 PM »

Where there's a will - there are relatives.

----

Wow! 12.5M...

That's better than the best offer I got in my inbox this week. Seems some charming young Russian woman (here on student visa) saw me from afar at a recent (unnamed) gathering we both attended(?) - and has been frantically trying to get in touch with me ever since. Because I'm "everything ever dreamed of meeting."

Sent a picture along too. Nice dress. Very pretty legs! (Even my GF thought so.)

Hmm...why does a crack at that $12.5M somehow seem more believable than the above offer?  

6586

General Software Discussion / Re: Microsoft goes all Apple with a Kill Switch for Apps under Win8

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 12:57 PM »

Dumb question - so it's not possible to create metro app and distribute via your own website ?

-mahesh2k (December 09, 2011, 12:32 PM)

No.

As things presently stand, Microsoft's Metro Store will be the only place to purchase, and the only way to install, Metro based apps.

Just like Apple's iPhone/iPad. No independent sell/installs allowed.

6587

Living Room / Re: What were these architects thinking?

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 12:09 PM »

Too bad for the americans that have too much trauma to appreciate the building.

-f0dder (December 09, 2011, 12:02 PM)

More like too bad for those of us who get a queasy feeling seeing all those tons of cantilevered concrete and steel hanging something like 28 stories above a city sidewalk.

Please tell me they don't get earthquakes in Seoul!
 

6588

Living Room / Re: Can't buy a mobile hotspot in a store. Need to go through carrier. Stupid.

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 12:03 PM »

Not so much stupid as it is predictable, I'm afraid.

-40hz (December 09, 2011, 07:36 AM)

Ah, 40hz! Ever the optimist~!

(Not that I can point fingers or anything!)

-Renegade (December 09, 2011, 07:49 AM)

I ain't cynical. I'm just 'experienced.'

6589

Living Room / Re: Amazon Signs Up Authors, Writing Publishers Out of Deal

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 11:59 AM »

@40hz:[/b] That comment of mine was deliberately and completely tongue-in-cheek.
*
*
*

-IainB (December 09, 2011, 10:58 AM)

@IanB -

a) So was my reply. I though I was being deliberately over the top. Sorry if it didn't come across that way.

b) re: Red Whale - I like it. I may use it on occasion if you don't mind. Attribution will, of course, be made.

c) re: Angelina Jolie - on the contrary, speaking to other women, I've discovered many of them quite frankly admire her attitude, good works, personal appearance, unapologetic sensuality, and general "Take me as I am or sod off" approach to life. And, based on some very candid interviews I've read, she comes across as being more the product of her own conscious making than a woman manipulated. Or at least she is now that she's gained a little more maturity.

FWIW, I have no problem with any woman who wants to play the siren, the earth-mother, or the virginal queen for that matter. Women are humans, just like their male counterparts. And like all humans, they too choose which roles to play as a part of living in human society. Far be it from me to impose my personal notions of sensuality - or propriety - upon them. And far be it from me to also make excuses or apologies for whatever choices they make. I have far too much respect for women, as a whole, to do that.
 

6590

General Software Discussion / Re: New PortableApps

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 11:41 AM »

Very cool! But I'm a little leery they're now getting into that whole "app store" thing everybody's doing.

Hope they don't get stupid about once when they do.

6591

General Software Discussion / Re: Microsoft goes all Apple with a Kill Switch for Apps under Win8

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 11:37 AM »

And I don't get the Windows 8 hate...sure it's there.  But no one has still responded to the fact that it's optional.  The kill switch only exists for apps that have been purchased from the marketplace, and other apps can still be installed.

-wraith808 (December 09, 2011, 10:04 AM)

Read up on how Metro, Metro Apps, and the Microsoft store will be implemented under Win 8 and you'll better understand. It's a move toward a walled garden virtually identical to what Apple is presently doing - or plans on doing.

It's also only optional as long as Microsoft continues to support the "classic desktop" - which as of now seems to exist in a completely different space from Metro. It's one or the other - with no direct link underneath it all. Furthermore, Microsoft has indicated that the classic desktop will eventually be phased out, leaving Metro as the only option down the road.

Add in the weaselly way they're looking to capture and lock in hardware via UEFI without specifically requiring it from hardware vendors (and thereby risking the wrath of antitrust regulators) and you'll see a lot to be concerned about.


Seriously, this truly blows. And big time!

If Microsoft, Apple, the media industry, and it's trained lapdog (otherwise known as your wise and benevolent government) has their way April's prediction will become a reality - and everything all of us worked for will get thrown out the window so that the bastard idiot stepchild* of television can replace the personal computer as the default (and possibly only) personal 'computing' platform.




---------
* Lapdog? Bastard idiot stepchild? Wow! Am I starting to sound like Renegade or what?

6592

General Software Discussion / Re: Microsoft goes all Apple with a Kill Switch for Apps under Win8

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 11:20 AM »

What apps?  I've never had an app disappear from my phone.

-wraith808 (December 09, 2011, 10:04 AM)

I know this is going to sound like a cop out, but I can't remember the exact app names since this happened a few years back. Both apps were wireless network utilities that allowed for some very in-depth network probing. I recall there were words about about some of how they worked suddenly being in violation of Apple's murky policies regarding "acceptable" use. I've since replaced them with something called Scany (HappyMagenta.com) which does many - but not all of the things those other two utilities did.

Just to be sure I wasn't imagining this, I asked a fellow tech (who also uses an iPhone, and most of the same apps I do) if he recalled the names of the apps I was talking about. He didn't. But he did say (without prompting from me) "Do you mean the ones that they pulled off our phones?" So I guess it's not a total hallucination on my part.

Note. They also pulled a fast one on users with an upgrade made to the Stanza ebook reader some time ago. TechCrunch covered it when it happened:

Last night, I was prompted to update the app to a new version (2.1), and as usual I checked what the changes were. The accompanying message was pretty brief: ‘Removed the ability to share books via USB’.

I thought it was an odd update but didn’t think much about it, and since I didn’t actually use that feature simply downloaded and installed the new version.

Just for your reference: the feature enabled users to transfer books in the ePub or eReader format to their mobile devices using a USB cable.

This morning, we got some tips from people who were angry or surprised about Lexcycle removing the USB sharing feature from the Stanza app. I looked up the app in the iTunes Store and saw that the update notice now read ‘Removed the ability to share books via USB as required by Apple’. A glance at the forums on the Lexcycle website revealed that users were quite upset about the removal of the app, with only some suggesting that Apple may have had something to do with it and offering explanations why they would have demanded it.

I asked Lexcycle if and why Apple had requested the removal of the feature from the iPhone app via e-mail and swiftly received a short response, saying that Apple had indeed demanded that Lexcycle remove the feature from Stanza. I requested more information but was subsequently told by Lexcycle was strictly ‘forbidden from discussing the specifics of our conversations with Apple on this matter’.

And while it's true you didn't need to immediately do the upgrade (and lose the direct USB feature) that version of Stanza eventually stopped working if you didn't

There's more in the TechCrunch article if anybody wants to read the rest of it.

I take comfort in the certainty this iPhone will be the last time I every buy an Apple product.

6593

Living Room / Re: Can't buy a mobile hotspot in a store. Need to go through carrier. Stupid.

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 07:36 AM »

Not so much stupid as it is predictable, I'm afraid.

6594

Living Room / Re: Huh? Thailand can put an American in jail for posting internet content??

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 07:32 AM »

Presumably where he might have been when he infringed the law was irrelevant to the Thai authorities, so that when he stepped into their territory, he was now in their jurisdiction and they took advantage of that fact and simply nabbed him at that point.

That would presumably make sense to the Thai authorities, though you might not like it.

-IainB (December 09, 2011, 05:10 AM)

One small step from that to making a justification for rendition and allowing extraterritorial enforcement of local laws  - as the United States has unilaterally declared for certain offenses.

Not a good idea. It was the same reasoning that led Norwegian police to arrest DeCSS developer Jon Johansen at the behest of U.S. authorities acting on a complaint from the MPAA that the simple act of creating DeCSS violated US law and was a criminal offense.

So why feel the need to bend over backwards to accommodate Thailand's paranoia and self-righteousness? If a western country were to do the same - say arresting an French blogger for criticizing the British Royal Family or the Swedish King - the denunciations would be immediate - and global.

6595

General Software Discussion / Re: Microsoft goes all Apple with a Kill Switch for Apps under Win8

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 07:02 AM »

You could almost (but not quite) make an argument for having the capability of remotely killing an app.

But user data is the property of the user. There is ZERO justification for nuking somebody's data.

That jive move is definitely something motivated by SOPA considerations I'm sure.

Apple has pulled many apps from their store after the fact - as for wiping, not sure...

-Renegade (December 09, 2011, 06:10 AM)

I've had apps disappear off my iPhone after they've been pulled from Apple's store.

I wasn't asked. They just quietly disappeared. When I went to reload them I found they were no longer available from the AppStore.

When I complained to Apple, they merely pointed me to the section in their license, and in my service agreement, that reserves their right to do so. I was also reminded I given them my tacit "consent" to do this as a condition of my using Apple's phone and app store, and AT&T's wireless service.

I will never buy another product  from Apple. 

6596

Living Room / Re: Amazon Signs Up Authors, Writing Publishers Out of Deal

« Last post by 40hz on December 09, 2011, 06:57 AM »

Personally, I would blame @40hz and @Carol Haynes for any confusion. They are repeat offenders and keep digressing all the time and throwing red whales into the discussions, and they often have spelling mistakes in what they rite.

-IainB (December 09, 2011, 01:22 AM)

I think that's the difference between attempting to have an intelligent discussion with someone - and starting a debate.  

I'm frequently interested in discussing something. I seldom have the patience to enter into a debate.

Debates are so...competitive, don't you think? (As you may have surmised, I'm not the competitive type.   )

As for the digressions...well, that's how my mind works. I'll start by focusing, then free associate, then weave whatever insights I've obtained back into the context if I find they have merit. It's a subset of the practice commonly referred to as "brainstorming." Or a manifestation of me attempting to "think outside the box" if you will. It's practice which I've found generates useful and surprising results more often than not.

Spelling errors...ah yes...spelling errors! Guilty as charged, although I can't claim full credit on that score. I'm ably assisted by the incredible (in the truest sense of the word) spellchecker on my iPhone. In addition to guessing wrong 7 times out of 10, it has an odd tendency to 'correct' things after I tell it to leave well enough alone. Why it can do that while missing glaringly obvious spelling errors is anybody's guess. (I personally suspect the chip inside the iPhone isn't a chip at all but rather some Frankenstein-ish Area-51 technology that uses brain sections taken from feral cats!)

Regarding the "red whales" (interesting phrase...is that you own coinage?), I'm not quite sure what you mean beyond the inference that a remarkably large 'red herring' gets tossed into the discussion from time to time. If so, I disagree on that point. At least insofar as my understanding of the term 'red herring' goes. Red herrings are an attempt at diversion. Which is not at all the same thing as a digression. Diversion finds its uses in argument and debate. Digression's fair countenance is more to be seen in discussions. But I digress...

Um...have I mentioned yet how I'm not into debates?  

 

6597

Living Room / Re: What were these architects thinking?

« Last post by 40hz on December 08, 2011, 06:19 PM »

They really need to start taking LEGO blocks away from some people a lot sooner.

6598

Living Room / Re: LHC Researchers Expect First Glimpse of the Higgs Boson Next Week

« Last post by 40hz on December 08, 2011, 06:15 PM »

Awesome! Finally something really interesting and newsworthy to look forward to. Thx Josh!

6599

Living Room / Re: Huh? Thailand can put an American in jail for posting internet content??

« Last post by 40hz on December 08, 2011, 06:07 PM »

The point I was making is that it is difficult for Americans to take the high moral ground against other countries when the US Government often seems to display little respect for law (international or otherwise) or human rights.

-Carol Haynes (December 08, 2011, 05:54 PM)

On this point I think you'll find across the board agreement over here.

Right now there's a crushing sense of having fallen from on high with what's happened during the last decade. There's a definite moral crisis virtually all of us feel.

Hopefully we'll see our way through it, learn from our mistakes, deal with the embarrassment and self-reproach, and eventually get back to what we're supposed to be about.

And maybe somewhere down the road, through our new actions, we'll find cause to forgive ourselves - and be forgiven.
 

6600

Living Room / Re: Huh? Thailand can put an American in jail for posting internet content??

« Last post by 40hz on December 08, 2011, 05:45 PM »

Also don't forget the US government were pretty hot on extraordinary rendition not so long ago - which is illegal even in the US -but has anyone actually been prosecuted for those offences?

-Carol Haynes (December 08, 2011, 03:53 PM)

@Carol - Minor point: On this, I think you're equating the ideology and actions of one (arguably rogue) administration with the attitudes and beliefs of the rest of the government and the people of the United States.

Extraordinary rendition (i.e. kidnapping), experimental interrogation techniques (i.e. physical and psychological torture), and extralegal detention (i.e. Camp X-Ray @ Guantanamo Bay) do not sit well with the vast majority of Americans, or members of its government, virtually all of whom clearly recognise such things for the dangers they pose to the rule of law and human rights.

The vast majority of the people of the United States are not behind, or supportive in any way, of the excesses of the Bush-Cheney administration. Which is why that same administration went to such great lengths to hide these things from the American public - and to engage in a deliberate campaign of legal chicanery, misdirection, and obfuscation once they did became public knowledge.

 

Point two: Has anybody been prosecuted? No. And they probably never will be.

Governments generally don't turn on their own - no matter how egregious the offences committed. That's why most war and government criminals escape punishment unless an outside tribunal (Nuremberg, the ICC, et al) somehow manages to prosecute. And usually over the objections of one or more countries.

That's because many countries, including the so-called civilised law-abiding western democracies, have all been guilty of similar offences at one time or another. And realise the wisdom to be found in the biblical admonition: Judge not lest you be judged.

I think the best we can ever hope for is that an abuse or injustice, done with the authority and consent of a government, simply be stopped. Beyond that, I'm not too hopeful - either that it doesn't happen again - or that those responsible be brought to book. There's not sufficient commitment or will within the law to go after everyone who's guilty. And the general public tends to quickly tire of the spectacle after 'first blood' is obtained.

Sad really. But that's the way it always seems to go.