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Recent Posts

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726
Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]
« Last post by 40hz on December 28, 2014, 05:45 PM »
The Comma Sutra:
 (see attachment in previous post)


Enough to fall into a coma !

I'm sure the apostrophe feels left out.  But it's his own fault for being so possessive.


To say nothing of being "the crux of the biscuit."  ;)
727
Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]
« Last post by 40hz on December 28, 2014, 12:32 PM »
The Comma Sutra:

1909.jpg

728
General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for Windows Email Server Options
« Last post by 40hz on December 28, 2014, 08:02 AM »
@Shades - thx for that recommendation about MySQL Workbench. I didn't know there was a community version available. "What a treat" is an understatement. Very nice tool! :Thmbsup:
729
Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"
« Last post by 40hz on December 27, 2014, 01:41 PM »
I say this because I'm sure we've both been in situations where someone was throwing their weight around to get something really stupid (like a 3 character password) put in place.

Um, don't tell me.  They wanted to put "God" like in the movie Hackers?



How about Sony keeping a list of important passwords in a file protected with the word "password" if the reports I saw were correct?
730
Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"
« Last post by 40hz on December 27, 2014, 01:25 PM »
I just like to watch shit run up hill on the odd occasion it happens.


out of it.jpg

I don't. I've about reached my limit with all the nonsense. Both in business and IT. Glad I won't be doing this stuff all that much longer. :)
731
General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for Windows Email Server Options
« Last post by 40hz on December 27, 2014, 12:31 PM »
@SJ - That was my experience too.

Glad to see it seems to be the general consensus.  ;)
732
General Software Discussion / Re: And IT Man of the Year 2014 Is...
« Last post by 40hz on December 27, 2014, 10:34 AM »
Mind you, some people (not me, you understand) might say that, given that this is an IT-coder forum, @peter.s could be an acronym for a really smart experimental artificial intelligence proggy that is being developed, but I couldn't possibly comment.

Funny, but that same half-suspicion has crossed my mind on more than one occasion. ;)
733
Living Room / Re: For better security, maybe it's time to abandon e-mail?
« Last post by 40hz on December 27, 2014, 10:30 AM »
One offering that is attempting to shake up the whole team communication/sharing formula is something called Slack. Their security policy is a good first step in the right direction for this sort of endeavor.

Slack isn't the complete solution by any stretch. But I think it is something to look at, think about, and possibly learn and borrow from.

Onward! :Thmbsup:
734
Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"
« Last post by 40hz on December 27, 2014, 09:04 AM »
Then it ain't IT's ass that should be on the line.

Still. Right, wrong, or in-between, the buck stops there.

I say this because I'm sure we've both been in situations where someone was throwing their weight around to get something really stupid (like a 3 character password) put in place.

Been there. And if that's the case, you document what was done, memo it along with your caveats, and copy relevant parties. Doing that saved my butt on at least three occasions in my career. Never leave yourself being the only one without a chair (and at the mercy of a bout of "corporate amnesia") when the music stops.

chairs.jpg

Doesn't look like any of that happened much at Sony though. It mostly looks like they ran a very loose ship when you consider the variety and number of absolutely bonehead things they we allowing to happen. Or possibly simply ignoring when they did. If it were one obscure bug, or some crazy zero-day exploit that cracked them, I'd be much more sympathetic. But these people weren't consistently doing even the basic stuff they teach you in tech school, let alone what seasoned professionals should be aware of - and be doing.

If you ain't part of the solution, you're part of the problem. And in my experience, if you play along without objection, you'll be one of the first they let go when things go sideways. Because like it or not, as IT people, it is our responsibility. And there's just no getting around that.

Or so I think. 8) ;)
735
Living Room / Re: Slur you're going to hate it.
« Last post by 40hz on December 26, 2014, 02:11 PM »
Estimated release isn't until well into 2015, so, don't pop any corn yet. Just have it ready. This could be very entertaining!

Yeah. Especially for the homeland security myrmidons. I'll bet they're just waiting to be let off the leash for this one. ;D

ss.png
736
Living Room / Re: When you make your 100'th Post
« Last post by 40hz on December 26, 2014, 01:29 PM »
We should be so lucky that it was merely aliens... :P

cthulhufailure.sized.jpg
737
Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"
« Last post by 40hz on December 26, 2014, 01:17 PM »
I just noticed in passing this morning on CNN (only caught the tail of it unfortunately) that some fans at the box office were saying it was "our patriotic duty" as Americans to go see The Interview...

Ah! Here's the link.

Interesting that Sony got major theater chains to screen the movie at the same time Sony was intent on streaming it. That's something these chains have always balked at in the past. But this media carnival neatly put theaters in a double-bind. Show the picture - or lose seats to the web stream. And look like wimps as well. (Could this be the shape of things to come for theater chains?)

Looks like Sony is in a very tidy win-win revenue position right now. That may ultimately save a few heads in LA, as long as they're not working in IT. Because those IT guys are toast. And deservedly so IMHO.
738
Living Room / Re: Slur you're going to hate it.
« Last post by 40hz on December 26, 2014, 07:54 AM »
Sounds like Slur is pretty much done before the popcorn stopped popping. And it's very possible the 2 stories are related.

Yes indeed. Sure looks like it's a very good possibility.

I'm guessing law enforcement had already paid a most unpleasant visit to the people behind it.

Even more frightening is that the Slur website is still up. Can you say "honeypot"??? ;)
739
Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"
« Last post by 40hz on December 26, 2014, 07:14 AM »
^I probably should have made myself clearer.

I don't think the entire thing was planned as a publicity stunt for precisely the reasons you've given.

I was talking about what I suspect was an attempt to garner sympathy from the public by pulling the movie from theaters.

Unfortunately for Sony Entertainment, most people thought that was fairly gutless. And it was only when Mr. Obama chided them for "caving" that Sony suddenly saw fit to tell us "it was the theaters" (and not very many as it turned out) whose "concerns" they were attempting to accommodate.

The original announcement they were pulling the movie was what I thought was the publicity stunt. Especially since they had no assurances they could trust that not showing the picture would stop further disclosures. They would have been crazy to think that alone would be enough to make them stop.

And now the mothership from Tokyo is taking a more active role in overseeing their semi-autonomous American subsidiary. Knowing a bit about how Japan conducts business, that seems to indicate a major management decision went wrong, and the big boys saw the need to get directly involved. That's not something they do lightly.

If heads in marketing start to gently roll at Sony Entertainment within 6 months after the dust settles, I'll be firmly convinced this is precisely what went down.
740
Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!
« Last post by 40hz on December 25, 2014, 09:47 PM »
Still Life at the Penguin Cafe. A ballet based on the music of Simon Jeffes and the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Well worth the 38 minutes it takes to watch it all the way through. Hypnotic music that grows on you with repeated listening.



Especially good are the Hog-nosed Skunk Flea's dance to the song Pythagorus's Trousers at the 13:34 mark; and the Brazilian Woolly Monkey dance to the song Music by the Numbers around 26:12

flea.jpg   monkey.jpg
741
Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"
« Last post by 40hz on December 25, 2014, 09:11 PM »
This whole fiasco is looking more like a publicity stunt to me.

It's a distinct possibility.

Because any halfassed intelligent (truly independent) hacking group would have known better than to risk triggering a Streisand effect stampede to the ticket booth.

Possibly. But in a society as closed-off from everything as NK is, there's also a very good chance that the hackers' street savvy comes nowhere close to their computer skills. (Assuming it was an NK-based group that actually pulled this caper off, of course.)
742
Non-Windows Software / Re: Mint 17.1 KDE rc delete trash icon desktop?
« Last post by 40hz on December 25, 2014, 09:03 PM »
^ After that flick wikipedia should have Ewa Aulin's picture for the definition of ingenue.

I agree completely. Lovely creature. And I'm not very big on baby-faces or blonde, so that's saying something coming from me.

I think I saw it at the drive-in myself.  A good way to get in the proper mental frame of reference without being hassled in those days.  ;)

That plus they weren't all that gung-ho to checking your age for that newfangled "Mature Audiences" designation that pre-dated the G/PG/R/X ratings, which preceded the G/PG/PG-13/R/NC-17 ratings we have today. As long as everybody pretty much looked the same age as the driver (or older) - and you weren't too obviously under the influence - they waved you through the gate.

Sometimes the best entertainment was provided by the audience rather than the movie being shown.

Old joke

Employment ad for a drive-in:

Help wanted: Lot Attendant - Part Time. Responsible person needed to go around to parked cars and notify people that picture is over. Pay: $2 per show - plus all you can see.)



The drive-in subculture was an certainly interesting sociological study while it lasted.
743
Non-Windows Software / Re: Mint 17.1 KDE rc delete trash icon desktop?
« Last post by 40hz on December 25, 2014, 10:33 AM »
^The eye candy that seems almost impossible to find is a good copy of Candy.  It was funny at the time it came out.  Not to mention Ringo Starr had a unique technique for masse shots.  :)

Marlon Brando was thin back then.  :)

candy.jpg

Candy? Oh good lord! I went to see that with friends at a drive-in! (Remember those?) One of the most enjoyable pieces of absolute cinematic crap ever made. Right up there with The Magic Christian AFAIC.

I still remember the infamous bubble-bath scene ("Let's do rub-a-dub-dub!") with the police sargent telling his team, who was about to raid their party: "We're going in. Prepare to beat faces to a pulp!" (Hmm...maybe that particular line isn't so funny these days?)

Or the surreal "It's Daddy!" and "walking up the hill with Tibetan prayer flags" ending sequence.

Shades of Tim Leary there! Good ol' Tim:

tl.jpg

Ok Miles. If I can ever score a decent quality (and legal) copy, I'll get one for you too. :Thmbsup:
744
Living Room / Re: Slur you're going to hate it.
« Last post by 40hz on December 25, 2014, 09:48 AM »
So they are using Tor?...That should be...pointless :P

http://pando.com/201...trol-of-his-servers/

Tonight there has been some unusual activity taking place and I have now lost control of all servers under the ISP and my account has been suspended. Having reviewed the last available information of the sensors, the chassis of the servers was opened and an unknown USB device was plugged in only 30-60 seconds before the connection was broken. From experience I know this trend of activity is similar to the protocol of sophisticated law enforcement who carry out a search and seizure of running servers.

Precisely. Unless they plan to implement it using constantly mobile radio "squirt" transmissions, they'll be traced fairly quickly. Especially since there will be global governmental and business cooperation to hunt them down. (Let's remember who built and still controls the backbone and most of the net shall we?) And squirt transmissions aren't practical for large amounts of data anyway.

Even having the servers in a non-cooperative country such as NK won't help. It will just be shut off from the rest of the net if that happens. (Backbone, remember?)

So what's left? ULF radio, like all the best nuclear submarine fleets currently use for attack orders? Hmm...expensive! It needs a significant investment in infrastructure to make it happen on a large scale basis. Unfortunately, ULF radio doesn't provide a lot of bandwidth. So it's also impractical for large amounts of data. Especially when it comes to bandwidth hogs like video, hi-rez photos, or other media files.

Besides, ULF is (for all practical purposes) a one-way street. The small ULF receivers can pretty much stay hidden. But everybody will shortly know where the large transmitter is located. Can you say drone attack? Or cruise missile? Because you'll see global governmental cooperation on a scale undreamt of hitherto. Almost every government has a lot to hide these days. The old saying that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" will never seem truer should all the big players feel threatened simultaneously.

And let's not forget that places like "Gitmo" are still very much in business despite all the recent hand-wringing and public shaming. Next time around, the governments of the world will simply be much more secretive about owning and operating such places. Especially since it doesn't take much in the way of resources to open one up - or staff it.

So yeah...what "secure" and "unblockable" technology are they gonna float this thing one? And how are they gonna handle what will happen once they kick that big hornet's nest.

"Enquiring minds want to know!"  :huh:
745
Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"
« Last post by 40hz on December 25, 2014, 09:09 AM »
Unless I hear it's an unusually well done picture, worth watching for that alone, I probably won't.

The subject matter doesn't really interest me all that much. 8)
746
Non-Windows Software / Re: Mint 17.1 KDE rc delete trash icon desktop?
« Last post by 40hz on December 25, 2014, 08:57 AM »
I guess that's one big reason people try Linux and give up.   :mad:

Or at least give up on KDE for their primary desktop? ;)

:)  I guess it is quirky.  But at least for now I'm in quest of eye candy.

belgravia-sherlock-and-irene-bbc-28103911-624-352.png

Maybe you should consider questing for Lara Pulver instead? There's some quirky eye-candy for you! And you wouldn't even need a computer. ;) ;D
747
Living Room / Re: The Net Is Mightier Than The Sword
« Last post by 40hz on December 25, 2014, 08:38 AM »
Well...there's certainly historic precedent for the 'net' being mightier than the 'sword' in certain situations.

for instance...
ret.png


The only condition for success being that the person wielding the net be both more skilful and agile than the person brandishing the sword. Which is very doable.

FWIW fast, smart, and sneaky trumps big, strong, and fearless 7 times out of 10 from my experience. That seems pretty good odds to me. :Thmbsup:

748
Living Room / Re: Slur you're going to hate it.
« Last post by 40hz on December 25, 2014, 08:14 AM »


I'm hoping for Area 51 leaks!

ALIENS!!! DISCLOSURE!!! :P ;D  :Thmbsup:

LOL! Although it shames me to admit it, I'd very much like to see that too.

But I'd like it even more if weren't exactly "aliens." :P

The real truth about Area-51
tulu.jpg


 ;D
749
Living Room / Re: When you make your 100'th Post
« Last post by 40hz on December 25, 2014, 07:51 AM »
Counter object not initialized, or initialized to zero and failed to increment properly?
750
Living Room / Re: Slur you're going to hate it.
« Last post by 40hz on December 25, 2014, 01:13 AM »
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Period.

If true, this is going to do far more harm than good. Because 90% of the above is flat out irresponsible, harmful and ripe for abuse. And because it allows the opportunity to do it for no reason other than the money, there's no moral high-road it can possibly claim. It seems little more to me than the cyber equivalent of a crackhouse.

If even slightly successful, it will set the stage for the end of the Internet and personal computing as we know it. Because it plays right into government and industry hands. It will provide proof for their talking points about all the criminals and terrorists lurking on every corner of the web. And it will also clearly demonstrate why cryptocurrencies can no longer be tolerated. Because now there's finally a clear and undeniable link between Bitcoin and criminal activities on a large scale. (So long Bitcoin! We barely knew you.)

All it would take is one incident that so little as seriously inconvenienced everybody, and the general public would demand the government DO SOMETHING! And all the government would need to do is let it happen.

And never fear, "the powers that be" will most definitely do something. They've been quietly creating and installing the tools and mechanisms to "take decisive action" for the last twenty years. And they've been impatiently waiting for an excuse to really use them for at least the last ten.

Grab some popcorn? Dream on! I very much doubt it will be very entertaining for very long if things start to roll down that road.
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