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9476

Living Room / Re: Nokia CEO admits that the cell phone industry is a gimmick.

« Last post by Renegade on September 23, 2010, 07:06 PM »

It would be very nice to see total decoupling, as THAT would make the market truly competitive. i.e. Decouple everything so you buy 3 things:

• Phone - the device
• OS - e.g. Android, Windows Mobile
• Service - i.e. the carrier

-Renegade (September 22, 2010, 02:31 AM)

Hell yeah!

-superboyac (September 22, 2010, 08:47 AM)

Just imagine the complexity !  A user should install the specific drivers for a given hardware, then configure it to match its plan.

I once bought a Nokia, the one that could be unfolded so as to propose a big qwerty keyboard. It was not on my Carrier catalog.  It was a living hell to configure it.

-MerleOne (September 22, 2010, 09:05 AM)

I don't think it would be that complicated. Vendors would jump on the opportunity to roll out packages of pre-configured devices that meet your requirements. I don't think you'd have to lift a finger.

The Dell site is a good example. You pick a computer, then customize it. I think it would end up being about the same. Sure, you could still buy software and hardware off the shelf then do it all yourself, but most people wouldn't. They'd want simple packages that met their needs and allowed them to interoperate with people easier.

9477

Living Room / Re: now we have nettops... but portable monitors?

« Last post by Renegade on September 23, 2010, 07:02 PM »

I bought a domain name for my display dream: displayper.com. Displays that are thin like paper and that you can roll up to take with you.

9478

Living Room / Re: Flash Tower Defense Game of the Week: Azgard TD

« Last post by Renegade on September 22, 2010, 04:17 AM »

The best thing about the game is that you can RESIZE it for you screen. Very nice. Better than CTRL + "+".

No interest though. It's too hard to get money, so you never get to upgrade or level up much. Rewarding frugality would be a nice touch.

I find that you'll be doing well (played 3 games) then some level will just blow by you unscathed.

But as TD games go, it's quite good.

Now, I'm not playing anymore! Too addictive!

9479

Living Room / Re: Nokia CEO admits that the cell phone industry is a gimmick.

« Last post by Renegade on September 22, 2010, 02:31 AM »

+1

The industry works at doing nothing more than trying to get as much money out of people as possible. I'm all for profit, but that doesn't mean I'm all for screwing people.

It would be very nice to see total decoupling, as THAT would make the market truly competitive. i.e. Decouple everything so you buy 3 things:

• Phone - the device
• OS - e.g. Android, Windows Mobile
• Service - i.e. the carrier

That would be nice. Or perhaps if they insist on the same BS, at least give us solid state hardware.

mobile manufacturers who go the Android route are doing no better than Finnish boys who "pee in their pants" for warmth in the winter.

HAHAHA~!

9480

Living Room / Re: Awesome photos

« Last post by Renegade on September 22, 2010, 02:18 AM »

Count how many fat people are in there.

-Renegade (September 20, 2010, 02:52 AM)

I did see one "larger" man in photo 12.

I'd also say it's probably not fair--or accurate--to blame it all on one singular cause (sugar/fructose) since so much of the modern lifestyle has changed in the past 70 years.

-Deozaan (September 20, 2010, 09:49 PM)

Perhaps unfair. There are certainly other factors, but the bulk is likely just sugar.

If you have time, check Sugar: The Bitter Truth.

9481

Living Room / Re: [HELP REQUEST] Please quickly review my new Twitter client

« Last post by Renegade on September 20, 2010, 11:33 AM »

And the installer here.

Also, there's a tiny bug in the stand alone above where the preferences dialog may end up hidden behind the main application. Fixed in the installer there.

9482

Living Room / Re: [HELP REQUEST] Please quickly review my new Twitter client

« Last post by Renegade on September 20, 2010, 11:03 AM »

Ok, got a download for you. But, it's just the standalone version. download here

Press F4 to display a new preferences window. Check the obvious option, and then click "Done". Every time after that, after a tweet is complete, the text box will still grey out (still functional of course -- just an indicator), and the old text will be deleted.

Let me know if that's working ok for what you need.

It's kind of boogery right now, but it's functional.

It's still .NET 4 though.

9483

Living Room / Re: Awesome photos

« Last post by Renegade on September 20, 2010, 02:52 AM »

Interesting.

This is kind of off topic, but I couldn't help but notice...

Count how many fat people are in there. Here's the total.

Count

0 (zero) -- Not even a single person in there was fat. Not one.

Now, the next time you are in a public place with 20 or more people, count. Compare.

Why?

Sugar intake. Not fat intake. Sugar. Specifically, fructose.

9484

Living Room / Re: Flowchart for Choosing a Typeface

« Last post by Renegade on September 19, 2010, 05:38 PM »

The Netherlands is nice, right?

No.

Get out of my flowchart!

HAHAHAHA~!

9485

Living Room / Re: [HELP REQUEST] Please quickly review my new Twitter client

« Last post by Renegade on September 18, 2010, 04:21 PM »

I was seriously considering writing my own over simplified tweeter (perhaps as a deskbar), but this will save me the work.

Thanks a bunch!

Got one feature request:

An option to auto-clear the box after the tweet is sent, ready to tweet again.

I am doing something that requires me to tweet a bunch of links, one right after the other. Having to manually clear the box will slow me down. Hotkeys will slow me down even more, since what I am doing doesn't involve the keyboard.

-app103 (September 17, 2010, 08:24 AM)

Can you describe what you're doing. I've been thinking about it, and if you're doing what I'm thinking, then that would lead me down 1 road. Basically, I don't want to add in anything more to the immediate UI, but an advanced preferences (F4 probably) might be a good place to add things in. That way it stays simple on the surface.

Also, I tried to downgrade it to .NET v2, but have run into a breaking compatibility issue that will take me more time than it's worth right now (a breaking type cast -- very strange), so I've changed it back to .NET 4. Perhaps later when I have more time.

9486

Living Room / Re: Does Flash or java make websites suck?

« Last post by Renegade on September 18, 2010, 09:08 AM »

"counter-enlightenment" -- I like that! 

9487

Living Room / Re: Tipping - Why does this appear to be a "requirement"?

« Last post by Renegade on September 17, 2010, 09:20 AM »

I should mention bribery of school teachers also being commonplace and an expected part of their income. It depends where you are.

9488

Living Room / Re: Tipping - Why does this appear to be a "requirement"?

« Last post by Renegade on September 17, 2010, 09:14 AM »

Now tipping is comparable to bribing public officials and law enforcement? Oh man, even Mr. Pink didn't go there.

This thread gets better with each post! I almost expect Godwin's Law to come into play soon!   

Jim

-J-Mac (September 16, 2010, 08:56 PM)

I wasn't kidding. In some parts of the world, it's like that. Quite literally. Those are the attitudes. Obviously not in the US or many other places, but there are places where bribing the police is fully expected just like tips. It is a part of their expected income.

9489

Living Room / Re: The Story of Stuff - Cosmetics, Bottled Water...

« Last post by Renegade on September 17, 2010, 09:11 AM »

Great videos thanks!

> Most "recyclables" cost MORE energy to recycle than they save.
I'm curious about that - it's often said but I'd like to see 'proof'

Plastic bottles now have a 25c deposit on them here - I wonder what happens to them when you bring them back...

> That kind of stuff is why I simply refuse to give a s**t about anything anymore. There is no hope...
Your choice. I disagree :p :-)

There is a huge apathy about recycling in general I find - and I'm not talking about informed apathy, although I suppose this kind of info does filter down.
For example it's not that difficult to separate food stuff for the compost bin (if you have one). I'm shocked though when I see what people actually put in there - high salt/ cooked or processed foods/ etc. etc. etc. You may as well not bother really cause you're just wrecking the compost and wrecking other peoples efforts.
This in the (supposed) land of recycling (Germany).
Ironically, although germany 'recycles' the most, they are also (I've read) the biggest producers of rubbish in Europe. I reckon that's why they had to start recycling in the first place

Is there not a problem with where landfills go in the states? Maybe because it's so big there's lots of space for landfills? Location of new landfills was a major problem in Ireland over the last while. The population is well spread out in the countryside & no one wants a landfill in their backyard...

-tomos (September 17, 2010, 07:23 AM)

My opposition to recycling is the massive push on it while at the same time there's an even bigger push to consume MORE instead of reduce. The bottled water video points that out nicely.

It's just a sanity-check thing for me. Preaching to me about saving the environment out of one side of the mouth and screaming at people to destroy it with the other just doesn't sit well with me. Being the stubborn twit that I am, I am compelled to spew my cynical venom.

I am reducing where possible. But I'm not going to feel guilty for a broken system that I didn't create.

That being said, I do not have the best attitude. Just because there's a huge amount of hypocrisy doesn't mean that I should not try to be part of the band-aid solution on the cancer. Something is better than nothing. Sigh... No hope...

For proof, I've seen documentaries. It's out there somewhere.

But the videos are really well done! I wish them the best and all the success in the world. It would be a better place.

9490

Living Room / Re: Tipping - Why does this appear to be a "requirement"?

« Last post by Renegade on September 16, 2010, 03:56 PM »

if we follow the logic of tipping to it's natural conclusion, we'd be tipping everyone -- cops, airplane pilots, bus drivers, etc.  i don't think that's a good idea.

-mouser (September 16, 2010, 12:32 PM)

Actually, in a lot of places you DO tip the police. Bureaucrats. Politicians. Judges. Most people here would call it corruption. (I'm not trying to be a smart ass there.) But if you want to call a spade a bloody shovel, it's just another form of tipping that happens to be publicly unacceptable in a lot of places. (Errr... maybe I'm stretching a little bit, but not much. )

9491

Living Room / Re: Is Antenna Climbing the Scariest Job Ever?

« Last post by Renegade on September 16, 2010, 05:24 AM »

Jeez... It just gives me the creeps watching it.

9492

Living Room / The Story of Stuff - Cosmetics, Bottled Water...

« Last post by Renegade on September 16, 2010, 02:53 AM »

STOP whatever you're doing now and relax a bit with an amazingly entertaining and very educational little video:

THE STORY OF STUFF: BOTTLED WATER

There are more there.

Really -- great stuff!

The cosmetics one is excellent. I've already switched to minimizing the number of toxic products I use. My toothpaste can be eaten. Yes. Unlike other toothpastes that recommend you go to a poison control center (hospital), I can eat my toothpaste. And it's nutritious and good for you!

Cap & Trade - Again, excellent.

It's all done extremely well. (Even if it uses Flash. )

...

Now, back to my cynical, ranting self...

That kind of stuff is why I simply refuse to give a s**t about anything anymore. There is no hope...

I refuse to put in any more than the absolute minimum amount of effort to recycle. It's moronic. Most materials end up in dumps anyways. Most "recyclables" cost MORE energy to recycle than they save. The ONLY exception is tin cans (metal in general). I'll recycle if it takes zero effort on my part, or if it is actually more convenient to do so, but I'm NOT going to turn my brain off and follow a mindless crowd.

The 3 R's are:

REDUCE
Reuse
recycle

They're in that order for a reason. I'll do the first 2, but not the 3rd.

And... More ranting...

I'm SICK of being preached at by a bunch of hypocrites. Don't want the sermon. Don't need the sermon. No longer care.

Then again, I just have general problems with being told what to do by fools. I have no problems taking advice/orders/whatever from people that truly know what they are talking about AND have the right motivations (a rare combination).

9493

Living Room / Re: [Free VPN] VPN Steel

« Last post by Renegade on September 15, 2010, 11:36 PM »

What purpose does this service serve? Why would I want to use a VPN service?

-Josh (September 15, 2010, 06:41 PM)

For security.

My question is why would anyone use a free one?

9494

Living Room / Re: Tipping - Why does this appear to be a "requirement"?

« Last post by Renegade on September 15, 2010, 12:13 PM »

Would the public go for such a drastic inflation?  And I think that I underestimate the price of the increase to cover such increases in salary...

-wraith808 (September 13, 2010, 12:29 PM)

As an example: Barmaids here are typically paid $20 for a shift - which can run up to 10hrs due to after hours cleanup activities - the rest of their "wage" is tips. ...I'd hate to think what a beer would cost if they were getting paid a flat/straight wage. 

-Stoic Joker (September 13, 2010, 12:56 PM)

In Florida? $20? That's beyond insane.

As for the price of a beer... It won't change too much. People just won't pay, and that will keep it down.

At $15 or MORE for a drink at some restaurants here, I simply don't drink. I have to drive anyways though...

9495

Living Room / Re: Tipping - Why does this appear to be a "requirement"?

« Last post by Renegade on September 15, 2010, 12:10 PM »

It will never improve. It's an entirely hopeless industry and cause.

People must eat. Period. We are lazy. We will eat out. We will eat when the servers spit in our faces and **** on our plates. The worst service in the world will not stop us from being lazy. Cooking at home is work. There is no incentive beyond tips.

To
Insure
Prompt(ness)
Service

Pffft~!

Serving (at many places) requires almost no skill beyond the ability to breathe in order to get into the industry at some point. There will always be a workforce for the industry.

Large workforce = low wages.

Higher wages won't help either though.

Here in Australia servers have much higher wages and the service is crap. Complete garbage. I have not been to a restaurant yet with decent service here. Not one.

Hopeless. Completely hopeless.

Sigh...

9496

Living Room / Re: HDCP Cracked - Is HD Content doomed due to lack of DRM now?

« Last post by Renegade on September 15, 2010, 11:48 AM »

No reason to doubt it or believe it at the moment... Need to see a POC first.

Found this:

http://www.mdl4.com/2010/09/hdcp-master-key-2/

HDCP Master Key Released: DRM takes another hit
Posted on September 14, 2010 by mdl4

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) was the entertainment industry’s solution to the protection of high quality digital content as it traveled from its storage medium to a display device. The standard can be boiled down to three key elements:

   1. Authenticating hardware
   2. Encrypting content as it passes between devices
   3. Key revocation to disable compromised (tampered) or cloned devices

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection Diagram

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection Diagram

Several years ago, Princeton University professor Ed Felten summarized the theoretical feasibility of cracking HDCP in a blog entry titled “Making and Breaking HDCP Handshakes.” The assertions in his blog were based on a 2001 paper, “A Cryptanalysis of the High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection System,” published by Crosby et al. that outlined how the HDCP handshake could be compromised.

Sure enough, HDCP seems to have been broken. The key may or may not have been derived from the keys of other devices as Felten and Crosby proposed. It may have been leaked by an Intel Affiliate. In addition to its cryptological flaws, like most DRM standards HDCP relies on trusted parties to guard the single master key, which is irrevocable and easily communicable.

The following text was taken from an anonymous pastebin posting. It provides the alleged master key and basic instructions for how to generate Key Selection Vectors (KSV) from the key, which can then be used in a source, sink or relay device.

The biggest implication of this release is that people will now be able to digitally capture high quality video signals coming from Blu-Ray players (in real time). If the MPAA moves ahead with its plan to release DRM protected discs of movies that are still in theaters, high quality rips of first-run theater movies may become available on file-sharing networks like BitTorrent.

Via pastebin:

This is a forty times forty element matrix of fifty-six bit hexadecimal numbers.

To generate a source key, take a forty-bit number that (in binary) consists of twenty ones and twenty zeroes; this is the source KSV.  Add together those twenty rows of the matrix that correspond to the ones in the KSV (with the lowest bit in the KSV corresponding to the first row), taking all elements modulo two to the power of fifty-six; this is the source
private key.

To generate a sink key, do the same, but with the transposed matrix.

The HDCP Master Key:

Visit there for the links and more. Sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

9497

Living Room / Re: [Free VPN] VPN Steel

« Last post by Renegade on September 15, 2010, 10:28 AM »

Ok. I get it now. I originally thought it was a VPN that you installed on your server and your client (PC).

9498

Living Room / Re: [Free VPN] VPN Steel

« Last post by Renegade on September 14, 2010, 10:14 PM »

I stopped after signing up was a requirement. Dunno. It might be fantastic stuff, but the site looks a bit dodgy and confusing. Not sure what the free 1 Mbps is. Service? Sounds like a proxy.

9499

Living Room / Re: Axis of Awesome

« Last post by Renegade on September 14, 2010, 06:44 AM »

I've been saving this page to watch all day... And man... Was it worth it! 

That was just stupefyingly awesome! 4 chords. That's it. Loved it~!

9500

Living Room / Re: Do virus scanners need to get stupid again?

« Last post by Renegade on September 13, 2010, 08:42 AM »

Just installed some banking software... Got a false positive... Sigh...