BIG BOOBS banished from Linux kernel Microsoft has ‘fessed up to inserting the hexadecimal string “0xB16B00B5” in the Linux kernel. Redmond has hung its head in shame because, once you remove the initial zero and x, then squint at the remainder in just the right way, the result is the term “BIG BOOBS”. The offending string is no mere frippery: it is apparently …
Yes. They've got people on it right now, trying to figure out a way that the value can legitimately, but reliably, be generated at run-time as the natural result of correct operation, without actually making it too obvious in the source code how they've arranged for that.
One should also note that in UK vernacular (not sure about USA, Oz, etc) a boob can mean a mistake. Referencing uninitialized storage can accurately be described as a "big boob" for a programmer.
BTW, 0xB16B00B5 has been patched to 0x0DEFACED
Personally I wonder why the original wasn't 0x0B00B1E5
Women in IT was mentioned but surely it could refer just as easily to men with big boobs?
As there are way more men in IT than women surely this category is the most offended.
FWIW, I couldn't care less about a Hex number that vaguely resembles a lame chuckle-worthy couple of words being hidden in the kernel of an operating system.
All this over the number "2976579765" !!!
What if the number was a valid and required initialization vector for a piece of hardware or something. Purile minds need to grow up and realise the world is not all sunshine and daisies out there and anyone who thinks this kind of thing shouldn't fly needs to go home to their mummy and hide behind her skirt some more because the clearly aren't ready for the real world.
Re: All this over the number "2976579765" !!!
Indeed. And after following the lkml thread a bit, we find the Microsoft apology, followed by a complaint from super serious "greg" that the Microsoft-submitted patch to fix this grave offense "only changed it to be in decimal"!!!
https://lkml.org/lkml/2012/7/19/400
Best laugh I've had all day. If I may suggest to greg, in the immortal words of Sgt. Hulka: "Lighten up, Francis."
N.B. It turns out "greg k-h" is an accomplished kernel developer and current maintainer of the -stable branch, so might well feel a certain weight of responsibility to lean toward professionalism + avoid avenues of potential controversy, etc.
'was laughing a bit more when I'd assumed he was some random busybody.
But anyway. We'll always have base thirty-six?
"mammalianprotuberances".to_i(36)
=> 10729129598233314368884084804015252
The number is written into "uninitialized" storage in a VM environment where uninitialized is not an option. It's useful to a programmer to have a distinctive hex pattern. If he sees that in a register after a core dump, it's a pretty good clue as to what went wrong.
These days in scientific codes, you want to have everything initialized to an IEEE Floating-point NAN pattern ("Not A Number"). Then, instead of crunching garbage up with your data if a bug references uninitialized storage, your program immediately throws a floating-point exception. ISTR NAN can also be customised to have humorous hex representations (or more boringly, to encode the address of where it came from).
Oh bloody hell. Will people knock it off with the "Julian is a good bloke and girls should just be fucking grateful to get it from him." thing.
It's people like you who are directly responsible for making rape one of the least reported and prosecuted crimes going. In every bloody case that; "she's obviously lying, it's a put-up job" is trotted out by fucktards who happen to like the perv in the dock.
Incidently, the vast majority of rapes are reported "retrospectively". It's the nature of the crime in question.
@the upvoters: Shame on you too.
I'll make my mind up once he's been convicted or aquitted in a court of law. As he seems intent on avoiding having to challenge the evidence, I'm leaning towards "guilty as sin" myself.
I understood it was a kind of 'statutory rape' where the sex was consensual on the condition of taking the requested precautions. i.e. he put the woman/women in danger of disease/pregnancy because he didn't use a condom. Sweden won't rule out the possiblilty that as soon as he sets foot on their soil he will be whisked off the Gitmo. Is that not right?
@Jimmy Page
Agree totally. All these crimes should work both ways round. Of course, until recently, there was no crime for a woman raping a man. It was not even considered possible. Forget whether we're talking about the 'Swedish' model of justice (where conditions are applied to consent), or the British version. Whilst the laws on sex crimes have generally been changed now to be gender neutral, it's society that has failed to change and still tends to view women as the victims and men the perps all the time.
I can only recall one case of male rape by a female in the UK media, ever. It was some years ago, when you claim it was not illegal. Perhaps they charged her with assault rather than rape.
I don't think that the rarity of media reports of male rape is because the media lack interest - in fact there was huge media interest in the case. I recall that she was assisted by a male friend who tied the guy on his back to a bed.
Yes. If a material fact (which would have given a person reason not to consent to sexual intercourse, had they known it) was misrepresented, then consent was obtained under false pretences. That makes it rape.
However, why risk it? Just wear a condom anyway, pill or no pill.
@Jimmypage
Nope, it is considered PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for a woman to commit rape under UK law.
Birth control fraud (and even going to such psycho extremes as emptying out used condoms to inseminate oneself) is also perfectly legal in the UK - and if it results in pregnancy then the man is still legally liable for child support!
@Brangdon.
Not wishing to continue the Assange thread, but I really need to correct this. He is absolutely not accused of what you're saying. The women are even on record as saying they were awake and consented, given conditions. e.g. they required a condom. Then, when it failed, they required him to take a test. So, there is no accusation (unless they change their interviews with papers etc.) that they were unconscious, nor that he knew they wouldn't consent if awake.
There's a lot of rumour and misinformation on this in the press. Be very careful what you believe.
No actually its' bullshit.
He's accused of having sex with a woman while she was asleep.
Like so many others, men and women, could also be accused of being drunk and having sex with another drunk person.
There's no rape in that story. none. there's only corner cases of a stupid swedish law that considers that if your boyfriend jumps on you during the night, it's rape, that if you say put a condom and he doesn't, but you still let him proceed, it's rape.
You want a world where those laws are respected ?
Do you even know where that kind of reckless oppression of the male sex will lead the world ?
The one thing I don't understand is how ultra-feminists managed to come up with the most sexist system ever - one that is more one-sided than the old days ever were.
@TeeCee
"Incidently, the vast majority of rapes are reported "retrospectively""
Stranegely enough, the vast majority of any crime tend to be reported retrospectively. At best, you can report it as it happens, but that assumes the offence goes on for some time, so normally an offence is only reported AFTER it has happened, therefore retrospectively. Rape is no different to most others in this respect.
It's not people like him that make rape one of the least reported and prosecuted crimes. It is in the nature of the beast. Many rapes come down to one persons word against another. There are very often no witnesses etc. Therefore, it is unprosecutable unless there is physical evidence to support one sides story over another. In other words, it's in the nature of the crime.
It's interesting that you also show you believe rape only applies to women by instantly responding with 'she's obviously lying' etc. Rape applies to both sexes equally, whether between a man and a woman or two people of the same sex. It is believed that male rape is actually reported and prosecuted even less than female rape for a whole variety of reasons, including male pride. Of course, male rape is rarely mentioned as rape is all about women right??
It's interesting that you say you'll make your mind up about Assange once he's been through a court of law, but then say you're leaning towards 'guilty as sin'!! Doesn't exactly show an open mind does it.
As man, I think that a man being raped by a woman IS a very different thing to a woman being raped by a man or a man by a man.
In life people are forced to do far worse things than just have sex, there are far worse crimes that are more disruptive to a man than being forced to have sex.
Women are different, its much more of a violation when they are raped, and if a woman wants to prosecute they should report it as soon as they can, no waiting or it does look like they are using it as a vendetta.
@AC.
"As man, I think that a man being raped by a woman IS a very different thing to a woman being raped by a man or a man by a man."
A man being raped by a woman is different to a woman being raped by a man? Now, there's a very non-PC statement. In the eyes of the law, there's no difference, although I bet the sentence would be different. Certainly, women being raped by men is treated very differently to the reverse. There is a cultural assumption (and it appears continuing into legal circles and the law), that men are sexual predators and women are innocent prey. Therefore, a man who reported being raped is likely to be laughed at. I don't disagree that society in general treats them very differently, but that's an example of the one way nature of sexism. Women are always the victims and men the perpetrators. I'm sure there are at least some men around, who when raped by a woman, would be affected in just the same way as a woman by a man.
If we're moving away from a sexist society, we need to move away from these thoughts. Rape is rape and affects people exactly the same, regardless of the sex of the victim and the sex of perp.
"In life people are forced to do far worse things than just have sex, there are far worse crimes that are more disruptive to a man than being forced to have sex."
Not quite sure where this statement is going, but I'm sure there are far worse crimes for women as well. However, unless we take sexism out everywhere we find it, we're going nowhere. This statement simply means that I can say women shouldn't work and should be chained to the sink or bed all the time. Both are sexist and equally valid or invalid.
"Women are different, its much more of a violation when they are raped, and if a woman wants to prosecute they should report it as soon as they can, no waiting or it does look like they are using it as a vendetta."
Why is it much more of a violation for a woman than a man? You might think it is to you, but that will depend from person to person. Of course, that's why for years the law didn't recognise that a woman COULD rape a man. There was no such crime!! Given the emotional trauma, I think saying that any delay looks like a vendetta is somewhat simplistic. Look at all the boy who were raped by priests. Often only coming out decades after the event. Are you saying this is a vendetta? Or, is it the emotional trauma and feelings of self-loathing, embarassment and humiliation?
"In life people are forced to do far worse things than just have sex, there are far worse crimes that are more disruptive to a man than being forced to have sex." - Yeah, torture. Wrongful imprisonment. Being murdered, especially if done nice and slow.
But... where was this thread going?
"As man, I think that a man being raped by a woman IS a very different thing to a woman being raped by a man or a man by a man." - I don't. As a man. Certainly, in many cases males have the controlling hand by generally being larger and stronger, this isn't always the case. Likewise it is probable that female-induced rape may be more pyschologically-based, especially if the perpetrator is in a position of power over the victim. While the actual methods may differ, the end result is one person have sex with another against their wishes - which is pretty much the definition of rape.
"Women are different, its much more of a violation when they are raped," - bollocks. You refer above to "a man by a man". Trust me, if a man jumped me, I'd feel exceedingly violated. And would I be able to discuss with anybody about being buttf**ked by a stranger? You tell me if this would be "a violation" or just "a minor meh".
So one person has concluded he's innocent without seeing the evidence, and you've concluded that he's guilty without seeing the evidence, and that makes the other person shameful, a supporter of rape, etc, etc. Don't be a twat. If anyone's closer to how the justice system actually works, it's the other guy...
"I'll make my mind up once he's been convicted or aquitted in a court of law. As he seems intent on avoiding having to challenge the evidence, I'm leaning towards "guilty as sin" myself."
Well that's a nice open minded viewpoint you have there. Forget about Presumption of Innocence, let's just assume he's guilty. I can see you're so willing to wait for a verdict...!
"Oh bloody hell. Will people knock it off with the "Julian is a good bloke and girls should just be fucking grateful to get it from him." thing."
I was under the impression that the problem with Assange's supposed rape charge ("supposed" because currently not proven) was because the crimes are said to have happened in Sweden, so why the calls for extradition to the US for a crime that could be tried in Sweden, with jail sentence (if found guilty) likewise in Sweden. In essence, there's no reason for the US to get involved except to throw a tantrum about their dirty secrets being publicised...
I have no comment about whether or not I believe him guilty or innocent. In my personal opinion, he's a twat who painted a bullseye to his back. It could be a setup, or it could be real. Ask me if I actually care...
Rape in addition to being under reported is also the most falsified accusation.
In case you did not know- Mr Assange is not charged with rape anywhere in the world. Please, unless you have actual facts of the contrary shut up.
I dislkike Assange. I think he is sleazy and unpleasant. But this is no reason to accuse him of rape without knowing the facts.
BWT shame on you for casting the stone.
I think you just won my prize for worst post I have ever seen here on theregister.
"In case you did not know- Mr Assange is not charged with rape anywhere in the world. Please, unless you have actual facts of the contrary shut up."
Was this in reply to me?
Quoting Wiki (that wonderful source of reliable information): "The arrest warrant was canceled on 21 August 2010 by one of Stockholm's chief prosecutors, Eva Finne, as the investigation was downgraded to only cover lesser charges, and re-issued by Swedish Director of Prosecution Marianne Ny on 1 September 2010 who considered that the allegations could be classed as rape. It would seem likely that it would require something fairly serious to feel the need to issue a European Arrest Warrant and extradition. While the charges on record don't actually outright state "rape" (unless olaga tvång (unlawful coercion) is how it is described in Sweden), it would seem as if Sweden's Director of Prosecution thinks what happened is close enough to count...
That said, nothing has been actually proven as yet, let it rest with that.
Microsoft shouldn't be allowed to get away with just an apology and issuing a patch.
We need a massive fine to stop Microsoft doing this again and set an important example!
And we need to shoot the people who were responsible!
And then shoot the people near the ones who were responsible!
And then shoot everybody else!
Only then can we be certain that this issue won't re-occur and possibly offend someone.
Or we could solve the issue another way, rather than shooting all the microsoft employees we could just gather up all the feminazis who were offended and shoot them instead.
Before I continue I must point out Feminazi's are the feminists who find everything men do to be offensive, and effectively hate anything with a penis or something similar
Feminists are actually sane women who just want to be treated as equals, rather than looked down on. Feminists can be cool, feminazi's cannot.
"So by your definition then feminazi is a made up construct that almost certainly exists in your head only?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminazi - it is a Rush Limbaugh-ism (figures...).
BTW, how does this not auto-Godwins itself into obscurity?
You forgot about replacing the people who were replacing the people who were responsible for shooting the people who were or were not responsible with llamas, shooting those as well and replacing them with moose. Or something.
Now that this hex number has been deemed inappropriate, the memory location 2976579765 will go unused on millions of computers worldwide, so...
1. Hijack location 2976579765 on all computers
2. Use it for extortion and blackmail
...
Profit!
Law enforcement will be unable to respond because any investigation will get stopped because of "offensive behaviour".
Whilst I absolutely applaud the elimination of sexism in the software development culture, being "ashamed" of boobs is something feminism often rallies against. Simply saying "boobs" isn't supposed to be offensive to women. Boobs exist. Shrug. (What usually follows at this point is a stream of comments saying "I'm a woman and I thought it was funny": http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/14955.html)
Now, who's going to use the VM ID 0xFA7D1CC5 ?
There's no sexism in the dev culture, most of us geeks would kill to meet a woman who's in IT (and is not ugly of course) and good at it.
Unfortunate reality is most women are in the fake jobs, such as HR, accounting, sales and whatnot, where actually having a brain is not exactly required.
Also there are probably quite a few gay coders so bigdiiccs is probably in use somewhere, soon to be defaced.
Yup. Worked on a weapons system that had a signal Watch Dog For Test that allowed you to adjust the hardware watchdog so you could develop the system or perform system testing without it continually resetting. WD4T certainly helped everything go smoothly :)
That said, there was also an occasion where all the drawings, documentation and front panels had to be changed because there was an indicator for Wheels On Ground. Perhaps lost productivity of these changes caused by these people who do no productive work is the real reason everything has gone to shit recently?
One of the PDP11 operating systems (forgot which one exactly) had the error mnemonic IE.NFW for "No route to host", with the error code 69.
Ah. Searching for those terms I find it was RSX-11, the exact message was "IE.NFW -69 Path lost to partner", and the perpetrator none other than Dave Cutler.
Hungarian naming! The only one that ought to be allowed is intThisAnnoying.
If it weren't for the severity of their other crimes, Hungarian naming alone would be enough to condemn Microsoft. Especially when a lazy developer changes a parameter type without bothering to rename it.
This post has been deleted by its author
The IT world is rampant with innuendo and smut, whether intended or otherwise.
FAQs are used to great hilarity in many IT environments where people advise each other to go FAQ themselves.
Worldwide code contains almost as many characters as the legendary large number of chimpanzees could bash out in a large amount of time so somewhere in all that code will be the phrase "get a life you sad prudish assholes" which has obviously been explicitly entered for all those who were offended by 0xB16B00B5.
MS needed to turn round and tell 'Greg' to get a life. Since when did having a sense of humour become something to apologise for. When the BA sponsored London Eye had issues being erected Virgin Atlantic wasted no time running adverts about BA's inability to 'get it up'. There was no huge outcry from men with equipment malfunctions.
People who get all het up about non issues like this do a great disservice to people who genuinely do suffer discrimination and \ or bullying. I agree with the poster above, a few less teeth might help Greg find perspective in life. He obviously has no consideration for those subjected to sexual harrassment, he just wants to stroke his ego.
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