Posts by IceMage

Apollo 17 Moon landing: Shock revelations

The trolcopter has landed!

Patent wars: Apple attacks Samsung in Japan

Today's Lesson: Compete with Apple, be sued.

Apple seems to think they've invented everything technological in the past three decades. The basis of this lawsuit is flawed.

Apple is not the first to make a touch screen device.

Apple is not the first to make an all touch phone.

Apple is not the inventor of the smart phone.

Apple is not the inventor of the portable media player.

Apple is not the inventor of the GUI.

Apple is the first to create a successful consumer grade device in all of these categories, but that doesn't mean they have exclusive rights of any kind for this market, although they tend to think so. The fact of the matter is, Android and the iPhone began development approximately around the same time, so the fact that the two devices are similar is a matter of functionality of a full-touch device, not some sort of idea theft that apple claims it to be.

AMD slips into desktop RAM biz

CAS Latency Benchmarks

Here.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/8966/1

Back in the days of DDR (DDR1), going from a CAS latency of 3-3-3-5 to 2-2-2-5 was a big deal. You could see the improvements immediately. There are actually 4 numbers that affect CAS Latency, not three, but more important in memory is the command rate (Often paired with CAS latency, as it is a memory timing). The lower command rate IS noticeable. I myself would rather have lower CAS memory at a standard speed over high speed, high latency memory. It seems like they've just wrapped up a 9-9-9 1300mhz chip in an 11-11-11 1600mhz package. To me, that's a no go. Also, the fact that there is 6-8-6 timed memory out there, looking at an 11-11-11 product is just plain dim.

Apple sued over Mac OS X 'quick boot'

Software Patents = BS

This is why patents for software should never be granted. Copyright? Yes. Patent? No.

There is a bit more to making it work, but nonetheless, it should work that way.

Obama drops Twitter bombs on debt-ceiling foes

Not really bipartisan

It's not really bipartisan if all the republicans are against it is it?

US court test for rights not to hand over crypto keys

Slippery Slope

The court must make the prosecution prove that the individual not only has access to the files in question, but also has 1. The authority to access the device in question, 2. The ability to access that device with a key, or other form of either digital or physical security token that prevents prosecutors from accessing that information, and 3. Has accessed the device in a directly related matter to the case at hand.

Basically, it should fall on the prosecution to prove that they must have access to the device, and that the individual in question has not only the ability to access the device, but the authority to access that device as well. For example, you couldn't arrest an IT Admin at a company, and ask him to divulge the encryption keys on all of the network computers, since he's not authorized to do such a thing.

The defendant should not have a case for "I don't know the password to the hard drive." before he is ordered to unlock the hard drive.

Also, as another item, the contents of a hard drive should fall under separate pieces of evidence, and should also follow the rules of appropriate search and seizure, requiring a warrant, and documenting the contents thereof. If the case is for child pron, and the search turns up nothing of the sorts, but it turns out he was torrenting the crap out of Walt Disney, the poor fellow shouldn't be liable to be charged with Copyright Infringement instead.

Microsoft loses Supreme patent fight over Word

Patent Law Abuse

Patents are being abused overall. A patent is granted by divulging trade secrets with the government in return for protection from someone stealing the idea. The fact of the matter is, most of the crap that the government grants patents for, they'll never use. I think the test for granting a patent should be "Can the government use this in a time of war? No? No patent. Yes? Ok, normal patent procedure."

Fixes most of the problems with the patent system. I hardly see how the government would be unable to format XML without a patent, divulging the secrets of how they did it, if they really needed a solution. Hell, implementing their solution as per their patent would probably take longer than creating their own.

Apple handcuffs 'open' web apps on iPhone home screen

Ironic Ain't It

Reminds me of how Apple has become what they attacked first. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R706isyDrqI)

I refuse to give this company even an ounce of my business because of how totalitarian they are. There is no reason for them to try and practice so much control over me and my device. Long live Linux.

WikiLeaks' Assange to be indicted for spying 'soon'

He had it coming

You take a shit on a bear's face, and you're going to get mauled. He had it coming.

Gosling blows lid off Jobs Java nonsense

Just another Fail

It doesn't matter if the move will get developers to move from X to Y, the problem is, you're forcing developers to move. They now have the option of either replacing their OS, or replacing the language they know. It's like going into France and saying, "Hey, English is so much better than French, so from now on, all legal activities must be done in English."

I'm sure most of them would be pissed. Those Frenchies really love their langauge, and don't want to have to learn English. A lot of them may know it, but that's not the point. They're suddenly being forced to either use a langauge they're not comfortable with (which leads to some really sloppy work), or move to a place where they can use their language freely.

Microsoft assembles unlikely band of brothers against patent trolls

Patent Expiration

I think many of the problems with patent trolling would be fixed if patents didn't last so long. Back in the day, 14-20 years seemed like a good amount of time to let a company recover the costs, but for software and technology, this isn't always the case.

Simply revising software and technology patent expiration to be, say 3 - 4 years would be a good step in the right direction. Patents shouldn't stifle innovation, they should encourage it, they're obviously doing the wrong thing here.

Dell servers block un-Dell HDDs

Bad move

Really... this simply means I will no longer purchase Dells. We have our own standards for testing hard drives, and Dell's drives are extremely overpriced. Simply put, this means that their servers will no longer meet our needs. Sad for them, but we'll be fine going with another vendor. This is just a plain stupid business move.

Windows 7 RC 'buy a copy' shut downs start next month

Breach of Contract

By putting production data on a testing machine, the individual would be breaching the contract between themselves and Microsoft, and as such, they would be forced to release any form of liability on Microsoft.

Furthermore, Microsoft does not claim to own the data, or the equipment, and leaves it alone as such, but will not allow you to run a demo of it's operating system forever. On top of this, Microsoft is practicing fair judgement in that it is allowing the user two hours to use their machine before it shuts down, after many many warnings. All of these combined gives the end user plenty of methods, and opportunities to retrieve their data. Even further, Microsoft is not taking possession of any data whatsoever, and as such, even though the data may become inaccessible, Microsoft is not explicitly denying access to said data, as it is not encrypted. If the data is encrypted, then such an effort is made by the acting party, and not Microsoft. As such, Microsoft could not be held liable due to the encryption of the data, since the end user, not Microsoft, completed the act of encrypting the data.

Inmate gets 18 months for thin client prison hack

Underfunded? Probably

Most prisons are underfunded, it's no surprise that their network security model would be underfunded. I'd likely prefer that over, oh, I dunno, a massive prison breakout?

Then again, all those prison workers gotta be pissed at their employer, because now they're liable if any kind of identity theft comes out of it, as it was their system that exposed them to risk. Let's see here... we can spend $100,000 on a secure network, or $5,000,000 cleaning up the mess because we didn't.

It's hard to put that kind of perspective into upper management's heads. They always look at the short-term bottom line. When you try to sell them on a $5,000 printer that will last 10 years, they don't understand why you can't just go to office depot and get one that costs $40.

Microsoft IIS vuln leaves users open to remote attack

Bad Coding Practice

This whole exploit relies on two extremely bad practices.

1. Upload directories have execute script / code permissions. This should never happen, as directories in which users upload files should never execute, regardless of whether the file has the appropriate extension or not.

2. The file name the user inputs is the file name on the server side. This should also never happen, as regardless of what filters you put in, it can be easy to trick a script into thinking that the file extension is one thing when it is actually another. Your server should rename any uploaded file according to some scheme or another.

Remember,

Users can't fake directory permissions, and users can't dictate what your server names the file. This is in no real way a security flaw because of Microsoft. It is a bug, but the security implications of it are due to bad practices on the end user's behalf.

Hackers break Amazon's Kindle DRM

Exactly

Encryption methods are normally used to keep a secret between two parties, and to thwart eavesdropping. DRM uses standard encryption methods to keep secrets between devices. However, everything needed to decrypt those secrets is available in a single point. As such, one this single point is compromised, the entire DRM method breaks down.

Hackers root Motorola Droid

iPhone vs. Droid

Both are great devices.

However, the whole "Browse while talking" argument don't phase me. Any phone can do data & voice if it's on a wifi network. An AT&T phone (or other GSM based device) only does data and voice at the same time if either 3G or WiFi is available. Also, doing voice & data will kill your battery real quick. Looking at AT&Ts spotty 3G coverage... I'm not all that impressed with the ability to use data & voice simultaneously, especially since I have never been in a situation where I've needed it.

Verizon is far superior to AT&T in my opinion. CDMA is a better technology than GSM. Even AT&Ts 3G is a CDMA technology. My favorite carrier by far tho is T-mobile. WiFi calls when out of the country while using your plan's regular minutes? That's an unbeatable feature if you ask me.

Microsoft thinks it can sell one copy of Windows 7 for every four people

What I've Seen So Far

As far as I've seen, it's a world of difference in the same box.

Explanation: Windows 7 is almost exactly the same as vista. There are a lot of new features, some streamlined applications, etc, but it's still windows. This is good, those of us who use windows, LIKE windows. It's got that smooth, crisp feel of Windows XP, along with the new smooth looks of vista. I think Win7 can be a smashing success.

And for the record, the only reason Vista failed so hard was all of the negative ads from Apple.

Hey, go get an apple! Then, you can buy the same OS we're bashing when you want to do anything like play games! YAY.

IMHO, apple is an overpriced piece of hardware (half the hardware features the average person never uses), stuffed with a bloated and equally shitty compared to windows OS. Mac OSX sucks, and so does Vista... get over it, it's not any better, or any easier to use. Besides, why doesn't my mac come with 2 buttons on the mouse? seriously, I paid 2 grand, and we're cutting back on mouse buttons?

Wireless carriers gear up to fight FCC’s net neutrality plans

Great... but likely misunderstood

While I think this will allow for "Application Freedom" on cell phone devices, which will affect tons of iPhone users, the data plans won't change much for current users, as most users have "Unlimited E-mail and Web." Web is different from internet, since you're subscribing to a service that provides you both E-mails and HTTP access, not protocol agnostic access.

Those with tethering plans, or air-cards will be overjoyed to know that their data plan will work just like any other wired internet connection, and I think that's what the FCC may be shooting for more or less.

Beer drinking model to get caned in Malaysia

Scarring

What about the scarring, can't that affect her career? Lashes don't always leave just welts, they sometime leave scars. She broke the law, yes, but Malaysia isn't respecting foreign laws on the matter either, which pretty much puts no one in the right.

In the end, because Malaysia failed to follow international procedure, the model will likely be returned unscathed.

Lawsuit accuses T-Mobile of asking staff to email 'off the clock'

Class Action Fail.

"There is no equivalent form of action in the UK."

Well, at least they're not as stupid over there. Class action lawsuit participants normally see about $20 in benefits, where the law firm that supports it ends up with millions of dollars in cash. They don't really correct the problem, they just profit over it.