Posts by sisk

Spooks' secret TEMPEST-busting tech reinvented by US student

Just what I was thinking

That exact thought occured to me as well. There could possibly be hundreds of ways to achieve this goal. There's absolutely no proof that I've seen that these two are the same.

Anonymous hacks Westboro Baptists during live interview

Enough already.

I'm all for giving Anonymous attention. Their goals are (generally) admirable even if their methods are questionable.

That said I'm begging all you at El Reg to drop this story. Just don't write on it, or anything else dealing with WBC, anymore. Seriously, WBC gets WAY too much press. Until world + dog agree to just ignore thier dumb asses they're going to continue to get worse and worse, thinking up more and more outrageous methods of getting attention.

Flash drives dangerously hard to purge of sensitive data

Nope

>Fire

Anyone who does serious data recovery will tell you fire doesn't do it with magnetic media. I suspect flash based media doesn't fare as well, but it can probably be at least partially recovered from all but the hottest fires.

>Sledgehammer

Don't make me laugh. At least some of the chips will be more or less intact after that. All the data on an intact chip would be recoverable. Some of the data on broken chips would even be recoverable with the right equipment.

>Car accident

>Bus accident

See sledgehammer

>River Thames (+ Concrete?)

Niether water (while the drive is unpowered) nor concrete will harm the data on a flash device.

Personally I'd have to go with what someone else said. Thermite. There won't be anything left of the chips after that.

Debian 6: Have your Debian and eat your Ubuntu too

I disagree

MacOS is a nightmare to use for every application in which I've given it a chance. It's counter intuitive in the extreme, it's harder than heck to actually find anything on the things, none of the settings are where a person new to Macs would reasonably expect them to be. All in all, Mac's UI is a cluster. A pretty cluster, but a cluster none the less.

Ubuntu suffers from some of the same problems, in my opinion, but that's not really their fault. Gnome is a terrible place to start if you want good UI. Personally I prefer Fluxbox. I usually put a couple hours into customizing my menus and hotkeys, but it's well worth the effort.

Westboro Baptist Church taunts Anonymous over supposed attack plan

Actually...

There's a good reason why those of us who'd love to put on the boots haven't. Phelps is a lawyer and an expert at twisting the law to extract judgement money out of the people he's enraged to the point of loosing control of their actions. Basically, you hit a member of WBC and you may just as well write a six figure check to their retirement fund.

As satisfying as it may be, it's just not worth it. It's better to deal with them some other way.

The Patriot Guard Riders method works well for funerals. Put yourself between them and whomever they're targeting this week with a few dozen guys in leather jackets holding American flags. Show them your collective back and rev the engines on your motorcycles so no one can hear the hate spewing from behind you. Having been involved in this I can tell you that this is a pretty satisfying way to shut the bozos down. All the families hear from outside the church is what they describe as rolling thunder. Seeing the gratitude of the family when they realize that they didn't even know Phelps and crew was there is more satisfying to me than rearranging some ignorant biggots face would be.

Or, in non-funeral situations, get a bunch of people together, make some nonsense signs ("I've got a sign", "Stik + Bored=Badly Spelled Pikit"), and stand in among their protest shouting things like "GOD HATES MISMATCHED SOCKS!" That seems to be particularly effective to, though I've never had that pleasue. At least from the stories I've heard it worked really well in San Fransisco.

PlayStation phone promo'd in creepy commercial

CREEEEEPY

It's the stitches, I think, but that is just friggin creepy.

Republican reps push for mandatory gun ownership

Access vs ownership

I would venture a guess that just about everyone in the US can get access to a gun fairly quickly (within a couple hours) should the need arise. I could certainly get my hands on several in 15 minutes or less even though I don't own one. Gun ownership is widespread enough here that odds are everyone in the country is probably on good terms with at least one gun owner.

Court orders seizure of PS3 hacker's computers

They might as well have

Hotz's hack simply allowed Linux to use the full capabilities of the hardware. There was no threat to Sony's bottom line with it and thus no reason to kill off other OS. Besides it required a soldering iron. By removing the other OS option they opened themselves up to soft mods that will eventually lead to the ability to play backup discs (backed up from your buddy's copy of course). It was a dumb move on their part.

And for the record, they did get sued. I haven't heard anything about it in a while, but I remember reading about the plantiffs trying to get class action status.

Epic fail part 2 Sony

After all the rampant homebrew on PSP hurt Sony...oh, wait, not at all. In fact, it actually HELPED their bottom line as people lined up to buy the things so they could run homebrew apps (that is the sole reason anyone I know who had a first gen PSP went that route rather than getting Game Boys of various flavors).

That said, what's the big deal? So the PS3 is cracked. Big deal. So is every other console on the planet. It would have been cracked years ago if not for the other OS option. It's no coincidence that we didn't see a softmod until after Sony removed other OS. It's simple: The Linux-on-a-toaster crowd are the ones with the skill to get homebrew on consoles. Take away their reason for cracking your console and you'll never have to worry about pirates making a softmod. That was epic fail part 1.

Reg Hardware Reader Awards 2010 Winners

Eh? O_o

iPhone 4 for the work product of the year? Seriously? That hunk of junk that every respectable consumer reporting publication has warned people against since it came out? Good grief, how many rabid fanbois did THAT have to take? And why the hell am I risking their ire by pointing it out?

Windows Phone 7 for a silver in mobile product of the year? I'm fairly sure it was here on El Reg that I read that it was doomed to flop (and I've yet to actually see anyone with one). It hasn't exactly made a big (or noticable really) splash in the phone OS market. At least not in my area.

Suprisingly though those are the only two things that left me scratching my head. I rather think the PC game of the year winner and runner up got accidently reversed, but I've always prefered RTS to FPS.

Apple seeks touchscreen display mouse patent

Anyone else thinking...

how annoying it's going to be to constantly be activating keys on the mouse touchscreen by accident? The whole thing just strikes me as a bad idea.

PlayStation 3 code signing cracked

No

The crack using hypervisor was to give Linux the ability to fully utilize the hardware. Piracy wasn't a goal there, and would have been a whole lot more work than this will be.

I called it though. I said as soon as the otherOS option vanished from my PS3 that we'd be seeing an exploit to run Linux again within a year and one that didn't involve a soldering iron in 18 months. I expect to see pirated games running within another couple months.

Dumb move by Sony. The fact that the Linux crowd could mostly do what they wanted without cracking the system was the only thing keeping pirated games off the PS3 when the Wii and 360 were already cracked.

Jobs dubs Google's 'open' Android speak 'disingenuous'

What's best for the customer?

In my opinion what's best for the customer is that they be able to do what they want with their phone without having to jailbreak it. So that would be Android: 1, iOS:0.

Christian group declares jct 9 on M25 cursed

So THAT'S how it works

"Coates believes the malefactor has been recording evil messages onto cassette tapes which are then unspooled to enclose and hence curse their target areas."

So if I start unspooling the casettes from some old as seen on TV get rich quick scheme and wrap them around my house will I win the lottery? Hrm...

Die-hard bug bytes Linux kernel for second time

Still Linux

Yes they've hacked the hell out of it. The fact that you can do that is one of Linux's greatest strengths. Don't believe me? Try to do it using Windows as a starting point.

Besides, you're wrong. Android is quite recognizable as Linux. I can't speak about the data centers but I'd imagine the same is true of them.

It's still news

I'll just point out that this made the news. Bugs of this nature on certain other OSes ceased to be front page matieral decades ago.

Mine's the one with the custom rolled Debian live CD in the pocket.

Pirate Bay beset by tainted ads

Virus Prevention

"Surfers can minimise their exposure to these sorts of attacks by making sure their systems are fully patched and running up-to-date anti-virus scanners"

Or, you know, by not going to TPB....

Rackspace claims credit for shushing Koran-burning 'pastor'

Don't blame us

The vast majority of Christians don't back this. A few idiots like this guy and Fred Phelps give us all a bad name. They're the Christian equivalent of Islamic terrorists.

Want to use WD diagnostics? Buy Windows

Not unexpected

WD has been pretty low on my list for a while. In my book they sit about a step and a half above Maxtor. With such a low end company it comes as no suprise whatsoever that they only support Windows. Still you're right. Expected or not it's still absurd.

God-blocking web filter ironically hard to find

Seems like a joke

And El Reg seems to have fallen for it.

El Reg marks Steve Jobs for termination

Good grief

The guy's a crackpot. I'm an American and I can assure you that the red X means no such thing. We really aren't the gun happy kill-on-a-whim country the rest of the world seems to think we are.

SCO rises from the dead (again)

You gotta shoot 'em in the head!

Has no one else seen a monster movie?

The Reg guide to Linux, part 3

That works

That's basically a GUI frontend approach to chmod so it works to.

Really I hadn't thought of that. Honestly between my typing speed and shortcuts I have set up I can usually have chmod +x ~/downloads/whatever&&~/downloads/whatever punched into a teminal in about a quarter of the time it would take me to do it in a GUI.

Let's compare

You could do it in the GUI, but as is generally the case (even in Windows) the CLI is quicker.

But let's look at the equivalent process under Windows:

Hit updates.microsoft.com (a rather tedious process by comparison already)

Find a non-MS program and hit it's website. Download the update. Install the update. Repeat for every single program on your computer.

Time to run that scarey command line: 30 seconds (maybe ten minutes if you watch it do its automated goodness)

Time for the Windows equivalent: An hour...if you're lucky.

You missed the point

The command line is easier and quicker than the GUI most of the time once you learn to use it. That's true even in Windows. As the article stated there are multiple GUIs available, but using them takes 3 times longer. For this reason the CLI is the best way to do what they're showing.

No you can't

Everything downloads with read only permissions. Unless Ubuntu is set up to bypass that (which is possible but not considered a good idea by most of the Linux community) you'll have to chmod it first.

Steam

There is a Linux version of Steam, and from what I understand they're working on adding support for more games.

Regardless if you're a hardcore gamer you should stick with Windows. As much as I love Linux it's not the best system for everyone.

Yes, software can be patented, US Supremes say

Another Supreme Court fail

Once again the Supreme Court fails us. Here they had a chance to fix a huge problem and bring us in line with the rest of the world on software patents and instead they make the problem worse. Idiots.

The Reg guide to Linux, part 1: Picking a distro

Agreed

As a long time Debian user I've always been underwhelmed with Ubuntu, especially when it comes to stability (though it does about match Windows XP for stability in my opinion). Ripping off Debian Experimental seems like a really bad way to build a distro.

That said, it's pretty, and easier to use than a lot of distros.

Personally I usually give newbies a Mepis disc, help them install it, and make sure they have my cell phone number in case they have trouble later on (they hardly ever do).

Choosing a distro

Here's an analogy I've always liked: Choosing a Linux distro is like choosing a car. If you've got to shuttle a bunch of kids around you get a minivan. If you have to carry construction materials you get a pickup. If you just need to get yourself from place to place and want to spend the bare minimum on gas you get a smartcar or a motorcycle.

Along those same lines, if you want something easy enough for your grandmother to use you get Ubuntu, Mepis, or Mint. If you're looking for a rock solid corporate server you get Red Hat or SUSE. If you're going to do security testing you get Backtracker. If you're just using it to fix other computers you get Knoppix.

And then there's Debian and Gentoo, when are like buying a car parts store: You can build any kind of system you want with them but you have to know what you're doing.

In the real world...

people who think we all need Windows are just brainwashed. I can do everything I need to do with Debian. I haven't had a Windows installation in my house for a while now.

Don't get me wrong: for some people and some tasks Windows is the way to go. That's a long stretch from saying everyone needs Windows though. Most people could do everything they need to do on Linux.

I'm not one of those people who say everyone should run Linux or anything, I just hate when people say everyone needs Windows. It's not true. It's not even close to true.

Ubuntu tablet threat to iPad? Nah

I don't see a use...

for the iPad. I can't fathom why anyone one would one. Especially since you can't run anything on them that doesn't have Steve Jobs stamp of approval. Now if I could have a tablet that I could run anything I wanted on it then I could see some uses for it, but not enough to actually justify buying one.

But some people do. I say give them options if they want a tablet. The iPad shouldn't be the only one on the market. Ubuntu, with it's massive progress in recent years in the area of user experience, is the ideal distro to start with if you're going to make a Linux based tablet.

True but...

Canonical is pretty good about giving permission to use 'buntu in the name of Ubuntu derivitives.

Usenet's home shuts down today

'Tis a sad sad moment for the digital world

That is all.

Was Microsoft's Office 2010 worth killing Clippy?

Outlook's not so great

Outlook has it's strong points, I'll admit, but without Exchange it's nothing more than just another mail client. If you do have Exchange it becomes invaluable, but there are better systems to do what Exchange does to.

Free MS Office?

"Microsoft will be offering Office Starter, a basic edition of Office 2010 supported by advertising,"

Not a bad idea. It certainly puts a dent in the single biggest argument for OpenOffice. Being a Linux geek I'm not going to be switching back to MS Office anytime soon (or, probably, ever), but it's good to see Microsoft is realizing that their monopoly isn't secure enough to gouge people mercilessly anymore.

Microsoft drops second IE9 preview

Actually....

In my experience Opera generally runs faster and smoother than FF. I suspect that the reason they lag behind FF and IE in adoption has more to do with momentum and advertising than any technical deficit.

Typical Microsoft

We don't own it, so we won't support it....Typcial.

As a web developer I'm getting sick and tired of dealing with Microsoft's BS on these kinds of issues. Just when I think they're finally going to do something right with IE they pull a stunt like this.

My message to Microsoft: JUST FOLLOW THE EFFING STANDARDS! Everyone else supports Theora and OGG. Guess what Microsoft? That's consensus.

Javascript guru calls for webwide IE6 boycott

Geh!

"IE6 was a great browser"

No, no it wasn't. Ever.

"It's still a great browser"

No, no it's not.

Now, someone want to get this guy a straight jacket before he hurts himself?

Applesoft, Ogg, and the future of web video

Won't change the community's view of Ubuntu

There's a sizable portion of the Linux community that doesn't like Ubuntu's constant flirting with closed source stuff already. Mostly it's the same people who are fond of the term 'Ubuntard' (no, I'm not one of them....I have other reasons for not liking Ubuntu). Using H.264 and MP3 instead of OGG isn't going to change anything.

The article's right about MP3 though. Most people I know would say I'm huge open source supporter, but my music collection is still in MP3. There's a reason for that to. Look at your list of options for digital music players if you want OGG compatibility vs your options if you have nothing but MP3s.

Pirate Bay co-founder hopes it will die

Ineffective Litigation

Here's the thing with TPB: Even if you somehow shut it down (like that's ever going to happen) something else is ready to take its place. And something will be ready when you take down its replacement. Basically so long as the record companies, movie studies, and software vendors stick to outdated business models, they loose. The smart ones are looking for ways to make money off filesharing rather than leaving it in the hands of pirates. The dumbest are the ones throwing money at lawyers to make piracy go away. Right or wrong sites like TPB are here to stay. Pressing charges on TPB founders is an exercise in futility.

The really ironic thing about the whole mess is that a lot of companies efforts to stop piracy have turned the pirates into the good guys in a lot of eyes. DRM poses little hindrance to a pirate, but a legit user runs into all kinds of problems with the latest DRM ideas.

And then there's that comment about Sony feeling raped. A company that charges $12 for a cd that costs them maybe $2 a piece to make (I'm being generous) and gives the artist anywhere from a dime to 50 cents of the profits....I'm sorry, who should be feeling raped here? Surely not the record executive.

Sony sued for dropping Linux from PS3

Saw it coming

I wondered how long it'd be till someone sued over this. Personally I've never used the OtherOS feature on my PS3 but mostly because I've been lazy about it. Getting Linux going on my PS3 was on my todo list for a long time. PS3 OS is pretty weak in some areas that are pretty important for a media center (organization in particular) and Linux would fill that void nicely.

Honestly the legal aspect is just one more reason that removing the Other OS option was a dumb move. There WILL be Linux on the PS3 whether Sony likes it or not (just as there is on the Wii and the 360) and if the people who want it have to crack the thing to make it happen then you can bet your booty that software pirates will come along behind them and pick up whatever crack they use to make pirated games happen to. I really think they staved that off for years by making it so there was no need for the Linux community to crack the PS3.

Symantec buys PGP and GuardianEdge too

Time to switch from PGP to GPG

Let Symantec ruin PGP. We have an open source clone we can turn to. I don't know the pros and cons of GPG, but it's got to be better than anything Symantec is going to release.

Steve Jobs issues open letter on Flash

He's right

I don't often agree with Jobs, but he's spot on about Flash. By the time a product gets as mature as Flash you expect it to run reasonably well, but Flash is probably the single buggiest piece of software on my computer. Granted I'm running the infamous Linux version of Flash, but still you'd expect a company with Adobe's track record to do better.

Microsoft's FUD goes mobile

Good grief

You know, the Linux community has been saying "Tell us which patents and we'll work around them" for years. There really outta be a law that if you tell someone they're stepping on your patents you have to tell them which ones. Seems to me that Microsoft is just pulling a schoolyard bully routine. "Give me your milk money or I'll beat you up" isn't that much different from "Give us royalties we don't deserve or we'll sue you".

Palin email witness decries 'dog and pony' prosecution

Don't do that!

Are you trying to give us nightmares? Having her as VICE President on a ticket that never really had a chance was bad enough.

Jobsian drones shackle gamer with 'lifetime' iPad ban

Ridiculous

And people wonder why I refuse to touch anything with an Apple logo on it.

Ten free apps to install on every new PC

BIt of advice on Foxit

I've been using Foxit for years. Great program. But you're right about the installer. The solution to this problem is to grab the Zip file off their site instead of the installer. Unpack and run Foxit. No extra just included that way.

Some right, some wrong

OpenOffice, despite the flack it gets as a 'freetard product' is absolutely a must have for a home computer. Honestly why anyone would pony up the money for the fugly piece of crap office suite Microsoft tries to cram down our throats is beyond me. Open Office looks better, works better, and is free. A clear win even if it is a bit on the slowish side.

iTunes....Seriously....Freckin' ITUNES? WTF are you people thinking? I can name off half a dozen free media library/player programs that are better than that sorry excuse for software.

Foxit Reader rocks. Easily 3 times as fast as Adobe Reader and gives you some editing capability as well (with the Windows version anyway). Just make sure you grab the zip file rather than the exe when you download it unless you want extra crap on your computer.

I used Pidgin till I got sick of being bothered by everyone on my buddy list every time I sat down at the computer. I used Trillian before that but got fed up with that program for some reason I can't recall. Anyway, Pidgin is a nice program to have if you do IMs.

Oracle charges $90 for Sun's free ODF plug-in

Erm...not quite

Actually a good chunk of open source code is contributed by companies trying to improve upon a product they're using. This is especially true of the bigger OSS projects out there, and OpenOffice is certainly one of the biggest OSS projects in the world. It contains code contributed by the likes of IBM, Novel, Sun (of course) and probably a dozen other companies.

I can only name a couple big OSS projects that are the work of independant developers. And even with those many of those developers have arrangements that allow them to contribute code while on the clock at work.

Frankly a business model that results in companies making money off of OSS is fine with me. OSS would never have gotten to where it is now if no one could make money off of it.

That said why would you pay $90 per user for a MS Office plugin when you could just install OpenOffice and use it when you have a file MS Office won't read? $90 is a pretty steep price for what ammounts to a convenience factor.