Monday, April 04, 2005
It's official!
I have moved my site to greg.nokes.name, and Wordpress. So, please update your blogrolls and link lists to reflect this coolness!
Friday, April 01, 2005
Why I dislike Microsoft Products part 72
From Eweek
This is part for the course - we expect there to be serious security flaws in Microsoft products.
March 16th? That's 16 days ago? Must be a biggie!
They are investigating? What? 16 days and no patch?
Microsoft is in serious trouble. To properly secure their OS, they need to re-write it from the ground up. But they cannot take the time to do that, as there are other OS's breathing down their neck. If they took a year off, and rewrote windows they would be two years behind (they are already at least a year behind Apple and the FOSS community). So they are stuck - keep developing Longhorn - keep slashing features from it and trying to shore up the issues that they already see coming, or drop it, and re-write the whole shebang. They have already basically lost the war in the web server market - Apache rules there with an iron fist. They are taking heat on the browser side, with Firefox and Opera starting to make serious inroads. Open Office is sniffing around at their flanks. Things are starting to look grim for the Faithful in Redmond.
But, perhaps this is not as it looks at first. Taking into account that Bill said he was going to give his money away, perhaps this is just a plot. If Microsoft were to fail, he could walk away with a hefty sum of money and claim that he kept his word!
Conspiracy theory's aside, the technical challenges faced by Microsoft are immense. The choices that they are faced with are really tough - keep the old, or develop the new? My guess is that they stay the course.
A pair of newly discovered security flaws in Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Outlook programs could put millions of users at risk of code execution attacks, a private research outfit warned Thursday.
This is part for the course - we expect there to be serious security flaws in Microsoft products.
Marc Maiffret, chief hacking officer at eEye, said the flaws were rated "high-severity" because malicious hackers could run a successful exploit from anywhere on the Internet.
"These are client-side vulnerabilities that could allow attacks via a Web browser or the Outlook client. The risk of a zero-day attack is quite high," Maiffret said in an interview with eWEEK.com.
He said Microsoft was alerted to the first vulnerability March 16.
March 16th? That's 16 days ago? Must be a biggie!
A spokeswoman for the software giant confirmed that engineers at the Microsoft Security Research Center were investigating the eEye discoveries.
"At this time, Microsoft is not aware of any malicious attacks attempting to exploit the reported vulnerabilities, and there is no customer impact based on this issue," she said.
Once the investigation is done, she said Microsoft would "take the appropriate action" to protect affected users.
They are investigating? What? 16 days and no patch?
Microsoft is in serious trouble. To properly secure their OS, they need to re-write it from the ground up. But they cannot take the time to do that, as there are other OS's breathing down their neck. If they took a year off, and rewrote windows they would be two years behind (they are already at least a year behind Apple and the FOSS community). So they are stuck - keep developing Longhorn - keep slashing features from it and trying to shore up the issues that they already see coming, or drop it, and re-write the whole shebang. They have already basically lost the war in the web server market - Apache rules there with an iron fist. They are taking heat on the browser side, with Firefox and Opera starting to make serious inroads. Open Office is sniffing around at their flanks. Things are starting to look grim for the Faithful in Redmond.
But, perhaps this is not as it looks at first. Taking into account that Bill said he was going to give his money away, perhaps this is just a plot. If Microsoft were to fail, he could walk away with a hefty sum of money and claim that he kept his word!
Conspiracy theory's aside, the technical challenges faced by Microsoft are immense. The choices that they are faced with are really tough - keep the old, or develop the new? My guess is that they stay the course.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
For those that are intrested
I am working on a new blogsite. I will be cross-posting between the sites for a while to see if I like the new stuff better then the old stuff.
Geeeorge!
The cat is pissed. It seems that he was checking out my blog, and found several pictures of the idiot dog, but none of his most highness.
Soooo.
Soooo.
I rock
New domain name for this blog - greg.nokes.name! Cool - hu? If I ever decide to roll my own blogsite (which I am close to right now) that URL will stay the 'offical' one.
Good Flash Movie
Check This out...
It's simple lessons like this that we need to learn. Often when I am wrapped up in my life and my problems, I am like Leo - not wanting to help, not thinking before acting. By training myself to be mindful, I can learn to float above the feelings that are generated in daily life. I still experience them, I still feel them, but they no longer dictate my actions. I am not ruled by my gut, but rather by my reason. I react not out of momentary passion, but out of thoughtfulness.
-Tsyko
It's simple lessons like this that we need to learn. Often when I am wrapped up in my life and my problems, I am like Leo - not wanting to help, not thinking before acting. By training myself to be mindful, I can learn to float above the feelings that are generated in daily life. I still experience them, I still feel them, but they no longer dictate my actions. I am not ruled by my gut, but rather by my reason. I react not out of momentary passion, but out of thoughtfulness.
-Tsyko
Spamroll?
Is that like a hamroll?
No - silly - it's a blog dedicated to news about Spam, Spyware and other nastys that infect those poor sods that run Microsoft Products.
(grin)
No - silly - it's a blog dedicated to news about Spam, Spyware and other nastys that infect those poor sods that run Microsoft Products.
(grin)
Go Go Gadget-Tax!
In an very good peice on Taxes, George F. Will says
This is something that I have been railing about for years now. I think this is a great idea! The more money you put into consumer's hands, the more they are going to spend. Or, more importantly, save. A stronger savings will allow more Venture Capital to fund more of what the US is so good at - ideas.
Hat Tip Dave
The power to tax involves, as Chief Justice John Marshall said, the power to destroy. So does the power of tax reform, which is one reason why Rep. John Linder, a Georgia Republican, has a 133-page bill to replace 55,000 pages of tax rules.
His bill would abolish the IRS and the many billions of tax forms it sends out and receives. He would erase the federal income tax system -- personal and corporate income taxes, the regressive payroll tax and self-employment tax, capital gains, gift and estate taxes, the alternative minimum tax and the earned income tax credit -- and replace all that with a 23 percent national sales tax on personal consumption...
..Today the percentage of taxpayers who rely on professional tax preparers is at an all-time high. The 67 percent of tax filers who do not itemize may think they avoid compliance costs, which include nagging uncertainty about whether one has properly complied with a tax code about the meaning of which experts differ. But everyone pays the cost of the tax system's vast drag on the economy.
Linder says Americans spend 7 billion hours a year filling out IRS forms and at least that much calculating the tax implications of business decisions. Economic growth suffers because corporate boards waste huge amounts of time on such calculations rather than making economically rational allocations of resources...
...Corporations do not pay payroll and income taxes and compliance costs, they collect them from consumers through prices. So the 23 percent consumption tax would allow taxpayers to stop paying the huge embedded cost of corporate taxation.
Linder says the director of the Congressional Budget Office told him it costs individuals and businesses about $500 billion to remit $2 trillion to Washington. And studies show that it costs the average small business $724 to collect and remit $100...
...Furthermore, by ending payroll and corporate taxes, America would become the only nation selling goods with no tax component -- such as Europe's value added tax -- in their prices. With no taxes on capital and labor, multinationals would, Linder thinks, stampede to locate here, which would be an incentive for other nations to emulate America. "This," Linder says, "would unleash freedom around the globe."
Critics argue that ending the income tax, with its deductibility of charitable contributions, would depress giving. Piffle, Linder says. In 1980, when the top personal income tax rate was 70 percent, a huge incentive for giving, individual charitable contributions were $40.7 billion. In 1986 the top rate was reduced to 28 percent and by 1988 charitable giving was $86.7 billion. The lesson, says Linder, is that we give more money when we have more money.
This is something that I have been railing about for years now. I think this is a great idea! The more money you put into consumer's hands, the more they are going to spend. Or, more importantly, save. A stronger savings will allow more Venture Capital to fund more of what the US is so good at - ideas.
Hat Tip Dave
Florida's New Living Will
I, _________________________ (fill in the blank), being of sound mind and body, unequivocally declare that in the event of a catastrophic injury, I do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. I hereby instruct my loved ones and relatives to remove all life-support systems, once it has been determined that my brain is longer functioning in a cognizant realm. However, that judgment should be made only after thorough consultation with medical experts; i.e., individuals who actually have been trained, educated and certified as doctors.
Under no circumstances -- and I can't state this too strongly -- should my fate be put in the hands of peckerwood politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it. Furthermore, it is my firm hope that, when the time comes, any discussion about terminating my medical treatment should remain private and confidential.
Living in Florida, however, I am acutely aware that the legislative and executive branches of state government are fond of meddling in family matters, and have little concern for the privacy and dignity of individuals.
Therefore, I wish to make my views on this subject as clear and unambiguous as possible. Recognizing that some politicians seem cerebrally challenged themselves (and with no medical excuse), I'll try to keep this simple and to the point:
1. While remaining sensitive to the feelings of loved ones who might cling to hope for my recovery, let me state that if a reasonable amount of time passes -- say, ____ (fill in the blank) months -- and I fail to sit sit up and ask for a cold beer, it should be presumed that I won't ever get better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my spouse, children and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes and call it a day.
2. Under no circumstances shall the members of the Legislature enact a special law to keep me on life-support machinery. It is my wish that these boneheads mind their own damn business, and pay attention instead to the health, education and future of the millions of Floridians who aren't in a permanent coma.
3. Under no circumstances shall the governor of Florida butt into this case and order my doctors to put a feeding tube down my throat or through a hole into my abdomen to keep me alive. I don't care how many fundamentalist votes he's trying to scrounge for his run for the presidency in 2008, it is my wish that he plays politics with someone else's life and leaves me to die in peace.
4. I couldn't care less if a hundred religious zealots send e-mails to legislators in which they pretend to care about me. I don't know these people, and I certainly haven't authorized them to preach and crusade on my behalf. They should mind their own business, too.
5. It is my heartfelt wish to expire quietly and without a public spectacle. This is obviously impossible once elected officials become involved. So, while recognizing the wrenching emotions that attend the prolonged death of a loved one, I hereby instruct my relatives to settle all disagreements about my care in private or in the courts, as provided by law. If any of my family goes against my wishes and turns my case into a political cause, I hereby promise to come back from the grave and make his or her existence a living Hell.
Hat Tip Sharp as a Marble
Under no circumstances -- and I can't state this too strongly -- should my fate be put in the hands of peckerwood politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it. Furthermore, it is my firm hope that, when the time comes, any discussion about terminating my medical treatment should remain private and confidential.
Living in Florida, however, I am acutely aware that the legislative and executive branches of state government are fond of meddling in family matters, and have little concern for the privacy and dignity of individuals.
Therefore, I wish to make my views on this subject as clear and unambiguous as possible. Recognizing that some politicians seem cerebrally challenged themselves (and with no medical excuse), I'll try to keep this simple and to the point:
1. While remaining sensitive to the feelings of loved ones who might cling to hope for my recovery, let me state that if a reasonable amount of time passes -- say, ____ (fill in the blank) months -- and I fail to sit sit up and ask for a cold beer, it should be presumed that I won't ever get better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my spouse, children and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes and call it a day.
2. Under no circumstances shall the members of the Legislature enact a special law to keep me on life-support machinery. It is my wish that these boneheads mind their own damn business, and pay attention instead to the health, education and future of the millions of Floridians who aren't in a permanent coma.
3. Under no circumstances shall the governor of Florida butt into this case and order my doctors to put a feeding tube down my throat or through a hole into my abdomen to keep me alive. I don't care how many fundamentalist votes he's trying to scrounge for his run for the presidency in 2008, it is my wish that he plays politics with someone else's life and leaves me to die in peace.
4. I couldn't care less if a hundred religious zealots send e-mails to legislators in which they pretend to care about me. I don't know these people, and I certainly haven't authorized them to preach and crusade on my behalf. They should mind their own business, too.
5. It is my heartfelt wish to expire quietly and without a public spectacle. This is obviously impossible once elected officials become involved. So, while recognizing the wrenching emotions that attend the prolonged death of a loved one, I hereby instruct my relatives to settle all disagreements about my care in private or in the courts, as provided by law. If any of my family goes against my wishes and turns my case into a political cause, I hereby promise to come back from the grave and make his or her existence a living Hell.
Hat Tip Sharp as a Marble
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
I am proud of this one!
Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who!
What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Kudos to Spokane's Quiz Queen!
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Older Screenshots
Here are a few older screenshots... (small to conserve space)
And, here is my home computer today..
-Tsyko
And, here is my home computer today..
-Tsyko
Friday, March 25, 2005
PyMusique vs Apple
Let fans decide on digital rights
I agree with what the article says. Apple's 'FairPlay', and indeed any DRM scheme is destined for failure. Why should I buy a tune from Apple, when I cannot play it on my iRiver? When I cannot use my Linux box to play it on my Home Stereo?
That's what I do. I do not share my Ogg files with folks that do not own the CD, and I only play them in my truck, or on my home system, or when I DJ Raves.
Just kidding about that last one.
Or am I?
-Tsyko
The argument over the use of digital rights management (DRM) to control the distribution and use of music and other content took an interesting turn this week...
...What Jon and his fellow programmers have done is work out exactly what information the iTunes client sends to the store, and what responses it gets back when someone buys a song and downloads it.
Jon earned the nickname "DVD Jon" for his exploits
Then they have written their own program that does all of the same things with one key exception: their code does not add the FairPlay digital rights management wrapper to the downloaded music file.
Instead of having to accept the limitations that Apple has placed on what you can do with the music you have purchased, you can use your own judgment as to what is fair and legal...
...It is great having people like Jon around because he combines astonishing technical ability with devotion to the spirit of copyright law and the importance of "fair use" rights.
That is, the freedom to do things like make copies for personal use, or keep backups, or just play music on any computer or portable player you happen to own.
For him, the purpose of PyMusique is not to encourage people to break copyright law but to point out how technology is being used to take away freedoms that we should be fighting to preserve.
I agree with what the article says. Apple's 'FairPlay', and indeed any DRM scheme is destined for failure. Why should I buy a tune from Apple, when I cannot play it on my iRiver? When I cannot use my Linux box to play it on my Home Stereo?
here is a simple solution for those who, like me, disagree with Apple's approach to selling music online and that is not to buy any.
I do not buy locked-down music, so I will not buy songs from iTunes or anywhere else that limits what I can do with them.
Instead, I use sites like betterPropaganda, which have indie artists and unlocked files.
But most of the time I simply buy CDs and rip them to my hard drive.
I get the artwork, I get a high quality copy of the music that I can re-copy at any time if I should lose my digital version, and I get a music file I can play on any device I choose, now or in the future.
That's what I do. I do not share my Ogg files with folks that do not own the CD, and I only play them in my truck, or on my home system, or when I DJ Raves.
Just kidding about that last one.
Or am I?
-Tsyko
The World's Most Devious Alarm Clock
The World's Most Devious Alarm Clock
Anyone that knows me, knows that I simply have to get one. That's too cool! Imagine the possibilities - you could set traps for it (If I pile the clothes like this, when it jumps off the nightstand it will get stuck or Well, you see the alarm clock jumps down and hits this lever which trips this fan which blows this wirlygig which turns this crank which drops this ball into this track which rolls down and moves this seesaw which pushes this rod up which dumps this bucket of water into this other bucket which swings across the room which pushes this lever which turns on the coffee machine.)
-Tsyko
from the snooze-bar-with-a-mallet dept.
wired_parrot writes 'If you have trouble waking up, try this: MIT media lab has created an alarm clock that, when you press the snooze bar, runs off into a corner, a different hiding place every day. Try hitting the snooze bar again now!'
Anyone that knows me, knows that I simply have to get one. That's too cool! Imagine the possibilities - you could set traps for it (If I pile the clothes like this, when it jumps off the nightstand it will get stuck or Well, you see the alarm clock jumps down and hits this lever which trips this fan which blows this wirlygig which turns this crank which drops this ball into this track which rolls down and moves this seesaw which pushes this rod up which dumps this bucket of water into this other bucket which swings across the room which pushes this lever which turns on the coffee machine.)
-Tsyko
Thursday, March 24, 2005
More on the non-story
So, I found this. Warning - it has bad words and stuff.
Many of the media stories sound just as silly and juvenile. When are people going to realize that we live in a free country? The 'Moral Majority' has no right dictating to us what to do and believe.
-Tsyko
Many of the media stories sound just as silly and juvenile. When are people going to realize that we live in a free country? The 'Moral Majority' has no right dictating to us what to do and believe.
-Tsyko
New screenshot
Ya know, I just love showing these things off. I am sure that none of you actually care about this but..
-Tsyko
-Tsyko
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
I am not going to post about...
I am not going to post about certain news items from Florida. And I will not point to to this site that has a very good unbiased look at the action. Really.
Nothing to see here blogizen. Move along.
Nothing to see here blogizen. Move along.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Gimme my Ogg!
A friend and I were talking, when I brought up the topic of using Ogg files instead of MP3's. As his iRiver supports Ogg, I chided him on his use of MP3's.
He asked what was wrong with MP3's. I explained that the format was encumbered by patents and costs. He responded 'So?'
So? I was at a loss for words.
So, I decided to find out why.
I will start with the social issues, and then wander towards the technical issues.
(From Daniel James)
It's all about the bucks. The content providers make a ton of money right now off of audio CD sales. They are not going to if the artists can interact directly with the consumers.
(From ABC Australia)
(From Daniel James)
(From Jack Moffitt)
(From Vorbis)
I am ripping at an Ogg quality of 8, and I am getting about 6 megs per song. Sammy Hagar's Heavy Metal is 6.07 megs in size. I am going to set it back down to 6. I ripped that song at 8 and at 6, and I could not hear a difference.
Dare to compare the difference between the formats.
-Tsyko
He asked what was wrong with MP3's. I explained that the format was encumbered by patents and costs. He responded 'So?'
So? I was at a loss for words.
So, I decided to find out why.
I will start with the social issues, and then wander towards the technical issues.
Digital technology and network distribution has removed the middleman between the artist and the music listener, but the content industry wants to put the middleman back in place. They can do this with the help of a proprietary music format and software that they can control, with artificial restrictions to limit its potential.
(From Daniel James)
It's all about the bucks. The content providers make a ton of money right now off of audio CD sales. They are not going to if the artists can interact directly with the consumers.
All of the money advanced by the record company to the act has to be paid back by the act from it’s small percentage of the CD returns. This percentage can be as low as 5%. Consequently, record companies are always in profit a long time before acts are, if they ever are.
(From ABC Australia)
With the advent of digital music, the content industry thinks that it can massively increase profits by eliminating the costs associated with conventional music distribution on physical media.
(From Daniel James)
Another advantage over MP3 is that Vorbis sounds better, and its smaller. There's two sides of that scale - either it's smaller or it sounds better. Vorbis can get a little smaller and still sound better than MP3, or it can get a lot smaller and still sound pretty good.
(From Jack Moffitt)
I'm a music fan. Why should I be interested?
Because Vorbis provides a high-quality format for you to listen to your music.
For a given file size, Vorbis sounds better than MP3. This means: You can keep your music collection at about the same quality level, but it'll take up less space or you can have your music collection take up about the same amount of space, but have it sound better. Vorbis already enjoys widespread player support and work is underway to play Vorbis files on portable hardware.
(From Vorbis)
I am ripping at an Ogg quality of 8, and I am getting about 6 megs per song. Sammy Hagar's Heavy Metal is 6.07 megs in size. I am going to set it back down to 6. I ripped that song at 8 and at 6, and I could not hear a difference.
Dare to compare the difference between the formats.
-Tsyko
Andre MIA
WVLT VOLUNTEER TV :
Science fiction author Andre Norton, who wrote the popular 'Witch World' series of books, died today at her home in Murfreesboro. She was 93.
Her death was announced by friend Jean Rabe, who said Norton died of congestive heart failure."
From Justus for All..
Passing of a legend...
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