:: Health and Hacks ::

:: Friday, May 21, 2004 ::

108515557650150399"> Geeze No Gmail

Apparently we are not active enough to warrant a gmail account. Sad but true.
:: Stephen 12:05 PM 2004_05_01_archive.html#108515557650150399#108515557650150399"> [+] ::
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Paintball Suicide & Terrorism: New ICD-9 Codes

In case anyone wonders about how seriously terrorism is being taken in the United States, the CDC over the past year have added a number of new ICD-9 codes relating to terrorism.


Here are the terrorism codes:

E979.0 Terrorism involving explosion of marine weapons
E979.1 Terrorism involving destruction of aircraft
E979.2 Terrorism involving other explosions and fragments
E979.3 Terrorism involving fires, conflagration and hot substances
E979.4 Terrorism involving firearms
E979.5 Terrorism involving nuclear weapons
E979.6 Terrorism involving biological weapons
E979.7 Terrorism involving chemical weapons
E979.8 Terrorism involving other means
E979.9 Terrorism, secondary effects
E999.0 Late effect of injury due to war operations
E999.1 Late effect of injury due to terrorism

And if that isn't enough there are a series of paintball codes - one that even covers Paintball Suicide
and enough other paintball codes to cover the unfunny hoax hunting bambi and almost anything else - although the CDC claimed to have run out of codes to add a new paintball assualt code. Here are the codes in case you need them:

2002 E922.5 Paintball gun (unintentional)
2002 E955.7 Paintball gun (suicide or intentional self-harm)
2002 E985.7 Paintball gun (undetermined intent)

And you can see all the new codes at the CDC and there are a few of the old codes you may have missed such as "accidental poisoning by second hand smoke".

And no, we wouldn't kid about government health policy. This is all real.

Free codes available at chrisendres.com



:: Stephen 10:32 PM 2003_08_01_archive.html#106005073720603173#106005073720603173"> [+] ::
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White House Futures Market: Will Bush Be Impeached?

This is just what the doctor ordered. A futures market on white house events. Will there be proof that the big Bush-man has an IQ over 80? Will Condy Rice resign? Will Bush have pretzel problems again? Will Bush wave at Ray Charles in performance as he did at Stevie Wonder a couple of years ago? All this and more will be available later this year.

Read the Wired Magazine article on the White House Futures Market.
:: Stephen 4:04 PM 2003_08_01_archive.html#106002749836294924#106002749836294924"> [+] ::
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Busy Week

If you are disappointed that the Terrorist Futures Market collapsed before it opened and Dexter Poindexter - oops Buster Poindexter or someone Poindexter felt the HOT HOT HOT heat and had to give up the dance and retire --- for diversion go check out the soon to arrive Microsoft Linux (MSLINUX) at mslinux.org.
:: Stephen 12:27 AM 2003_08_01_archive.html#105979842305821899#105979842305821899"> [+] ::
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RIAA Database Lookup

You can check out the EFF database - but if you want to see how it works, and don't care to use your own identity - use Tech TVs listing of the first 100 subpoenas and plug them in to the EFF database to see what they made available (first one checked had 7 files available).

Personally, I have been paying via iTunes and bought a few CDs too recently - but perhaps a complete moratorium on purchasing (and file sharing) music is in order.....
:: Stephen 12:33 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105940998958955558#105940998958955558"> [+] ::
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105934536117381712"> The digitally distracted denizens (3Ds) of Slashdot have posted again on how to get work done.

The go Fish site might be good for focusing. Although one guy on Slashdot mentioned removing some of his favorite games and another individual suggested making SCO your homepage......
:: Stephen 6:36 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105934536117381712#105934536117381712"> [+] ::
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John Robb Found

John Robb is back and a few others (about 16 sites) have found him.

His new url is: jrobb.mindplex.org and he his manila blog (hey perhaps it is time to switch to MT, if not Blogger) have the last few weeks of posts onlne.

:: Stephen 1:25 AM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105893793229381489#105893793229381489"> [+] ::
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105893469413119176">

Health Topic: Foot Health Month

For the latest in smelly feet issues check out this unusual coverage of foot health.
:: Stephen 12:31 AM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105893469413119176#105893469413119176"> [+] ::
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105884475802742963">

Blogdex Creator In Spotlight

Cameron Marlow of Overstated is feeling good about his notice in the online MIT Alumni Magazine Opendoor and has made the "MIT Spotlight"

He is not feeling too bad about Blogdex either.
:: Stephen 11:32 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105884475802742963#105884475802742963"> [+] ::
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Mozilla Lives - Netscape Dies

AOL has jettisoned Netscape (which they paid about $5 billion for, if I recall correctly). AOL came to an agreement with Microsoft to have Explorer continue as they primary browser and has never used Netscape in any positive manner. I was not happy when Netscape was purchased by AOL, although multi-billionaire and serial start-up king Jim Clark certainly was. Although Mark Andreesen made much money from the deal, he quickly left his active role in the company (and founded Loudcloud, etc.).

Netscape, once the ruler of browsers, has actually been dead as a browser for the past few years and was effectively euthanized by AOL immediately after being purchased.

The free source movement with support from Sun, Mitch Kapor (who reportedly has donated $300,000 to fund upcoming projects), and the Mozzilla Foundation while continue work on standards based browsing. With Microsoft pulling future versions of Explorer from the multi-platform environment Mozilla will be one of the few "players" that remain functional on multiple future platforms.

2 more links:

Mozzillazine
ex-Mozilla.org
:: Stephen 2:13 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105837923927396356#105837923927396356"> [+] ::
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105821553818614722">

BitTorrent News & Site Listings

A listing of the up and down Bittorrent sites, including suprnova.org is available at this twisted url of bittorent sites.
:: Stephen 4:45 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105821553818614722#105821553818614722"> [+] ::
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Poliblog

Another political blog appears - will it counter the preponderant ponderous pundits?

Poliblog
:: Stephen 4:24 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105812789840675586#105812789840675586"> [+] ::
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Engrish Around The World

For a good laugh check out the Engrish page - English as interpreted by the near-grammatical.
:: Stephen 12:30 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105811381779059424#105811381779059424"> [+] ::
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Temporary email Addresses

If you'd like to keep your email address private, but need to receive email for at least a limited time jet on over to http://jetable.com and get a temporary email with a French flair.
:: Stephen 11:21 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105806648901601344#105806648901601344"> [+] ::
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105789038134655011">

Is Linux Ready For the Desktop?

The OSA Foundation (with Mitch Kapor) has published a report (pdf) on how ready is Linux for the Desktop. They predict that it is now ready for many users, but will not be ready for many categories of users for sometime to come. They also predict that within the next few years it will overtake Mac OS(X) as the number 2 operating system.

I agree with some of their conclusions:

I agree that KDE and GNOME offer acceptable user interfaces. I feel that they still have a long way to go to match either Windows XP or Mac OSX, but I like their simplicity and configurability, although of course some distros (Red Hat 8, 9 comes to mind) limit both the configurability and the distinctiveness of their appearance.

I agree that Linux is a good server environment. I do not feel that a good server environment leads to desktop acceptance. NT4 did not lead to Windoze lead in the marketplace and in fact was a worse desktop environment than any other form of windows available at the time. Windows Server 2003 is an acceptable desktop environment and that is because of its imitation of XP.

When you read the list of Open Office known problems (bugs) you'll see unfortunately that it is not ready to replace Office in the business desktop yet. Fonts do not always work as predicted (although I have no major issue with that), conversion of Word docs may be problematic (although basic docs seem to be just fine), crashes may occur on opening PowerPoint presentations (unacceptable), etc. When one declares a product to be a version 1.0 rather then a .97 or a beta version - it should be stable and not just declared to be 1.0 because someone feels it's time has come.

While this is all workable, it is not workable by the average or typical desktop worker in corporate environment or by the average non-geek computer user. It still reigns as a geek environment - and I'll admit that even young children can run Linux just fine (I know some as young as 1st grade comfortable with logging on, playing games and basic navigation through the linux environment.).

As far as will it replace Mac OS as the number 2 - that is hard to say. I'm happy also with OSX with its strong UNIX underpinning. OSX comes with BSD Unix, Apache, Perl, can install PHP, XWindows, and is quite fine as it is. Linux can be installed on the MAC - but I see no reason to do so - just use the UNIX that is there....and all is just fine.

The report does indicate as I feel that it Linux is ready for technophiles, geeks etc. right now. They feel a transition for intermediate level users may come in 2004, but the typical user may not be ready - and Linux may not be ready to them until no time before 2007 - and that is a wild guess.

A quote from the report:

"Still, too many devices remain unsupported or poorly supported on Linux. A consumer trying to
make his MP3 player, DVD burner, storage peripheral, scanner, webcam, PDA or camcorder work
under Linux is likely to give up in despair. Drivers may not be available for Linux. Some devices
require recompiling the operating systemís kernel. Devices that have been mounted onto the kernel
may not automatically appear on the desktop. End-user applications may not recognize all the
available devices. Graphical installation software for printers may not offer ìdiscoveryî of devices,
graphically displaying which computers are available on the network, and which devices are available
on each computer.

In sum, while it may be true that Linux already supports a broader range of peripheral devices then,
say, the Macintosh platform, it is too often a lot harder (to put it mildly) for a Linux desktop user to
install and get access to critical peripheral devices and a significant amount of work remains to be
done before peripheral device support on Linux will be acceptable for a mainstream consumer."

I disagree with the concept that Linux supports more peripheral devices then OSX. Certainly there is much online support for many devices that were not intended to be supported by Linux including Winmodems - which can be made into Linmodems. But how many hours of research and work does that take? For most things you will want to plug in to your Mac - it will be essentially plug and play and transparent (without the notice that windoze gives of "found new hardware" - "installing driver" or "no driver found" "ready for use"...). The Mac concept of it just works - is usually true - and it works quickly without your going nuts.... Like the 3 minute Wi-Fi install that actually is 3 minutes - period.

A further read concurs with my last 2 paragraphs:

"Still, too many devices remain unsupported or poorly supported on Linux. A consumer trying to
make his MP3 player, DVD burner, storage peripheral, scanner, webcam, PDA or camcorder work
under Linux is likely to give up in despair. Drivers may not be available for Linux. Some devices
require recompiling the operating systemís kernel. Devices that have been mounted onto the kernel
may not automatically appear on the desktop. End-user applications may not recognize all the
available devices. Graphical installation software for printers may not offer ìdiscoveryî of devices,
graphically displaying which computers are available on the network, and which devices are available
on each computer.

In sum, while it may be true that Linux already supports a broader range of peripheral devices then,
say, the Macintosh platform, it is too often a lot harder (to put it mildly) for a Linux desktop user to
install and get access to critical peripheral devices and a significant amount of work remains to be
done before peripheral device support on Linux will be acceptable for a mainstream consumer.

Some of the work needs to be done by device vendors, some of it by the Linux vendors, some of it by
the maintainers of end-user applications.
One of the people we spoke with, Red Hatís Havoc Pennington, has proposed a hardware abstraction"

In summary - this report is worth a thorough read. Go ahead and download it - as long as you have access to a pdf reader :-)

:: Stephen 10:26 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105789038134655011#105789038134655011"> [+] ::
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Lyrics Online

The long missing lyric server, seems to be back in some form. Try: getlyrics.com and that link will send you to a Coldplay song.

If you are cool and have deep pockets, an IPod and a Mac - you can use Applescript to hook directly to the lyric server to obtain the lyrics for the song you are playing in ITunes. (Apple script is simple enough that the code is readily understandable and could be used for other applications.
:: Stephen 1:04 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105785669335996530#105785669335996530"> [+] ::
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Losing Scripting News

As a small protest for the removal of John Robb's blog, I dropped my subscription to Scripting News a few days ago.

The complete deletion of months or years of a record that even in its last entry was not disloyal to an employer is an appalling wielding of power. And this done by what is supposed to be a company dedicated to the spreading knowledge and enabling speech and publication. It is shocking that this has occurred and while there has been notice of it in my opinion there has not been a sufficiently strong outcry about such represive behaviour by the blogging community.

Robb's blog, while on a Userland site, was John's own blog. It highlighted other projects besides userland and was listed in many places as being in the top 50 popular blogs.

How does Userland (and Dave) explain this..... they don't.

Comments on other blogs are needed - and now.

Yes, employers have some rights too, but in one dedicated to improving communication - the deletion of content is reprehensible.
:: Stephen 10:29 AM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105784737980137489#105784737980137489"> [+] ::
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Looking For Robb

Since Robb was robbed of his blog, many are looking to see where he will pop up next.

His site was indexed by Feedster and his resignation post may be seen here
His older posts are also cached at Feedster.
:: Stephen 1:35 AM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105781533573204258#105781533573204258"> [+] ::
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LUs3rland Loses John Robb

Dave Winer has noted that John Robb is leaving userland.

Winer announced this event in Scripting News.

Robb's entire blog has been removed with only an empty Apache Directoy left behind.

Apparently someone wanted to remove all traces of Robb's comments at: http://jrobb.userland.com/

What would Winer say if it happenned at Blogger? He is still whining about the new blogger link in the Google toolbar which also comes with a "free pop-up blocker". Might one call that part of the world Manilaland or rather FascistLand?

How nice......

John Robb leads a discussion on Knowledge blogs at YAHOO: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/klogs/


Robb was the President and CEO of Userland. According to the Userland site (certainly this will disappear shortly):

"John Robb is the President and CEO of Userland Software. He joins us from G?mez, a leading Internet research and tools company. John served as its President and COO. Prior to Gomez, John was the senior Internet technology analyst for Forrester Research (his reports served as the basis for 3 of the top 4 ideas generated by Forrester in 1995-97 according to†the company's†annual report).

He also served for seven years as a pilot in US Air Force Special Operations. He has a masters†degree from Yale University and a BS in Astronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy.

John has been quoted on numerous occasions as a technology†expert in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, The Economist, Fortune, and numerous technology and financial industry publications.† He also appeared as a guest on National Public Radio, the BBC world service, and CNBC."

:: Stephen 1:38 AM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105764269832755144#105764269832755144"> [+] ::
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Where Are The Weapons of Mass Destruction?

Let's take a look on the Internet and see what we can find, since we know they have not been found in Iraq.
:: Stephen 9:44 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105754228163086141#105754228163086141"> [+] ::
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105735908277953959">

Harry Potter Fan Fics

A taste:

"If truth be told, Hermione Granger was not exactly "cool". Her skirt was too long, her hair was not stylish at all, she'd never exactly had a boyfriend, and she was rather clumsy. Hermione kept to herself, never dating during the most of fifth year.

That is where we find Hermione; sitting in her room, listening to music projected by her wand. It is fifth year and nowhere near exams. Hermione twirled about the room to the music at times mouthing the words. As she was walking around the room she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She admitted it to herself. She was pitiful. Hermione raised a hand and stroked her frizzy hair. (It was no longer bushy, it had gotten worse.) Her figure was o.k. but it defiantly could have been better. She had a nice complexion; no pimples in sight. But that had to be the best part about her. She turned away from the mirror."

For the full fanfic check out "The Dark Arts" at:
http://www.thedarkarts.org/

For a variety of all sorts of Harry Potter fanfics visit: http://www.fictionalley.org/ . This site includes novel length fanfics.

A fine article on Harry Potter fan fiction is found in the Boston Globe.

:: Stephen 6:51 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105735908277953959#105735908277953959"> [+] ::
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Rock Music You Can't Find On iTunes Music Store

Artists trying to preserve their "artistic integrity" and make you pay full price for an album include:

Metallica
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Rolling Stones
Beatles
Radiohead


:: Stephen 4:57 PM 2003_07_01_archive.html#105717943728727573#105717943728727573"> [+] ::
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Hushed Macrumors: New Macs

When I visit Macrumors lately it seems to be more MacPartyLine than MacRumors. Check it out and see how many articles have been pulled at the request of Apple. Now all I seem to find is what is in the latest IPod update, what the latest update in Airport offers, etc. The latest is pulling the specs of the soon to be announced (Monday) new macs that briefly appeared on the Apple Store last night.

So, if you want to read MacFacts rather then MacRumours head over to MacRumours, where you'll see more "removed at the request of apple" than you'd expect to see at a Rumours site. Perhaps this site could be renamed MacGap for all the gaps where there once and for a brief moment was an article.

The Specs include: 1.6GHz, 1.8GHz and dual-2GHz "PowerPC G5" configurations; "PowerPC G5" is apparently Apple's marketing term for the PowerPC 970, the 64-bit chip from IBM that is expected to supplant the Motorola-developed PowerPC G4 currently driving most Mac models. The systems will also feature processor-bus speeds of up to 1GHz, three expansion slots based on the current PCI or new PCI-X standard, three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 and two FireWire 400 ports, "AGP 8X Pro graphics options from Nvidia or ATI," up to 8GB of DDR SDRAM, and optical and analog audio in and out. Full details are available at eWeek.



:: Stephen 12:58 PM 2003_06_01_archive.html#105612828333929913#105612828333929913"> [+] ::
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Dirty Tricks: Microsoft Edition

Microsoft has announced that after obtaining an approximately 95% browser market share - if you are not using a new windows operating system you can all go to hell.

Most impacted will be Apple users. Explorer has only been fair on the mac system anyway, but there are some propriatary features built in to explorer that make it a supported browser on some web sites that will not as of this time (or recently) ackknowlege Safari, a still-in-beta browser as a supported browser for making purchaes. For examples give a shot at making a purchase on macromedia's site or Adobe's site. Microsoft has supported authentication that can only be achieved from Explorer on certain windoze server operating systems.

Safari is almost ready for prime time and it seems it may be time for many to cut the cord. (And either use Safari - based on KDE's Konquerer or to use a Mozilla based browser).

If you've installed Safari, but have used primarily Explorer, most of your bookmarks are in Explorer and Safari has no easy way to reimport them.

So follow these simple instructions to get those newer Explorer bookmarks into Safari:

1) Quit Safari.

2) Go to Library - Preferences - com.apple.Safari.plist (an xml file)

3) Open com.apple.Safari.plist in a text editor (bbedit or any other)

4) Look for "IEFavoritesWereImported" and change the value from TRUE to FALSE

5) Start Safari and all of your bookmarks will be under "imported IE Bookmarks).



:: Stephen 3:39 PM 2003_06_01_archive.html#105561959665148616#105561959665148616"> [+] ::
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Stupid iPod Tricks

We'll spare you how to install Linux on your iPod, which at this point in time is worthless, since you can no longer use it for music. Installing Linux on my digital watch would probably be better.

Instead we have a link to how to setup your iPod to be accessed via Wine On Linux - using an iPod for Windoze or a reformatted iPod for Mac (a poor idea). It uses ephPod installed under Wine.

There must be a better way (for those with a Mac iPod), but if you have an iPod formatted in Fat32 - this should work just fine.


Linux iPod How-to

Rather then ephpod under wine you may use the sourceforge project's gtkpod which works with:
Debian (package)
Mandrake (RPM package)
FreeBSD
GNU/Linux

gnupod is a collection of Perl scripts.
myPod is a gui implemented in Java.

For Windoze: Opening Up Yer iPod

ephpod + Macopener
:: Stephen 3:15 PM 2003_06_01_archive.html#105561810507202332#105561810507202332"> [+] ::
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Changes......New Blogger?

The switch to the new blogger has screwed up a lot of settings. But of course, I'm sure it will just be wonderful eventually. It should be noted that the indexing provided by google has been exceptionally great and I'm happy that blogger is now under the auspices of the best indexing agent/company available.

Looking at it a week later, the ability to edit this blog is still irregular, erratic, and unreliable at best...
:: Stephen 3:10 PM 2003_06_01_archive.html#105561784707531610#105561784707531610"> [+] ::
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105502654963383829">

Switch To Linux

Check out the possibility of a new Switch campaign.
:: Stephen 6:55 PM 2003_06_01_archive.html#105502654963383829#105502654963383829"> [+] ::
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95267220">

Top Ten Security Tools

Security administrators should look at, study, and evaluate at least some of the tools on this list. This list is at insecure.org and was done by survey of nmap users. It lists the platform on which the tools run also.
:: Stephen 11:31 PM 2003_06_01_archive.html#95267220#95267220"> [+] ::
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95020537">

Matrix: The Trinity Hack

Trinity in the far off distant future is using a version of NMAP to port scan and hack into a computer. I wonder what version of Linux trinity likes? Securityfocus has the story. Watch for the screen if you haven't seen the movie yet. (Yeah, right.)
:: Stephen 11:47 PM 2003_05_01_archive.html#95020537#95020537"> [+] ::
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95020180">

SCO Wakeup Call

Time for SCO to wake up and then crawl back under its rock. Novell claims ownership, copyrights, and patents to UNIX System V. Will the SCO Linux/IBM lawsuit now disappear or will SCO sue Novell?

Novell again stated that they support Linux and the Open Source developer community. Novell indicated that they encourage the development of the Linux kernel, the GNU system, and other Free Software.
:: Stephen 11:38 PM 2003_05_01_archive.html#95020180#95020180"> [+] ::
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95019096">

Nifty File Recovery

Recoverymyfiles is a shareware program that will let you preview your file recovery and can recover AVI, AIFF MP3, and graphics, quicken, etc. files. If you've messed up or accidentally deleted an important file this is the way to go. Look at the file first and only pay for the program if it has found your file. http://recovermyfiles.com/Recover_Deleted_File_Types.html
:: Stephen 11:10 PM 2003_05_01_archive.html#95019096#95019096"> [+] ::
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94549820">

Top 75 Security Tools

http://www.insecure.org/tools.html
:: Stephen 5:38 PM 2003_05_01_archive.html#94549820#94549820"> [+] ::
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94548592">

Bittorrent Update

It looks like a few other people are catching on to BitTorrent. Even slashdot has now got the fever, which of course slashdots a lot of the key sites. Here are a few more links:

BitTorrent Clients: Linux, Windows, OSX, etc.
Bittorrent FAQ
Another BitTorrent FAQTorrent Links
Smiler's Tutorial, FAQAnime Torrents
Sourceforge: BitTorrent Project
Slyck's Guide
:: Stephen 4:58 PM 2003_05_01_archive.html#94548592#94548592"> [+] ::
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94035829">

Hack The XBox

Self published book on hacking the xbox - available via the web. The Xbox can do a lot of nifty things, all unauthorized. This book will give you the details.
:: Stephen 1:35 AM 2003_05_01_archive.html#94035829#94035829"> [+] ::
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93967033">

Matrix Reloaded: The Matrix As Allegory

Slashdot had a nice discussion on a bad review of the Matrix Reloaded published in Britain. The author was noted to not like the first movie so why would she like the second. We'll omit links to the review .... why make them famous.

But there were some interesting links and sidelines in the slashdot discussion. One led to one of many web pages on how the Matrix was like the Cave in Plato's republic. You could not see the whole picture.

Another link led to a Google search of the Philosophical Underpinnings of the Matrix.
:: Stephen 11:11 PM 2003_05_01_archive.html#93967033#93967033"> [+] ::
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93944841">

Dissecting A Microdrive

Now that we are looking at the inside of things, here is the inside of a 1Gig Microdrive - used for digital photography. We'll skip the virtual frog dissection..... but you can find that with a google search if you really need it.
:: Stephen 3:40 PM 2003_05_01_archive.html#93944841#93944841"> [+] ::
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93900546">

Hack Your Airport Extreme

Or at least look at the inside after someone else has taken it apart. No need to hack this thing - it already works quite fine.

Online dissection of an Airport Extreme Base Station
:: Stephen 10:12 PM 2003_05_01_archive.html#93900546#93900546"> [+] ::
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93578469">

SARS Relapses in Hong Kong

12 Patients in Hong Kong Report relapses. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/01/science/sciencespecial/01INFE.html

On the other hand - feel free to visit and spend your money in Toronto - the worst place for SARS in the western hemisphere. They have been declared okay for visiting by the WHO - who were asked to change their minds because of financial hardships on Canada ( whose dollar is only worth about a half a dollar, eh?). WHO officials unofficially said that if Toronto changed quickly - you'll know it was due to political pressure. Who's Next you ask: meet the new boss.... And don't expect to hear about relapses in Toronto.

:: Stephen 1:22 AM 2003_05_01_archive.html#93578469#93578469"> [+] ::
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93578137">

ITunes 4 Update

iTunes 4 seems fine. The music store after a few glitches and problems probably related to being overburdened works okay also. The download is "reliable" - your buddy won't go off line, there is no waiting, the RIAA won't bother you, and the quality is good. Limits are minimal - you can use your music as you'd like. Gets a worth a try and save your pennies...
:: Stephen 1:14 AM 2003_05_01_archive.html#93578137#93578137"> [+] ::
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93425786">

iTunes 4 Online

Brave souls may now download iTunes 4 as freeware, and sign up for iTunes Music store. I'll probably try the iTunes 4, not so sure about the music store crippled tunes though....What does this mean "Burn individual tunes as often as you like or unchanged playlists up to 10 times"? I can burn one tune to an entire CD as often as I like? Thanks, Steve....

The new iPods work in Windoze or OS X. The music store and iTunes 4 is only for OSX 10.1.5 and up. Quicktime 6.2 can be used to import music into the new AAC format. As of today, QT 6.2 is only available for OS X. 6.1 is the latest available for Windoze.

Requirements:

Mac OS X version 10.1.5 or later required
Macintosh with built-in USB ports
400MHz G3 processor or better recommended
256 MB RAM recommended

QT 6.2 recommended to import music and use music purchased via the iTunes music store in other applications (iMovie, iPhoto, iDon'tCare, etc.)
:: Stephen 6:20 PM 2003_04_01_archive.html#93425786#93425786"> [+] ::
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93412184">

Acquire, Manage, Listen

Somehow 3 two syllable words don't sound like a winning slogan. It isn't even memorable. But, Jobs new proposal is might be better then first thought.

You'll be able to make CD's and listen, but not copy, music on other computers. Using "Rendezvous", which even tunnels into Windows XP better then XP connects with itself, you'll be able to share music using Itunes 4 on up to 3 Macs.

The price of the 10 Gig iPod drops by $100 immediately, lightens up and will be redesigned: 10GB - $299, 15GB - $399, 30GB - $499 all reportedly available Friday. A dock, case, and remote will come with the 15 GB and 30 GB. (The 5 GB and 20 GB are being dropped).

The audio will be 128 bit AAC encoded with free 30 second previews and CD cover artwork.

The music will be able to be backed up to a DVR. (Perhaps Tivo 2). Tivo 1 can be altered to work with OSX - but you'll need to add an ethernet card and tweak the kernal. (It runs on Linux). Tivo 2 is Mac friendly (within limits).

:: Stephen 2:05 PM 2003_04_01_archive.html#93412184#93412184"> [+] ::
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93366669">

From Rip, Mix, Burn to Download, Save, Use On A Limited Number Of Devices

Somehow, that doesn't have the same ring to it. If what Apple unveils tomorrow is a program to pay 99 cents per song or $10 per album and limits use to 2 computers and one IPod - it is doomed before it even starts. There will be a satellite announcement beamed to Apple stores everywhere and the rest of us will just have to Think Different until we can hear what was announced.

:: Stephen 8:17 PM 2003_04_01_archive.html#93366669#93366669"> [+] ::
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93298738">

Movie Sharing: eMule

eMule is a program available at sourceforge with open sourcecode. While the sourcecode may reveal this program is not spyware, you will have to alter the rules of your firewall in order to run it. You may have to completely open select ports - leaving a wide open channel into your computer. Bittorrents does not require such action. I do not plan to run this on my computer, firewalls are important and programs that do or require strange things and alterations to my firewall do not make me happy. A stolen Academy Awards preview copy of the Two Towers have been set up on a eMule server for download. I'll skip it and buy the real thing (probably twice) when it is available this summer and fall.
:: Stephen 11:38 AM 2003_04_01_archive.html#93298738#93298738"> [+] ::
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93160241">

Another Health Proposal That Sucks

Not to personally demean Richard Gephardt - but he has just proposed one more capital hill health plan that bites. This one sucks so bad that I'm not sure if my Windoze calculator is working correctly on it. I have some trouble dealing with Millions and Billions but this plan looks like it will cost approximately a touch over $5,000 per year per person to cover the 41 Million uninsured. Is that the only problem with our health system? Perhaps we could look at the numbers differently..... and perhaps we should... but according to the NY Times it will cost over 600 billion dollars over 3 years to make sure 41 million people receive coverage. That may misrepresent the actual costs for these people and represent total costs for underwriting the costs to small business. Still it does not account for disparity in coverage, ERISA problems, the actual cost to small business and many other issues. A hardly regulated industry of companies of questionable goodness.
:: Stephen 1:21 AM 2003_04_01_archive.html#93160241#93160241"> [+] ::
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93159270">

XP Office On Wine

Just announced at Winehq

CodeWeavers has released CrossOver Office 2.0.0 which will run Photoshop 7.0 .
Also supported are: Word XP, Excel XP, and PowerPoint XP.
A trial version of CrossOver Office available for download.

:: Stephen 12:59 AM 2003_04_01_archive.html#93159270#93159270"> [+] ::
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93158913">

N. Y. Times On "Decoding Computer Intruders"

What is up with cyber-warfare? According to the NY Times soldiers get to workout on systems:

"The government is working to close that gap. In the executive branch, cyberdefense is one of the concerns of the new Department of Homeland Security. Within the military, a task force with a $26 million annual budget is studying cyberwarfare for both its defensive and offensive potential, and President Bush has signed a directive, disclosed in February, calling for the military to develop policies to govern the waging of digital war. Regular exercises at the military service academies, most recently last week, prepare students to defend military networks against hackers."

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/24/technology/circuits/24viru.html

Keep your eyes peeled. We may post some links for tools to test the security of your sites soon. That is if you are not one of the many who are interested solely in BitTorrents. And hey - you college dudes with all that music online - time to dump it and buy the CD.
:: Stephen 12:52 AM 2003_04_01_archive.html#93158913#93158913"> [+] ::
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Hack "1. n. Originally, a quick job that produces what is needed, but not well. 2. n. An incredibly good, and perhaps very time-consuming, piece of work that produces exactly what is needed."