therning.org/ magnus

I realised I hadn’t put in one of these posts in a while. The level in my “To Blog” bookmark tag was dangerously high… here we go!

I really enjoy this, rather old article on superstitions in relation to computers. I never bothered counting my superstitions on Windows, but given that I’ve given up on understanding Microsoft’s products I suspect they run in the thousands.

Every developer needs Cenqua’s Commentator. I’m getting it as soon as I’ve saved the money. It’ll be the first piece of software that I pay for myself in years. Worth every penny though.

libgfshare. Please, go off and write some cool software using it. Please! If I were a FirefoxIceWeasel user I would use the Python sidebar. It looks so useful I might look into creating one for epiphany. If you’re considering doing something cool with PDF docs, have a look at extendedPDF. I think I’ve mentioned Rob Bradford’s GConf difftool in another post, or maybe not. Anyway, I’m hoping that’s the first step towards a tool that lets you export GConf settings between machines. Are you a Python web developer, Python Paste is yet another framework.

If you still believe that “do no evil” is enough then you won’t be interested in Google Watch. I however thing they should upgrade their slogan to “do good”, so I am interested.

I found the following post funny, but I’m probably the only one. Havoc doesn’t understand why distributed VCS is better then Subversion. I suppose that’s what happens when you are a famous FLOSS person that immediately gain submit access to any project one shows an interest in. For the rest of us; thank goodness for distributed VCS.

Old news, but Firefly fans are bloody brilliant.

More old news, I don’t really see why I should worry about “identity theft” from someone rummaging through the rubbish in my wheely bins while the UK banks are so careless with client information.

With great power comes great responsibility. It’s sad when language designers don’t believe the developers deserve the responsibility. Here’s a post on the difference in attitude between C# and Python when it comes to empowering the developer.

I had fun reading about the evolution of a Haskell programmer, even though I didn’t understand all the code.

Well, I actually do believe in the cheerleader defense for wireless networks. Anyone who has looked at software security knows that plausable deniability is much easier to achieve than locking down a system. IANAL but I still believe in the phrase “beyond reasonable doubt”.

Now, I wasn’t planning on running Vista on any of my private machines. After reading this, rather long, article on Vista’s EULA I’m absolutely certain of that. I’m almost thinking Microsoft is taking a piss out of their users. However, evidence is mounting that they aren’t. I can’t help but wonder how their “de-activation” will hold up in legal systems outside of the US. I also wonder how much further this distrust-your-user craziness in EULAs can be taken before users start reacting negatively.

Am I the only one who finds this absolutely terrifying?

If you haven’t seen DCLugi’s Snakes On A Plane auditions on YouTube you need to!

Bruce Schneier reported on this a while ago, I need to keep the link around. What to do when your neighbour is using your internet.

Our “honourable” EU politicians are finally worrying about the right things when it comes to Microsoft. Microsoft is all about lock-in, they’ll use security to achieve it if they can. Microsoft is of course responding. I wonder if they’re ever going to inhabit the same world as I am? Vista creating 100000 new jobs? Only if changing the title of a position from “Windows XP Developer/Administrator/Shithead” to “Windows Vista Developer/Administrator/Shithead” counts as “creating a new job”. I think Linux Journal is too kind when they call it Microsoft’s Masterpiece FUD. I think it only shows just how desperate Microsoft is to get Vista out the door.

Digital Rights Ireland are challenging the Data Retention Directive. I hope they are successful, I don’t there are many citizens in Europe who would be sad to see that invasive directive go away.

A good article on “open vs. closed” from the Financial Times—A closed mind about an open world. FT is increasingly “getting it”.

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud when reading this article trusted computing—Trusted computing a shield against worst attacks?. Let me see if I got it right. Phoneix Technologies, who happen to make a TPM module, pays analyst firm Trusted Strategies to have a report on digital attacks done. Then, surprisingly, the analysts come back and say that a TPM would have stopped most of those attacks. Who would ever read and put any faith in a report like this? Besides other analysts of course. I can’t help but think that the computer analyst firms are locked in a circle-jerk that’s paid for by computer companies. It is a very strange world we live in.

Thinking of writing a media app in Python? This seems like a good place to start.

Elmo is right, Britain really is the 51st state. I’ve noticed the very strange and one-sided relationship with the US before but this article on Britain’s nuclear weapons put that in a whole new light.

Britain has just been blessed with a system of threat levels. Bruce Schneier isn’t impressed and I can’t help but wonder what should we do now that the threat level is SEVERE?

RFID seems to be the rave at the moment for securing things, which means it’s the rave in circles that break stuff. Here’s an interesting story on how secure signal-emitting chips in car keys are. It seems the RFID in passports has been cracked as well.

To end on a lighter note, you can now get your computer to do useful stuff by hitting it.

I was only interested in this article about the Christian smacking manual because they’d managed to find some wacky Swede to defend it. I didn’t expect to find one of the best quotes I’ve ever seen:

Mr Smith said last night the brochure was written for a Christian audience and outlined the biblical philosophy of child punishment. Many Christians did not want to see smacking banned as that would take away parental authority, but he conceded the brochure would appear as “total nonsense” to non-Christians.

I’m sure it’d appear as “total nonsense” to sensible Christians as well

There seems to be some intelligence in North America. In Canada to be more specific. This is only the last article of quite a few on Canadian artists worrying about copyright. This is a little old, but still hilarious. Go CEA!

Here’s an article on Britain’s anti-terrorism policy. It pretty much confirms the worries I’ve had but haven’t been able to put my finger on.

You can always trust El Reg to report on the silliest things ever. Here’s an article on a futurologist’s prediction that men will lose out to robots. This can be shot down on so many levels it isn’t even funny. Except it is

Ending with some funny stuff. A map of the Software Wars. I’ve recently discovered Humorix, this announcement on Microsoft’s plans for a DRM-oriented language had me laughing out loud.

You just can’t make this stuff up!

How do you get

They appreciate, he are futurism, aligned of the resistance?

From

Do you like your quasi-futuristic clothes, Mr. Powers?

Well, you use http://www.tashian.com/multibabel/ of course.

I think everybody nowadays has had to deal with a help desk of some sort. I bet everyone has become somewhat frustrated with the way help desks treat their users (i.e. you and me). They don’t keep any sort of history, e.g. every time you call you’ll find yourself talking to someone who you’ve never talked to before and you have to explain your entire case/problem all over again. If they accept emails then it’s via their own web form, just to make sure you can’t quote them without copy-pasting from your email client to your web browser. Of course they do this to discourage you to press the matter any further.

Just recently I had to deal with the UPC help desk. They had made an error in the bill they sent (their billing department is infamous in the Netherlands) and I needed to make them deduct about €80. I found out that I can’t call them from the UK, probably due to the 0900 number their help desk has. After a short call to their ordering line, where I was rudely told that I had a problem and they couldn’t help me, I had no option but to use the web form. Previous experience interacting with their help desk through the web form had left me discouraged to say the least, but I had no choice. Pay €80 to much or endure the web form? Not a difficult choice! Then I came up with the Help Desk Game.

The rules are easy. You use the web form to send in a “mail” every day, until you receive your first reply. Chances are every “mail” will be answered by a different person, who doesn’t know about the other “mails” you’ve sent. This means you should receive one answer for every “mail” you send in. Then you collect all answers and keep score to see what side wins. It’s a marvellous little game that definately helps to push your help desk experience from please-let-me-die-now to a-coma-would-be-nice. You might survice the latter you know .

As I mentioned I recently played the game with the UPC help desk as unknowing opponents. The outcome? The game lasted four days, hence I sent four “mails”. I came out as a clear winner, 3 to 1 in my favour (i.e. there was one help desk drone who claimed that UPC had made no error and I had to pay the full amount on my bill, despite my having cancelled the subscriptions the month before, amazing!).

Technically speaking this probably doesn’t qualify as a quote. I heard this on one of the extras on the Cat in The Hat DVD:

What is the difference between capitalism and communism?

In capitalism men exploits men. In communism it’s quite the opposite.

A colleague was complaining about the usefulness of a piece of software and compared it to the usefulness of a chocolate teapot. Being sad IT people we immediatedly started discussing whether a chocolate teapot is as useless as the saying goes. Google saved us from debating into the night with this article. I guess we now can conclude that chocolate teapots really are useless. At least when it comes to holding tea…