My inane life… in glorious details!
Archive for October, 2005
Record labels just dont get it.
Oct 31st
I was reading a very interesting article today on how Sony was using rootkits on its users. A rootkit typically hides logins, processes, files, and logs and may include software to intercept data from terminals, network connections, and the keyboard. In many sources, rootkits are counted as trojan horses.*
In a great leap of genius, Sony had decided that in order to protect its CDs from its consumers, it would install one such rootkit on computers unbeknownst to the users. These kits would prevent anyone from using the CD except through additional software mandated by Sony. Covertly installing a root kit is something that can be equated to the same ethical behaviour as installing a computer virus. Removing the unwanted Sony infection from the computer would disable the CD/DVD-ROM drive from being usable. Great.
And its in that respect that record companies simply don’t get it. First of all, they’re completely punishing their fans for purchasing their product. After all, how do these CD protections benefit the consumer in any way? The only thing that results is more nuissance for that consumer – thanks to Sony’s protection, they aren’t able to put the music they bought on an MP3 player for instance. They aren’t able to put the MP3s on their computer so that they can listen it from there.
Do they not realise that people use their computers for music these days? Nearly every student I know has some kind of MP3 jukebox set on their machines, where they shift songs between their entire music collection. The companies have been operating on a basis that their products should not be compatible with computers at all, going so far as deceivingly installing these virus-like programs. They think that that will reduce piracy. Fact is: it hasn’t, nor will it ever.
As the old addage goes: where there’s a will, there’s a way. And I’ve yet to see a CD where its contents could not be ripped. So this does not curb piracy in any way – meanwhile, it makes the CDs less appealing to the fans. Why spend $20 on a product that only half-works? A product that behaves like a computer worm and installs a rootkit?
Piracy doesn’t exist because people can do with their CDs as they see fit. It exists because people are getting fooked around by the record industries left, right, and center. Infecting PCs with worms, preventing people to listen to music they legitimately purchased, are hardly steps forward to make the CD format more appealing.
The record labels simply do not get it.
*Definition from Wikipedia
Published in 2600 Magazine.
Oct 29th
A few months ago I submitted an article to 2600 Magazine entitled “Securing your Wireless Network”.
I just got wind a few days ago that it was published for the upcoming Fall issue of the magazine. I am both excited and dissapointed at the news. Excited because I was published in a work of International repute. Dissapointed because I later discovered a few holes with my piece.
For those who aren’t familiar with 2600 Magazine, it is referred to as “The Hacker Quarterly” and deals with all issues in computer security/ingenuity, social engineering, etc. It can be picked up from most book stores in Canada and the US.
New site addition: Forums!
Oct 25th
This site now has its own forums!
This is mainly going to be used as a tools to facilitate collaboration in both projects, and university classes. I don’t fancy it will be used very much at all, but nonetheless its there now.
Wedding Photos
Oct 25th
Here are a few pictures I took at Melanie’s Wedding:
Most pictures turned out pretty poorly. Unfortunately, lower-end digital cameras really don’t tend to cope too well under poor lighting conditions (esp. with my jitter). That said, I’ll see what I can do with the existing photographs and email them out.
If you want a copy of the photos, please reply to this blog entry. Only family/family friends may have access to these.
Mmm…
Oct 25th
I AM FREE AGAIN!
The midterms have finished; the assignments have been handed in; my wonderful sister has married a wonderful guy; and my other sister and her family from the UK have returned home (not so great).
I’ll update the site over the next few days. Namely, upload pictures from my three last field trips, and install some forum software. Until then, I invite you to check out this awesome clip from “The Daily Show”. It’s a televised political sattire, and the clip I have for you today is simply hilarious.
Watch The Daily Show – The Patriot Act
Update: University photos have all been uploaded.
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Oct 19th
Ahhh, finally a few hours to myself! Oh yes, these are the weeks from hell for me. I’ve had less than 10 hours of sleep in the last 3 days. Mass of Assignments. A school kicking me in the pants wherever it can. Stress. It’s been brutal.
Meanwhile, my sister is getting married this Saturday (w00t!), and my other sister from England whom I haven’t seen in 1.5 years is here as well for the event. She’s staying at her house for a week with her children, before heading back home. I spent a bit of time with her today, and her children. Tonight, the three kids held a concert for us, consisting of such fine tunes as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”. 
Made my week.
Serious Sam 2 Review
Oct 18th
Well, I’ll let you know my bias right off the bat – I’m a big fan of the Serious Sam series. There was alot to like about the original Serious Sam – the game, even new, was dirt cheap: $19CDN. That’s less than a third of what other games cost. It was developped by these talented developpers in their figurative garage over in Croatia. And the game? Great fun.
That said, the title didn’t come with its flaws. It was no more than a brainless shooter, in one large and monotonous classical Egyptian-style environment. Serious Sam: Second Encounter, another $19 release, fixed alot of that. The environments now varied, and our hero, Serious Sam fought the monsters accross a variety of locales. Again: lots more fun. The game, however, still remained a brainless shooter.
Now comes Serious Sam 2. The game is more expensive this time round; retailing at $34CDN. But coming with it is indeed a better game. Make no mistake: Serious Sam is no more than a shooter in which you kill thousands of monsters at once with a vast arsenal at your disposal. And that’s what makes it so much fun. It’s a game that suits me – I can play for 5 minutes, leave it, come back. That said, expect nothing like Rainbow 6, FEAR, Doom 3, Half-Life 2. This game is not that kind of involved shooter. To be honest, I wouldn’t be able to recommend Serious Sam if the game cost as much as the previously mentionned titles.
So what’s new/better? Well, there’s a story this time round, and you accomplish objectives. It’s still the run-of-the-mill kill everything that moves, but now you have a purpose for doing so. Go to village. Save village. Meet this guy. Enviornments are as varied as the last game. The graphics are improved, and work silky smooth even at high settings on my Athlon 2600 machine (GeForce 6800 Card, 1GB RAM). Graphics tend to be low-polygon, but the game more than make up for it in both scope and scale. Best of all: The game is infused with much humour. A main female character is voiced by a man pretending to be a chick. Your computer-aid can now talk, and attributes that to “a better game budget”. Fun.
Multiplayer is also present in this game, in the form of coop (haven’t seen deathmatch servers). Makes for great fun with friends.
All in all, this is a great game if you enjoy that type of shooter. If you have limited funds, maybe invest in another more elaborate title such as Half-Life 2, FEAR or whatnot.
Rating: 8.0/10
Poor, poor Americans.
Oct 15th
Poor Americans. Everyone makes fun of them. If you’re Canadian, you may know the segment of the TV Show “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” entitled “Talking to Americans”, in which the show’s hosts attempt to convince some hapless American that Canada has a National Igloo, that our Prime Minister is some famous and deceased hockey player, that we have no electricity, etc.
Of course, I’m pretty sure the producers get the dumbest people they can. Ignorance is not an American-only thing, and I’m sure that one could easily find just as many stupid Canadians or what not. But nonetheless, the American populace are subject to yet another brush here, in a segment called “On the Streets of America” from CNNN. CNNN is a kind of parodic news network owned by ABC.
Download clip: Here.
Creepy: Humans Patented.
Oct 14th
A new study shows that 20 percent of human genes have been patented in the United States, primarily by private firms and universities.
The study, which is reported this week in the journal Science, is the first time that a detailed map has been created to match patents to specific physical locations on the human genome.
Researchers can patent genes because they are potentially valuable research tools, useful in diagnostic tests or to discover and produce new drugs.
“It might come as a surprise to many people that in the U.S. patent system human DNA is treated like other natural chemical products,” said Fiona Murray, a business and science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, and a co-author of the study.
“An isolated DNA sequence can be patented in the same manner that a new medicine, purified from a plant, could be patented if an inventor identifies a [new] application.”
Creepy huh? Full Source.
Replies on Slashdot:
Anonymous Coward: So this means that every time I spank the monkey, I’m committing hundreds of millions of acts of patent violation?
Bad Day.
Oct 11th
This blog is my journal. I use it to rant, and I apologise if that’s all I seem to do. But its mine – so take that :p
Anywho, today was what constitutes “a bad day”. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working hard taking these “learning at a distance” classes on behalf of one of my school courses. It’s in addition to whatever we learn in class. Anywho, I’ve spent 15-20 hours working on that thus far, and it was supposed to amount to a test we’d have in class today.
Well today, I fucked up my schedule. I thought the class was at 5:30, not 4:00PM. Needless to say, I found out (albeit late), and showed up for class at 4:25. By that time, the test had apparently finished. And I lost 10% of my final mark.
Fuck that blows. Please don’t reply to this post.
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