tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-156514962024-03-06T23:01:21.590-08:00Segin's Blog of Rantings And RavingsA place for me to rant and rave about all the bullshit in the world. Mature language and graphic depictions. Possibly not safe for work, depending on where you work.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-4557296201928232132015-02-09T00:27:00.003-08:002015-02-09T00:27:43.973-08:00What is TRIM and why do SSDs need it? <i>Note: This was originally written as an email explaination. I didn't bother to clean it up much before posting it.<br /></i><br />
The reason for this whole SSD TRIM issue is due to differences between SSDs and HDDs, and attempts to remain insanely backwards-compatible.<br />
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Since I'm writing this for everyone, please don't get upset if I'm telling you something you already know... to the late 1980s!<br />
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PC IDE hard drives originally used a type of addressing system called "CHS". This stood for "Cylinders, heads, sectors". This described the physical location of data on the disk.<br />
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<li>Cylinders were the individual tracks on each disk. Unlike a CD or phonograph where there is a single spiral track going from the center to the edge, hard drives have closed circular loops, similar to the layers of a onion when viewed from a flat cross-section. Since each platter of a hard drive has the same general layout, e.g. Track #1 is directly above and/or below Track #1 on all the other platters, it was best to describe "Track #so-and-so on any side" as a cylinder.</li>
<li>Heads. Each hard drive platter has it's own set of read-write heads, generally two per platter (one per side), although a few odd drives only used one side of each platter. This value instructed the drive which platter and side to look for data on. </li>
<li>Sectors. The smallest unit of data on a hard drive is a sector. These can be any number of sizes, from 128 bytes per sector, up to 16K per sector. The most common value for this is 512 bytes per sector, as that's what PC floppy disks used. </li>
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However, this is a complicated way of accessing data on a drive, so this was replaced later by LBA - Logical Block Addressing. LBA reduced the former three dimensional addressing system for a one-dimensional block address - basically all of the drive's sectors are now just one very long tape, from the perspective of the BIOS and OS, and the physical layout of the sectors on disk no longer matters. The big thing, though, is that hard drives still used 512 sectors, or at least claimed to, using some internal trickery that's completely invisible to the outside world<br /><br />
Modern SSDs (and many modern HDDs) will report their physical sector size as 512 bytes, for the sake of backwards compatibility (there are some BIOSes as late as 2008 that will fail to recognize any hard drive or SSD that reports it's sector size as anything other than 512 bytes.) However, their actual physical sector size is generally 4096 bytes.<br />
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Standard EEPROMs erase their data one machine word at a time (8-32 bits, depending on the data bus width.) Flash EEPROM, such as that used in SSDs, is erased in "pages", which are generally 4096 bytes. This means that to change a single 512 byte sector stored on a SSD with flash memory, the SSD's controller reads the entire 4096 byte page, swaps out a single 512 byte chunk with the new sector data from the OS, erases the entire page (as you can't erase smaller than this on flash memory), and then writes back 512 changed bytes, plus 3584 bytes that was unchanged!<br />
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And that leads us to another issue: Flash memory cells can only sustain so many erasure cycles. They eventually reach a state where the stored charge is too much for the high voltage erase pulse to erase, and the old data is permanently burned in.<br />
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So, SSDs don't just do this read/modify/erase/write, you see, they try their damnest to NOT erase. So instead, it writes the logical sectors to ANOTHER PAGE on flash, mark the "old" location as "unused" (it won't erase it right away, but it will schedule it for erasure at some later time, like when the OS hasn't made a request in five minutes, or something of the sort.) This process is known as "wear levelling" and is intended to extend the useful life of SSDs.<br />
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Also, filesystems like FAT32 and NTFS don't store file location on disk by sector address, they group sectors in "clusters", which are always a power-of-two count of sectors. It's a trick to help reduce filesystem fragmentation.<br />
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The problem further then is that, e.g. you write a bunch of small files to your SSD, they might use one or two logical sectors of an eight sector page. But your SSD is smart, it knows that later if it needs to combine these two "used" sectors with two "used" sectors from a "distant" part of the drive, or some other combinations of the sort, into a single flash page, if it helps the SSD avoid erasing any one flash memory page too many times.<br />
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And now where TRIM becomes /sorely/ needed: Because file deletion doesn't do anything to the actual disk locations where the file data was actually stored, and simply removes the file's information from the filesystem's "table of contents", the SSD doesn't know that the data was actually deleted. It doesn't know that it can stop copying that data around each time it has to remap the data on the flash memory; sometimes it'll try to combine two pages whose combined "used" sector count is higher than 8; this means that the leftover sectors are then merged with another block, if there's still leftovers, it keeps merging until there aren't any more leftover "sectors". But this means that the flash memory is being written more than once in order to complete a write of what the OS thought was just one single sector. This problem is known as write amplification and it is the cause of the poor performance of older SSDs, and also quickly reduces their useful lives.<br />
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But TRIM solves this. TRIM provides an industry standard ATA protocol command for instructing a SSD that a logical data sector has indeed been deleted by the user or OS, and that the data no longer needs be meticiuously copied and maintained (and can safely be erased and treated as empty.)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-82476912300164619932013-12-30T01:45:00.000-08:002013-12-30T01:45:05.855-08:00I'm still alive!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wow, I haven't made the first post in 18 months. <br /><br />But, hey, that's okay, let me just remind people I'm still alive, and make what is likely my one and only post for 2013.<br /><br />So I'll just leave you with this awesome two-part collaboration:<br /><br />Part 1 (from Minute Physics):<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/jN-FfJKgis8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />Part 2 (from Vsauce):<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/hYf6av21x5c?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-60967699153053300772013-10-19T02:12:00.000-07:002017-02-21T20:23:42.773-08:00Copyright (or: Why It's Broken) First post in over a year, guys, I'm still alive. <br /><br />Today's subject is on copyright. Namely, on why the current copyright system is broken. This post will focus on the copyright system in the United States. The situation may or may not be the same in your jurisdiction, so readers outside of the US, please keep this in mind. <br /><br />First, a little history: Starting with the first passage of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Act_of_1790" target="_blank">Copyright Act of 1790</a>, the duration of copyright was set at fourteen years from date of a work's creation, and if the author was still alive at the end of that term, he or she could apply for one more extension of fourteen years. The act was simple, it only covered books, maps, and charts, only afforded protection to works created by US citizens, and was geared for utilitarian purposes, namely to foster innovation by making blatant plagiarisms illegal. It also specified a statute of limitations on infringement to just one year.<br />
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As time went on, new copyright Acts were passed extending the duration of copyright with each new Act. New types of media were included as copyrightable, and new requirements for attaining copyright protection were added (such as requiring the encircled "C" icon, or the words "All rights reserved.")<br />
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Today, works created by individuals are protected for the life of the creator, plus seventy additional years. Works created "for hire", that is, under the banner of a corporation, like the vast majority of movies, musical releases, and video games, are protected for ninety-five years from their first publication, or one hundred and twenty years from their creation, if unpublished.<br />
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What this means is that everything created throughout your lifetime will almost surely never enter the public domain during your lifetime. This means that rightsholders will continue to charge for access to content long after any significant entertainment value is gone, or more likely, use copyright to bar access to works that the public has a demand for while the rightsholders refuse to create any further supply.<br />
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Let's consider this example: The original Super Mario Brothers game, as released in 1985, were the original Copyright Act still in effect, would enter the public domain in a few months' time. Unfortunately, by the time this game is released into the public domain, the majority of individuals interested in the game for entertainment purposes will either be dead, or much too old to actually enjoy it anyways, leaving the only remaining use when that time comes to be that of academic treatment.<br /><br />Now, let me remind you that the vast majority of innovation is iterative, not revolutionary. Consider the Call of Duty franchise, whose last truly innovative release was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The innovation here is ingrained in the title itself - "modern warfare", the switch from a World War II setting to a contemporary one. All subsequent releases did not bring anything new nor revolutionary to the table, instead opting to iterate upon the previous works.<br /><br />Copyright prevents others from attempting to try out minor ideas or iterations of an existing work, that is, adapting an existing work to create a new one. Creative mashups such as "<a href="http://stabyourself.net/mari0/" target="_blank">Mari0</a>" are in all likelihood in direct violation of copyright law. <br /><br />Of course, the layman might argue that without copyright, there would be nothing to prevent others from ripping off content left and right, thus discouraging anyone from publishing in the first place. While this is somewhat true (for there are many who would continue to publish for the sake of creativity), the retort is based on a faulty assumption: That the issue is black or white, that the only choices are the current copyright regime or nothing at all, that there is, nor can be, any in between.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-2741421803881170122012-05-29T01:07:00.001-07:002012-05-29T01:07:45.290-07:00Opinions on Diablo III<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Blizzard's latest hit game </span><i style="font-size: medium;">Diablo III</i><span style="font-size: small;"> is quite interesting. The first act gives many nods to the original </span><i style="font-size: medium;">Diablo</i><span style="font-size: small;">, from the events of the Fall of Tristram, to the characters involved - King Leoric and the Archbishop Lazarus - even to some of the monsters, such as the Butcher, which could be found in the original </span><i style="font-size: medium;">Diablo</i><span style="font-size: small;"> on labyrinth level 2. One of the earliest quests in the game has you saving Deckard Cain, yet again, from demons, in the catacombs underneath the Tristram Cathedral. No, he doesn't reprise his role as your item identifier, as the only items requiring identification are those of rare quality or higher, and you can identify items yourself for free, so long as you perform identification someplace where you won't be disturbed for five seconds. Town portals are the same. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">There's a new lineup of classes, of course, with the only one held over from <i>Diablo II</i> being the Barbarian. There's also the Monk from the original; all classes can be played as either male or female. Your stash, as opposed to being per-character, is now global (transferring items between characters is as simple as putting it in the stash, and then switching over.) So far, I've a Barbarian and a Demon Hunter (roughly equivalent to the Amazon in <i>Diablo II</i>.) Only one class (the Witch Doctor) has Mana; the other classes have class-specific energy reserves which are replenished or charged up in similar ways. At that, there's also no longer Mana Potions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Health potions have a cooldown rate - after using one, you're locked from using another for some 30 seconds or so. That's not always a problem, as many monsters drop health <i>orbs</i>, which instantly give you and your mercenary health as they are picked up. Also, health orbs and gold need not be clicked - simply run over either, and your character picks it up. (Imagine how useful that would have been in Diablo II, say, in the Forgotten Tower?) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">There's a few things to be disliked. One, you must register your CD-Key with you Battle.net account, making it pretty much impossible to give the game away afterwards. Two, there is <b>NO</b> offline mode. You must be constantly connected to the Internet to play at all. Adding friends is a two-way process, like on Facebook, and friends can hop into your games at any time - if you want to go solo, they can interrupt and there's not anything you can do about it, aside from leaving the game. The lack of an offline mode is real simple: It's meant to protect the Real Money Auction House, where in-game items can be bought and sold with *gasp*, you guessed it, real money!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">The chat system is carried over from <i>World of Warcraft</i>, which isn't all that bad, aside from the help command for chat showing you some chat commands that only work in World of Warcraft. <i>StarCraft II</i> also uses the same chat system, but not as much of it (<i>Diablo III</i> literally has the same floating chatbox, scroll buttons, behaviours, and font as <i>World of Warcraft</i>. Brand identity, I guess.) You can add friends who play StarCraft II or World of Warcraft, and chat with them in-game from Diablo III.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">That pretty much summarizes my thoughts. So here's some screenshots of the game, some of which were intended to be used to report bugs to Blizzard. Enjoy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-71548748442590877592012-05-10T19:13:00.001-07:002013-10-19T02:14:01.942-07:00Getting a Facebook UsernameSo I was asked recently how to get a Facebook username. A Facebook username is used for several things. First, it's part of your personalized Facebook URL; if your username is <b>johndoe31</b>, then your Facebook URL is<b> </b>http://www.facebook.com/<b>johndoe31</b>. Also, your Facebook username is also your Facebook email account name; as in this example, the email address would be <b>johndoe31</b>@facebook.com, and any mail sent to your Facebook email address shows up in your Facebook messages inbox.<br />
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So, let's get down to business.<br />
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First, click the downward pointing arrow on the right-hand side of the blue bar at the top of any Facebook page. It will drop down a menu. Select the "Account Settings" option under the menu:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPK90UJIBUrQMeuIcgx5nozjiXifBjmiyqUwr8U_z-7IbV9Y31BMnzWwoDx80fYvC6BAIx4og6NvDBAu7e_xw0ysvNP1zLiWFcDL9T609ZCQBHw-yhT2QY7tHWR3rYy8DNlok/s1600/facebook-make-username.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPK90UJIBUrQMeuIcgx5nozjiXifBjmiyqUwr8U_z-7IbV9Y31BMnzWwoDx80fYvC6BAIx4og6NvDBAu7e_xw0ysvNP1zLiWFcDL9T609ZCQBHw-yhT2QY7tHWR3rYy8DNlok/s1600/facebook-make-username.png" /></a></div>
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In the General Account Settings page (which should be the first page loaded once you click Account Settings), click the "edit" link on the line for Username (click the image for a larger view):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9XQln15DMlOKZ0iXLtsOHo-JCbNYlJbhPP6hcCAV0NMYfSQkydIkAXAl4aD4hb2DBxJfcoW2d8poXhgCLDTr6y5MRoylM8YOziC_rZ97m41ifNZbfy9G1-vgJPqNkvZVgOuP/s1600/facebook-make-username2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9XQln15DMlOKZ0iXLtsOHo-JCbNYlJbhPP6hcCAV0NMYfSQkydIkAXAl4aD4hb2DBxJfcoW2d8poXhgCLDTr6y5MRoylM8YOziC_rZ97m41ifNZbfy9G1-vgJPqNkvZVgOuP/s640/facebook-make-username2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Afterwards, enter your desired username into the "Username:" box. Please note that you only get to change it <b>once</b> afterwards. When done, click on the "Save Changes" button. Note that the button will be greyed out until you actually enter (or make a change) your username in the "Username:" box. This is to prevent you from losing your chance to change it later by accidentally clicking on Save Changes when you haven't made any changes yet. (Click the image for a larger view):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIc9T9cX1b9TyDewj7H4yBg8EVPbFWNvb4bJIHqTd-ooTmSfqS15LlMbkepYyD_Yjy_oUmz0zf1libpsMrFjVPzNy38coOOZM3e8ZogZJADC_pDfTVsyTu9DydTmGGPlY9-EPj/s1600/facebook-make-username3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIc9T9cX1b9TyDewj7H4yBg8EVPbFWNvb4bJIHqTd-ooTmSfqS15LlMbkepYyD_Yjy_oUmz0zf1libpsMrFjVPzNy38coOOZM3e8ZogZJADC_pDfTVsyTu9DydTmGGPlY9-EPj/s640/facebook-make-username3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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After that, you should be set! To try it out, go to http://facebook.com/<b>username</b> where <b>username</b> is the Facebook Username that you selected in your account settings.</div>
<span id="goog_380637634"></span><span id="goog_380637635"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-85650599942653103412012-04-17T23:47:00.000-07:002012-04-17T23:47:44.682-07:00Some musings for todayI'm sorry, no, censorship is censorship regardless if you're doing it to yourself amidst a "free society" because of "social norms" dictate that one should not speak of certain topics, or if some totalitarian regime is doing it for you forcibly. It's wrong and it needs to end. Period.<br />
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And no, there's no such thing as a truly free society. Such a society is a self-contradiction - for it would mean that one person would have to be free to slay anyone they choose, yet that would infringe upon the freedom of his or her victims to live. Not to mention the laws of physics themselves also limit freedom in other, more interesting ways.<br />
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It was recently published legalization and taxation of marijuana would save 13.7 billion dollars off of the national budget annually. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/17/economists-marijuana-legalization_n_1431840.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003" target="_blank">Source. </a><br />
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Yes, I understand it's 0.1% of the total deficit. But it's about common sense (just do some research on what alcohol prohibition did for crime rates and society) and fiscal responsibility. The latter doesn't mean you have to go all gung-ho austerity, but at least find some lunatic fiscal policy and put and end to it! <br />
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Oh, consider how much you would save on the budgets of state, county, and local budgets as well. California has a $13 billion dollar deficit for 2012. The national savings in one year alone could put California back into the black with a few hundred million of breathing room on top of it to boot.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-68486576051363912882012-01-25T23:04:00.000-08:002012-01-26T22:32:42.380-08:00Bypassing Gmail's Executable Attachment RestrictionA few hours ago I tried to download a build of a program that was uploaded to <a href="http://uploaded.to/">uploaded.to</a>, except that with the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/apnewsbreak-feds-shut-file-sharing-website-15396093#.TyD4jm-Jcxh" target="_blank">recent shutdown of MegaUpload</a>, uploaded.to has ceased all dealings with anyone whose IP address originates in the United States of America.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>So I had a friend overseas download the program and tried to send it to me, except for the fact that <a href="http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=6590" target="_blank">Gmail doesn't allow executable attachments</a>, among others.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, me and my buddy overseas cooked up an idea to bypass this. What if we just dropped the .exe extension and also used a simple <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XOR_cipher" target="_blank">XOR cipher</a> to encrypt the data? Using a key of 0xFF, I came up with this program (after a few bug-fixing revisions, click for larger view):<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzwKUGUgpMML9zy4gTvO109R980ocf89NXvaqduTTKaTPeEQEsyqXnpWGbJWcEPPU5jvPJUVTy0i8w0F0BuFJOkpj0GwQ1Zluxnw6Zw1_l9eOTd22aAnIdGscuLkcH_I9UGiI/s1600/simplecrypt-source.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzwKUGUgpMML9zy4gTvO109R980ocf89NXvaqduTTKaTPeEQEsyqXnpWGbJWcEPPU5jvPJUVTy0i8w0F0BuFJOkpj0GwQ1Zluxnw6Zw1_l9eOTd22aAnIdGscuLkcH_I9UGiI/s320/simplecrypt-source.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The source is freely available on the text-snipplet site, Pastebin.com. <a href="http://pastebin.com/dcKpUTuG" target="_blank">View the source</a> (updated 2012-01-27 01:32)</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-43117995479148399112012-01-02T06:05:00.000-08:002012-01-02T06:05:52.951-08:00ComputingsFirst off, Happy New Year 2012!<br />
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Secondly, Portmaster for FreeBSD is funny. Let me just demonstrate:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">===>>> Proceed? y/n [y] yes</span></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> ===>>> yes is not a valid response</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">===>>> Proceed? y/n [y]</span></blockquote></blockquote>I'm not sure if it's a bug or not, but it still makes me laugh. :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-52313792339497214752011-12-28T18:00:00.000-08:002011-12-28T18:00:47.681-08:00Paul Christoforo's Public Relations FAILI have to hand it to this guy. I've not seen <a href="http://www.heraldextra.com/business/local/article_d8736bba-73a0-5cf6-b51c-b8e38c955245.html" target="_blank">someone FAIL so spectacularly in quite a while</a>. Paul Christoforo, president of Ocean Marketing has basically FAILed his way into Internet infamy with a <a href="http://penny-arcade.com/resources/just-wow1.html" target="_blank">scathing response to a customer</a> of one of the companies Ocean Marketing was hired to provide PR services for.<br />
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</div><div>I'm just going to take one of the nasty e-mails that Paul wrote, and dissect it for the sake of providing humor to all, and "free PR" to Paul. My commentary will be inserted, <i>in italics. - Note: Some mobile web browsers do not support italicized text.</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div>Here's the e-mail I'm dissecting (<a href="http://penny-arcade.com/resources/just-wow1.html" target="_blank">via Penny Arcade</a>): </div><div><br />
</div><div><blockquote>LOL Thanks for the Free PR <i>(Wait, why is "Thanks" or "Free" capitalized? Looks like I'll be playing the Grammar Nazi card, considering this guy is supposedly the president of this PR firm, and claims to be a professional)</i> I know the Editor N Chief of Kotaku , <i>(Space-comma-space, you also FAIL at English, Paul.)</i> IGN , <i>(Where's the "and"?) </i>Engadget <i>(Not to mention all three basically told Paul to fuck off for being an unprofessional douchebag. <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/ScottLowe/status/151594656700973056" target="_blank">See the IGN reply here</a>)</i> I’ll be meeting them at CES .The noise complaint was for people high up on the food chain in a corporate world of real estate you have no clue about. <i>(What the hell does real estate have to do with game controllers?)</i> Thanks for the Rice Rocket Compliment too love me some motorcycle . <i>(Me so speedy, me rev you long time.)</i> Send that over to Engadget you look like a complete moron swearing and sending your customer service complaints to a magazine as if they will post it or even pay attention <i>(Ironically, it did get posted, but by Penny Arcade. Engadget wouldn't even want to tarnish their good name by even giving you the time of day, Paul.) </i>do you think you’re the first or the last what are they going to do demand us to tell you were your shipment is or ask for a refund on your behalf … Really ... Welcome to the Internet ? <i>(Welcome to the Internet, Paul, you've gotten lots of "Free PR", and not the kind you wanted.)</i> Son Im 38 I wwebsite as on the internet when you were a sperm in your daddys balls and before it was the internet <i>(Son, I'm 21. I also managed to pass my high school English course. I wwebsite as on the Internet when you were spilling your sperm on the carpet while watching crappy VHSes starring Ron Jeremy.)</i>, thanks for the welcome to message wurd up. Grow up you look like a complete child bro. <i>(Grow up, you write like a complete child, bro.)</i> I Don’t have my controller so im gonna cry to the world … Really ?? Hey take that free time and do something more productive. <i>(He did. He wrote to the email address N-Control set up for customer inquiries, asking as to where the product he paid for with his money is.)</i> All you had to do was check the like everyone else , people have inquired but you’re the douchiest of them all J <i>(Actually, it seems that you are the doucheist of them all, Paul.)</i> </blockquote><blockquote>To all our pre-order customers looking for information on the status of their orders after a busy couple of months The PS3 Avengers are on their way from our Manufacturing plant overseas. We are aware that everyone is anticipating having their Avengers under their Christmas Tree and were doing our best to get these orders shipped out as fast as possible. We appreciate you as loyal customers and for supporting our company. Customers will start receiving their products this week before Christmas and After Christmas and into the New Year. As a token of our appreciation we are offering all our pre-order customers and new customers 10$ off your next order with us just enter Avenger1001 at Checkout. Thank you and Happy Holidays! <i>(Why did you even bother adding this boilerplate message to an e-mail sent to a single person, unless you were well aware the whole thing was going to get massive public attention?)</i> </blockquote><blockquote>Oh and FYI When a street date gets pushed by a publisher on a video game you pre ordered do you cry to them too ? <i>(No, because I usually don't pay the full price in advance for a pre-order. In the event that I did, then yes, I do complain. If you paid me today for a blowjob tonight, and I didn't suck your dick for a whole month, and did what I pleased with your money in the meantime, wouldn't you get upset?)</i> </blockquote><blockquote>You just got told bitch … welcome to the real internet <i>(You just got told, douche, welcome to the real Internet. We do not forgive, we do not forget.) </i>check kotaku in 2 weeks when they are reviewing free PS3 Avengers we send them as well as G4 <i>(You mean the G4 whose <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/kevinkelly/status/151596508565872640" target="_blank">employee Kevin Kelly wrote this?</a>)</i> and all the other majors hell yeah , don’t forget to check Amazon, gamestop.com, play n trade , Myers , Frys and a ton of other local stores coming your way you think you speak for billions son your just a kid you speak for yourself no one cares <i>(You speak for yourself Paul, no one cares anymore.) </i>what you think that’s why were growing and moving 20-50 thousand controllers a month. We do value our customers but sometimes we get children like you we just have to put you in the corner with your im stupid hat on. <i>(We do value our PR firms, but sometimes we get children like Ocean Marketing that we just have to put in the corner with their "I'm a douche" hat on.) </i>See you at CES , E3 , Pax East ….? <i>(The PAX East that you've been banned from?)</i> Oh wait you have to ask mom and pa dukes your not an industry professional and you have no money on snap you just got told. <i>(If he had no money, how did he order any of these controllers? Or is that a stereotype of the gaming industry's consumer? If it is, then why are you bothering, aside from making money?)</i><i><br />
</i></blockquote></div>Well, there you have it. Douchebag Paul Christoforo has managed to successfully take his career Titanic, where it shall lie at the bottom of the great digital ocean of the Internet for all eternity, as a cautious reminder to all: Don't be a dick.<br />
Oh, and here's a screencap of a Twitter message that Ocean Marketing posted and then deleted: <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/ekIs3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="413" src="http://i.imgur.com/ekIs3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-24061052231472958822011-11-28T13:52:00.001-08:002012-05-29T01:10:06.335-07:00Quick Musing on Religion<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">All religions I have encountered to date are all a load of shit. Most teach that there is a supreme being of some sort that created us intentionally for some reason that we are not allowed to know; is observing our every action, Big Brother style; and if we don't play along with it's demands, we shall be tortured after we die for all eternity. What a crock of shit. </span><br />
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Here's the truth: Your head is up your ass, you really are a hairless ape, your entire species' - entire planet's - existence is purely by chance, and that your life truly has no meaning, other than what you give it.</div>
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The reason people believe in these bullshit religions is because when faced with these truths, they just cannot accept it, and need an alternative "reality" to believe in, because, at the very least, the idea that they are alive for no good and real reason whatsoever makes no sense to them.</div>
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Christians, Muslims, both have many similarities. One, they believe in writings that, in the case of Christians, a number of ball-tripping dopeheads, or in the case of Islam, one ball-tripping dopehead, came up with after doing too many hallucinogens and believing that they are hearing "God" or some messenger thereof (say, the angel Gabriel, in the case of Muhammed and Islam, or the Metatron, in the case of Christianity.) They tinkered with these hallucinations until they figured out how to brainwash and control people. Mainly because people wanted a meaning of life, and Christianity and Islam both provide that there is one, 'cept we don't get to know it unless we play by their rules, and still then we must play by those rules 'til we die, and then once we're dead, the big man upstairs will finally spill the beans. Unless, of course, you don't play by the rules, then you get to enjoy an eternity of torture. Supposedly.</div>
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Oh, I could go on for hours about this. So glad I am an Atheist.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-89061656130565992932011-11-09T22:51:00.000-08:002012-05-29T01:09:18.650-07:00Why comments on Android Market apps are mostly useless.I've noticed that the rating and comment system on Android Market is mostly useless; it is full of pointless posts. An example of a pointless post would be something like "great app". Just "great app". Shit, people, they give you the ability to rate between 1 and 5 stars; the overall rating should be a reflection on whether or not an app is great. Saying it is great, on top of that, is outright redundant, and helps no one. Worse, is that you'll find dozens of such comments on an app listing. I honestly don't want to scroll through a page of "great app!" "five stars!" comments to find a comment that is actually useful. <br />
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More useless commentary comes in the form of "App does not work on [insert device here]<model phone="">". The comments list is not meant as a way to send feedback to the app developer. It is meant to convey your opinion to other (potential) users of the app. When you post a review comment saying "Please fix!", you are NOT saying that to the developer. You are instead saying that to other users like yourself.<br />
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Speaking of developers, do any of these users have any idea of the process of developing an application? Or testing one, for that matter? Fixing bugs? Developers are human. They aren't perfect, and on occasion, they make mistakes. And, like humans, they don't know everything. Just because you know how to program, does not necessarily mean you could write a program to identify a person by voice, especially if you know nothing about sound from a scientific perspective.</div>
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A lot of apps on the Android Market are developed by one-man shows. When I see comments like "Everyone post a complaint so that it gets fixed faster", I want to reach through my phone and strangle the pinhead that wrote that. First of all, as I have said, the comments system is not meant for communicating with developers, and as such, many developers do not read the comments. Developers usually leave an email address, and maybe a phone number as well, that are at the bottom of the app's Market page.</div>
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Users that rate an app down because it doesn't work on their particular phone aren't doing anything to help the developers get the app working on the phone. There are well over a thousand different models of Android devices; while a developer can try their damnest to make their app work on as many as possible, they cannot foresee every issue that will arise on every device, and most of them cannot afford to buy one of every Android device.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-74057300222955885312011-08-24T04:16:00.001-07:002012-05-29T01:09:01.584-07:00Trying out the Blogger app for Android<div>
This is a test of the Blogger app for Android. It doesn't edit posts already created on the web interface very well, with HTML code "bleeding through" into your edit box. <br />
<b>Test of bold content.</b> At least that works. <i>Oblique</i><i>, anyone?</i> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7gkn6WQ44M">And how I can link to useless crap.</a> Amazing!<br />
Seems to be a pretty good blogging tool, if you don't mind something so simple that you don't get proper numbered or bulleted lists.<br />
Oh, and some picture thing. <br />
I guess pictures are simply appended to the end, as they don't seem to be inline... Well, let me press "Publish post" so I can see how this looks on the blog...<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhby0T68MaSsspCPbIAJbXS6gWgx59KtHOVMIO-ek1ryqSNTNMlJidtlIY4FLRrssD12xio_BQ37zlxJVQgV82DQXgBMMFBnOE1iqn2c3ZpipQ4EtCh27r6hEaI9yfIs9tuUhi-//" /><br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vz5Sg6w8nU5l7Oax7VA28evlj3PwaQcFXruzr2li4Q93luxlqyLU_6jB53wzblWJ_lLwS88FZ7HZqcwVSy-XEm6mbkz5yHMh1ZCQFau02thx2YJIyXxUd5ulsbDsZDgLwJY4//" /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0Gibsonton Dr @ Ethel St, United States27.849658 -82.379112tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-11880953610235088432011-07-08T23:32:00.001-07:002011-07-09T00:03:20.766-07:00Homeopathic Cranks<p>So, I took about 15 minutes out of my time this evening, and did a little bit of Googling on "homeopathy". With just a quarter of an hour of research, I have learned that homeopathy boils down to three basic ideas: </p><ol><li>The "law of similars". The idea here is that whatever is the cause of your illness, or is similar to it, is also the cure. Have insomnia? Give them caffeine. Radiation poisoning? Give them depleted uranium! Have AIDS? Give them sex with Freddie Mercury.</li><li>The "law of potentization". The idea that you make something stronger by diluting it with water. And 40% grain alcohol, making it essentially 80-proof vodka. And why water? That brings us to idea three, that</li><li>Water has memory. No, seriously, that's what these morons believe. That water maintains a memory of whatever plant or animal or chemical or turd it was once part of. Oh, and this is enhanced by shaking it around a bit. Sorta like driving down a bumpy road. Or setting it on the bed while you make sweet, sweet love. Or using a centrifuge. Funny stuff, this water. With that kind of memory, it's surprising we don't make hard drives out of it.</li></ol><p>So, I got bored shortly after, and decided to confront some of these cranks face-to-face. I ran across the website of a group called "NASH", or the North American Society of Horseshi-, er, I mean, Homeopaths. They even have a fresh steaming load clogging up the 'tubes over at <a href="http://www.homeopathy.org/">http://www.homeopathy.org/</a>. Their motto is: "...dedicated to promote, represent and serve as the voice of all professional homeopaths in North America..." And I didn't know that horseshit had a voice. I thought it just stunk up the place and attracted flies. But I digress.</p><p>So, I fired them off this email:</p><p></p><div></div><blockquote><div>I just saw your website. It needs a revision: "...dedicated to promote, represent and serve as the voice of all professional<strong> bullshitters</strong> in North America..."</div><div><br /></div><div>Homeopathy is a load of crap. It doesn't work. It was invented by an idiot.</div><div><br /></div><div>The idea of diluting a substance to make it stronger is a total load. The idea that water has memory is also a total load. If you think it works so well, why not use water to dilute the gasoline in your automobile's gas tank? Surely the water will maintain the "memory" of the gasoline, and the now-diluted fuel will offer a higher octane rating, providing better performance and fuel economy! But you won't, because you know that it's all crap.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, what if that gasoline caught fire? Homeopathy's rule of similars to the rescue! Let's pour more gasoline on the fire; it will surely quench it. Oh, you have to dilute the hell out of it first with water? Well, why is it that you can put out the fire with pure water? Supposedly, because "water has memory of previously being gasoline". Or some useless shit to that end.</div><div><br /></div><div>Water has memory? Really? So why the hell don't we make hard drives make of water?! Surely the principles of homeopathy must work outside the treatment of illness, as all validated scientific laws do. But, that is clearly not the case. Gravity works everywhere in the Universe. It doesn't stop working because someone tried to measure it out of context. Homeopathy doesn't work, even when you try to measure it in context.</div><div><br /></div></blockquote><div>So, I am awaiting a response from them (if they choose to respond, given the inflammatory message I sent them, it seems unlikely, but at least it's more truthful than the snake oil they are trying to sell us.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and to anyone out there that believes that homeopathy actually does something for you, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I'd like to sell you.</div><div> </div><p></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-89987324818391016562011-06-06T00:28:00.001-07:002011-06-06T00:28:30.479-07:00New blog theme!<p>After five years of the same old dingy theme, I have decided to change my blog’s theme to another dingy theme! At least this one feels 2011.</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-11336458624799885082011-06-06T00:05:00.000-07:002012-05-29T01:09:55.009-07:00Some Diablo II Screenshots<div>
Someone showed me some items on Diablo II that made me shit myself... here's the screenies (click image to enlarge):</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCTXKxxGUR9CTmpjR8IJBSdXD3sNDK_Oot-fsf2OKHWO6L5O7XZD_SwrxW3lqSd-LqzGvrtJDFfC70hoKnW5mtkU5vi6oahomMsPUBTB_JRG04ya9JG6fGrvaLAvtaOwT4_6R/s1600/diablo-item.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615001562275299250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCTXKxxGUR9CTmpjR8IJBSdXD3sNDK_Oot-fsf2OKHWO6L5O7XZD_SwrxW3lqSd-LqzGvrtJDFfC70hoKnW5mtkU5vi6oahomMsPUBTB_JRG04ya9JG6fGrvaLAvtaOwT4_6R/s400/diablo-item.png" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 300px; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<div>
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Oh, and here's one where Wine buggered up (and you now see that I play Diablo II in Wine, on Linux, Ubuntu 11.04 to be exact):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZpnKyJg8kFba26O43EaYHnGbzSKJcV9p2GYeaUoO31MVwn_zq2-pCovdM7HO2Al-S5P7Oo_SsEg6crQ3pNGdRZepqhqvoaxGwbdVKM4Zmz1dPd5r4uj2jL_6FnQ1DDMzxZDJL/s1600/Screenshot.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615001862820810850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZpnKyJg8kFba26O43EaYHnGbzSKJcV9p2GYeaUoO31MVwn_zq2-pCovdM7HO2Al-S5P7Oo_SsEg6crQ3pNGdRZepqhqvoaxGwbdVKM4Zmz1dPd5r4uj2jL_6FnQ1DDMzxZDJL/s400/Screenshot.png" style="cursor: pointer; height: 300px; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-48798233008345101112011-05-25T06:58:00.001-07:002011-05-25T06:58:25.208-07:00A quick test of AT&T’s HSPA+ network<p>In Gibsonton, Florida, with all five bars, –57dBm signal, HSPA+ on the HTC Inspire “4G” with HSUPA enabled.</p> <p>Enjoy:</p> <p><img src="http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/8600/atthspapspeed.png" width="640" height="481" /></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-66464011031205709082011-05-25T06:44:00.001-07:002011-05-25T21:10:20.627-07:00The problems with a touch-only phoneThese days, more and more touch-only phones are sold, and while they have some benefits, and many remind me of the Federation PADDs in Star Trek: The Next Generation, but there are a few things about their design that have proven themselves detrimental in the use of the phones. I will list a few of these here, feel free to message me about others <ul> <li><strong>The virtual keyboard eats your screen real estate.</strong> This is possibly the biggest issue I have with touch-only phones is that the large display is suddenly cut down in size as soon as you need to type in any text. This can be very annoying when trying to enter CAPTCHAs, because the sudden loss of screen space to the touch keyboard can cause the CAPTCHAs to scroll right off screen</li> <li><strong>Touch input is a poor imitation of buttons.</strong> There are several points I could make about this one. Ever used an SNES gamepad while playing Mario? You might hold down the run button while just rocking your thumb over ever-so-slightly to jump without letting go of run. On a touch display emulating a gamepad, this procedure is difficult, if not downright impossible. Secondly, you cannot feel the buttons you are pushing. Hell, as soon as you touch the thing, it is “pushed”, no actual pushing required!</li> <li><strong>Skin oils and fingerprints are not Windex.</strong> In fact, they are the exact opposite of Windex, making your display unreadable. What’s the fun in tapping your screen if you have to wipe your oils off the screen every so often to keep reading it clearly?</li> </ul> <p>And with these, I leave you with the issues of touch-only phones. Of course, I’ll have someone argue at me for making this list and not simply accepting reality as it is, but, hey, I speak my mind.</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-7539207548353112172010-07-26T10:38:00.001-07:002011-06-26T15:24:45.893-07:00SIM Lock Breaking Now Legal In The US<p>Copyright is quite an interesting legal system, especially in the United States. Our copyright system is possibly one of the most intricate such system in the world. As you may know, one of my hobbies is to study copyright law; the encroachment of the extent of copyright law on the freedom of people to use copyrighted works for otherwise legal purposes has gotten to the point where it verges on the very point of being draconian. One of the most dangerous and impacting copyright law in effect today is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Public Law 105-304 (1998), added a new Chapter 12 to title 17 United States Code, and is commonly known by it’s initialism, DMCA.</p> <p>For example, the DMCA makes it illegal to circumvent any form of encryption/content scrambling system, even extremely weak and obvious-to-decode ones. It makes it illegal to modify scrambled media/signed media systems to accept non-scrambled/non-signed media. Specifically, Title 17 USC § 1201 provides that "No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title." However, there are some exceptions to these rules, and today, the Library of Congress is required by 17 USC § 1201(a)(1) to publish a new set of exemptions to the DMCA every three years. Today, they published the new exemptions for 2010.</p> <p>Now, before we get into detail, let me give you a little backstory that shows the effect of one of the new exemptions.</p> <p>I recently purchased a Nokia 6620 off of eBay. When I got the handset, it was locked to the old Cingular/Pacific Bell network, which has since been acquired by of AT&T. I promptly took the liberty of using a tool called “NokiaFREE Calculator” to disengage the phone’s carrier lock, known as a SIM lock, which would prevent operation of the phone when a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card from any carrier other than the carrier it is locked to is inserted into the phone. I did not know this at the time, and if I had, I wouldn’t of cared anyways, but such an act was a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. However, I need not worry, as the exemptions published today make such an act legal. For the sake of the legally-inclined reader, I have included below the official Statement of the Librarian of Congress Relating to Section 1201 Rulemaking, with the particular exemption that makes such SIM lock removal legal highlighted in bold.</p> <blockquote> <h4>Statement of the Librarian of Congress Relating to Section 1201 Rulemaking</h4> <p>Section 1201(a)(1) of the copyright law requires that every three years I am to determine whether there are any classes of works that will be subject to exemptions from the statute’s prohibition against circumvention of technology that effectively controls access to a copyrighted work. I make that determination at the conclusion of a rulemaking proceeding conducted by the Register of Copyrights, who makes a recommendation to me. Based on that proceeding and the Register’s recommendation, I am to determine whether the prohibition on circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works is causing or is likely to cause adverse effects on the ability of users of any particular classes of copyrighted works to make noninfringing uses of those works. The classes of works that I designated in the previous proceeding expire at the end of the current proceeding unless proponents of a class prove their case once again.</p> <p>This is the fourth time that I have made such a determination. Today I have designated six classes of works. Persons who circumvent access controls in order to engage in noninfringing uses of works in these six classes will not be subject to the statutory prohibition against circumvention.</p> <p>As I have noted at the conclusion of past proceedings, it is important to understand the purposes of this rulemaking, as stated in the law, and the role I have in it. This is not a broad evaluation of the successes or failures of the DMCA. The purpose of the proceeding is to determine whether current technologies that control access to copyrighted works are diminishing the ability of individuals to use works in lawful, noninfringing ways. The DMCA does not forbid the act of circumventing copy controls, and therefore this rulemaking proceeding is not about technologies that control copying. Nor is this rulemaking about the ability to make or distribute products or services used for purposes of circumventing access controls, which are governed by a different part of section 1201.</p> <p>In this rulemaking, the Register of Copyrights received 19 initial submissions proposing 25 classes of works, many of them duplicative in subject matter, which the Register organized into 11 groups and published in a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking comments on the proposed classes. Fifty-six comments were submitted. Thirty-seven witnesses appeared during the four days of public hearings in Washington and in Palo Alto, California. Transcripts of the hearings, copies of all of the comments, and copies of other information received by the Register have been posted on the Copyright Office's website.</p> <p>The six classes of works are:</p> <p>(1) Motion pictures on DVDs that are lawfully made and acquired and that are protected by the Content Scrambling System when circumvention is accomplished solely in order to accomplish the incorporation of short portions of motion pictures into new works for the purpose of criticism or comment, and where the person engaging in circumvention believes and has reasonable grounds for believing that circumvention is necessary to fulfill the purpose of the use in the following instances:</p> <blockquote> <p>(i) Educational uses by college and university professors and by college and university film and media studies students;</p> <blockquote> <p>(ii) Documentary filmmaking; <br />(iii) Noncommercial videos</p> </blockquote> </blockquote> <p>(2) Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset.</p> <p><strong><u>(3) Computer programs, in the form of firmware or software, that enable used wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telecommunications network, when circumvention is initiated by the owner of the copy of the computer program solely in order to connect to a wireless telecommunications network and access to the network is authorized by the operator of the network.</u></strong></p> <p>(4) Video games accessible on personal computers and protected by technological protection measures that control access to lawfully obtained works, when circumvention is accomplished solely for the purpose of good faith testing for, investigating, or correcting security flaws or vulnerabilities, if:</p> <blockquote> <p>(i) The information derived from the security testing is used primarily to promote the security of the owner or operator of a computer, computer system, or computer network; and <br />(ii) The information derived from the security testing is used or maintained in a manner that does not facilitate copyright infringement or a violation of applicable law.</p> </blockquote> <p>(5) Computer programs protected by dongles that prevent access due to malfunction or damage and which are obsolete. A dongle shall be considered obsolete if it is no longer manufactured or if a replacement or repair is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace; and</p> <p>(6) Literary works distributed in ebook format when all existing ebook editions of the work (including digital text editions made available by authorized entities) contain access controls that prevent the enabling either of the book’s read-aloud function or of screen readers that render the text into a specialized format.</p> <p>All of these classes of works find their origins in classes that I designated at the conclusion of the previous rulemaking proceeding, but some of the classes have changed due to differences in the facts and arguments presented in the current proceeding. For example, in the previous proceeding I designated a class that enable film and media studies professors to engage in the noninfringing activity of making compilations of film clips for classroom instruction. In the current proceeding, the record supported an expansion of that class to enable the incorporation of short portions of motion pictures into documentary films and noncommercial videos for the purpose of criticism or comment, when the person engaging in circumvention reasonably believes that it is necessary to fulfill that purpose. I agree with the Register that the record demonstrates that it is sometimes necessary to circumvent access controls on DVDs in order to make these kinds of fair uses of short portions of motion pictures.</p> </blockquote> <p>--</p> <p>If you are wondering, the third exception, although worded quite cryptically, can be taken to read “If there is a software lock of any form on a cellphone that locks the usage of the phone to one operator’s network, it is now legal to circumvent this lock to allow the phone to be used with another cellular network.”</p> <p>In short, if you don’t like AT&T’s service, you are free to break your iPhone’s SIM lock to use your iPhone on T-Mobile, but you may not be able to use their 3G UMTS due to frequency differences. </p><p><b>Edit: </b>Although now with AT&T buying T-Mobile, it is likely AT&T will just retune all of T-Mobile's UMTS/HSPA+ network to AT&T's UMTS/HSPA+ 850/1900MHz system.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-14082991011168236222010-07-09T12:15:00.001-07:002010-07-09T12:15:13.884-07:00Introducing Facebook Like<p>(Note to those reading this as a note pasted on Facebook: This is actually a blog post on my blog, <strong>NOT</strong> a Facebook note posting. Facebook automatically republished all of my blog posts as notes under my account. My blog is <a href="http://segin-rr.blogspot.com/">http://segin-rr.blogspot.com/</a> so go there before complaining that I’m talking about a feature that already existed. Being forewarned, if you elect to complain anyways, I take no responsibility for the consequences of your own stupidity.)</p> <p>Recently, I added support for Facebook’s “Like” button onto my blog. As you can see from the top of the blog post, there’s a new “Like” button. </p> <p>The Facebook “Like” button is not a standard Blogger feature. To add it, you need to edit your blog’s template. If you know what HTML and CSS is, or at least have enough brains not to get scared simply because you have to sift through a lot of cryptic text, then (hopefully) this will work for you. I’m going to assume you’re using one of Blogger’s standard templates, or a slightly modified one, as some fully custom templates are <em>really</em> different in design and these instructions may not work with them.</p> <p>First, log into Blogger, and go to the control panel for your blog. From the “Design” tab, select “Edit HTML”. Under the “Edit Template” section of that page, there is a checkbox labeled “Expand Widget Templates”. Check this checkbox if it is already checked (The page will reload when you check it). </p> <p>Now, in the template code box, locate a line of HTML that says “<div class='post-header-line-1'/>” – as a hint, press Ctrl-F and give Find “post-header-line-1”. Below this line will be a “</div>”. Create a new line between these two lines and paste in this code:</p> <blockquote> <p><iframe allowTransparency='true' expr:src='&quot;<a href="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=&quot;">http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=&quot;</a> + data:post.url + &quot;&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=100&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&quot;' frameborder='0' scrolling='no' style='border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:40px;'/></p> </blockquote> <p>If you cannot find the “post-header-line-1” code, look for a line containing “<data:post.body/>” and put the code above <strong>BEFORE</strong> it.</p> <p>Volia! Now all of your blog posts on your Blogger blog will now have a Facebook “Like” button at the top of the post!</p> <p>If you want to put the button at the <em>bottom</em> of the post instead of the top, place the button’s code after the line “<div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'>”. If you had to follow the instructions right after the button code, then it’s already at the bottom and you do nothing.</p> <p>Now, it’s only time until people start “liking” my blog… Muhahaha….</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-36386059849410796502010-06-12T17:33:00.001-07:002010-06-12T20:08:19.114-07:00A Discussion on Keyboard LayoutsRecently, I've taken a look at my keyobard, and realized I wish it had more keys. More function keys.<div><br /></div><div>First, let's take a look at the standard US 104 key QWERTY keyboard. This is the keyboard that virtually every American knows (and knows no other).</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a diagram of the standard US keyboard layout. Virtually every American keyboard looks like this, if not exactly like this (Click on the images to see more than just the left-hand side):</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.oiepoie.nl/windows/windows-keyboard/keyboard4.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 900px; height: 288px;" src="http://www.oiepoie.nl/windows/windows-keyboard/keyboard4.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><div></div><div><br /></div><div>This is derived from the IBM 3270 terminal keyboard layout, here's a picture:</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.seasip.info/VintagePC/Images/6110344.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 1004px; height: 534px;" src="http://www.seasip.info/VintagePC/Images/6110344.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><br /></div><div>Notice the extra row of function keys at top, as well as the ten command keys to the left.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sun's US layout of their workstation keyboard is extremely similar to your standard US PC keyboard, adding volume control keys above the number pad, as well as taking the 3270's lefthand command keys and adding a big "Help" key above it, to the left of the Escape key.<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.quadibloc.com/comp/images/pkb03su.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 1936px; height: 560px;" src="http://www.quadibloc.com/comp/images/pkb03su.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><br /></div><div>While these are good keyboards, as a programmer, I want lots of keys. I want to bind the leftover keys to various functions of my editor, or OS - for example, a dedicated key for search-and-replace, instead of a keystroke involving shift keys (e.g. Control-F or Control-Shift-F). </div><div>Also good would be more keys for typing in extended scripts, as to use Greek symbols, or advanced mathematical symbols. A good keyboard that comes close is the "Space Cadet" keyboard that was popular at MIT a long time ago; it was used on Lisp machines running MIT's "Incompatible Timesharing System", an early mainframe OS. The keyboard they used:</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://world.std.com/~jdostale/kbd/SpaceCadet1.jpeg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 1024px; height: 442px;" src="http://world.std.com/~jdostale/kbd/SpaceCadet1.jpeg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><br /></div><div>If you look at the Space Cadet keyboard, there are multiple shifts, labeled "Shift", "Greek", and "Top", enabling at least 5 symbols per key. The "L" key, for instance, could produce both upper- and lower-case Roman letter L, as well as upper- and lower-case Greek letter Lambda, and finally, a double-arrow symbol if used with the "Top" key.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Combining the extra typography features of the Space Cadet keyboard, with the familiarity of the US keyboard, and adding features of the Sun and IBM terminal keyboards, leads you to what I believe is the ultimate keyboard layout for programmers accustomed to the US keyboard layout:</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.quadibloc.com/comp/images/enhpc.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 992px; height: 296px;" src="http://www.quadibloc.com/comp/images/enhpc.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><div></div><div><br /></div><div>If you look at this final layout, it have the left-hand editor keys of a Sun keyboard, as well as the shiftable modes these keys provide on the 3270 keyboard, as well as the Sun "Help" key, the full Greek and mathematical character set of the Space Cadet keyboard, as well as the Space Cadet's full shift key set - "Control", "Meta (Alt)", "Super", and "Hyper", as well as a "positive" and "negative" diamond key - usually used as "Meta" on Sun keyboards, the full 24 function keys of the 3270 keyboard as well as it's adjusted directional keys that no longer look like a Tetris piece, as well as your common PC editing keys - Insert, Delete, Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down are all in their typical places. Also, the number pad has extra keys to make entering formulas and other mathematical errata much easier. Also, of note, that this keyboard's keys have all the symbols for the various keyboards it is derived from - for example, the "Super" key - which is what X11 maps the Windows key - has the Mac "⌘" symbol on it's front side - which is also good because the Windows key maps to this key on Mac OS X (when using USB keyboards). Note that the left-side command keys have all the Sun command labels, as well as some of the 3270's labels on the front side of the keys, that there is an Alt Gr on the right, that the left Control is labeled "Reset" on it's front-side, matching the key on the 3270's keyboard, as well as other front-side etchings for 3270 compatibility.</div><div><br /></div><div>One key that I find unusal is the angle-bracket key. I've seen it once on a French keyboard I once had, being between "Z" and the left "Shift", but it's addition here would be quite useful, especially when writing SGML-derived markup.</div><div><br /></div><div>In all, this ultimate keyboard has 148 keys, and while I do not believe that it has ever been manufactured, I would be willing to pay for it if it were to be made. This is one impressive layout indeed.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-12061864925227997272010-06-10T08:07:00.000-07:002010-06-10T08:16:48.924-07:00Android Market: Security through Obscurity?While I haven't taken a good look at any Android devices that have the Android Market installed (instead using unofficial builds without it), I've come to the conclusion that the Android Market's client software probably implements part of the Market paywall - that is, were it open-source, it would be too easy to get software that costs money, without paying for it.<div><br /></div><div>While this is just speculation, I see no reason that Google doesn't open source their Android Market client software - after all, many other companies have good and solid paywalls that haven't been defeated by fully modifiable software - I can still buy things on Amazon using a modified copy of Firefox, with a patched Gecko engine, and I still have no access to the content until I pay.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yet, why can't Google do the same? Is it because of the multiple Android Markets, one per nation? Are they afraid that someone's going to simply patch the part of the code that says to connect to, oh, the Belgian AM server to instead connect to the US AM server? Google runs AM, so why the hell don't they solve THAT issue by using IP-Geolocation? It's difficult to fake an IP address. Of course, Google will argue that people will go to different nations to get apps only available there.</div><div><br /></div><div>In that case, take a hint from the Portal developers. "In the case that skipping ahead arguably takes more skill than solving the puzzle proper, we let the ninja solution stand." - that is, if someone would fly overseas just to get apps from the US Android Market, just let them do it - they already spend $1000 just to get here.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-77381652001754135562010-06-09T13:17:00.001-07:002010-06-09T13:45:28.800-07:00McDonalds Don't Want To Hire YouToday, I tried to apply for a job at McDonald's, as I'm fucking desperate, I have no real qualifications for anything, and my computer skills are self-taught (read: as far as an employer is concerned, I don't have them, as I have no certifications to prove it.)<br /><br />However, McDonald's outsources their electronic employment system to a company called <a href="http://aon.com/">Aon Corporation</a>. Going to their website, I find their <a href="http://www.aon.com/about-aon/about-aon.jsp">self-description</a>, which reads as follows: <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Aon Corporation is the leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital consulting. Through its 37,000 professionals worldwide, Aon readily delivers distinctive client value via innovative and effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions.</span><br /><br />The only one of their listed services that would have anything to do with employment is "human capital consulting", which sounds quite ill-defined to me.<br /><br />Anyways, McDonald's has a main landing site that you start off your job search at... it's <a href="http://www.mcstate.com/">mcstate.com</a>, which lists all fifty states in a list, each one being a link to a new site, with names like <a href="http://www.mcalaska.com/">mcalaska.com</a> and <a href="http://www.mcflorida.com/">mcflorida.com</a>, each proving essentially the same page, just tailored to each state - that being a list of municipalities for each state listed in the bottom-right. On an interesting note, they list both "Gainesville" and "Gainsville" as cities in Florida - the second one is merely a typo of the (correct) first. Goes to show that they don't even do basic fact-checking when compiling these lists.<br /><br />After finding the location matching where I am at, I am taken to a page listing all the openings in my area - sadly, only a crew member position at the only McDonald's in the area - but that's fine. Clicking on it brings me to a page where I am also shown that openings for crew member are also at locations in areas right next to but otherwise outside my own (and my own area is only about 6 sq. mi. - 10 km<sup>2</sup>).<br /><br />Each store shown on this page has two links - the store home page (which is just a generic info page), and an "Apply Here" link. The "Apply Here" link for each store contains an extra identifier to uniquely identify the store at the end of the URL, and takes you to a page that automatically redirects you to Aon's application system. The problem here is that the same identifier is again passed via URL token, and sometimes the Aon system doesn't even get the store-identifying token. This leads me to a page where I'm asked to enter a promotional code, which I was not given, and nor is one pre-entered into the entry box provided.<br /><br />After going through the system a few times, I finally got to a page where I can actually fill out an application, which didn't last long as poor JavaScript on the page caused Firefox to hang and peg the CPU with 100% constant CPU usage, leading to me eventually killing it.<br /><br />Worse of all, the Aon site is extremely slow to load, on the order of nearly 30 seconds per page. I am not using mobile broadband or a poor internet connection - I have a good broadband cable connection, with 10 megabits down and 1 megabit up - and nothing is using the network aside from the browser, as my router has a page where you can monitor network bandwidth in real-time, and it indicates less bandwidth usage than available on any dial-up connection - the slow Aon site loads slower than dial-up's max speed (56 kilobits per second).<br /><br />I can see no real reason for this. This is 2010, I'm using Mozilla Firefox 3.6.3, and I cannot possibly see 10,000 HTTP requests against their server each and every second - nothing less than this would slow a decent redundant server system with a 100MBit symmetrical connection - the minimum standard for medium-ticket websites.<br /><br />Obviously McDonald's doesn't care at all about potential customers, nor does it care to find a new business partner to handle their employment application system, since their current one is providing unacceptable service. I guess they'd rather me work at, oh, Burger King or Taco Bell, instead of at McDonald's.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-36962075953361107482010-05-29T05:51:00.000-07:002010-05-29T07:21:32.494-07:00The End of an EraWell, guys, looks like this is it. As many of you are well aware, it is next-to-impossible to purchase an x86 PC that is purely 32-bit. The only success you will have in this endeavor is if you buy an older, used PC or a netbook/nettop. <div><br /></div><div>Which brings me to this point: The next major releases of the big two OSes, Windows and Mac OS X, will more than likely have dropped support for 32-bit hardware.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a way, that's not too bad, the last time 32-bit only x86 hardware was sold as a serious desktop was three years ago, back in 2007. Pure 32-bit x86 processors these days are limited to Atoms and embedded chips. But, there's a downside. For example, Asus is selling a nettop based on the Eee PC netbook hardware called the Eeetop. It contains a 32-bit processor, and although it sits shiny on store shelves today with a fat $699 pricetag, when Windows 8 comes out around 2013 or so, forget about upgrading to it - you'll find the Eeetop's 32-bit Atom unable to run the 64-bit Windows 8, which for all likelyhood won't be produced in a 32-bit flavor.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before you say that this seems unlikely - think again. Microsoft's server and enterprise OSes have always set the trend for their consumer-class releases. Windows NT eventually replaced the classic Windows line starting with Windows XP, and as another sign of things to come, <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/64bit-computing.aspx">Windows 2008 Server R2 has already dropped support for 32-bit x86 processors</a>, being available exclusively for 64-bit x86. Microsoft has been providing 64-bit versions of Windows since Windows 2000 for the Intel Itanium processor, however, it wasn't until Windows XP that 64-bit x86 builds were shipping.</div><div><br /></div><div>And don't think that the Hackintosh will save you. I don't expect Mac OS X 10.7 to ship with 32-bit support, aside from user-mode backwards-compatibility (although it's likely that it can be hacked to run on older 32-bit hardware, since it will without a doubt contain 32/64 universal binaries of pretty much the entire operating system for the sake of backwards compatibility.)</div><div><br /></div><div>However, I highly doubt that any of the major open-source operating systems will be dropping 32-bit x86 support anything within the next 15 years. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the announcement that support for i386 branch is being dropped in Linux arrives sometimes after 2070, with NetBSD following suit sometime around 2100.</div><div><br /></div><div>Compare that with Microsoft, who, as I said before, seems to be dropping 32-bit x86 as early as 2013.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-35183007844306691222010-05-26T05:26:00.001-07:002010-05-26T05:32:41.632-07:00Quick Note: Information about Aerial TV receptionI was recently looking the 'Net over for information about receiving broadcast television, and the best type of aerial antenna to use. After a bit of searching, I found the information at <a href="http://www.aerialsandtv.com/">ATV (Aerials and Television)</a> to be quite in-depth on the matter, as well as full of rich British humor that I can't get enough of.<br /><br />Although their information mainly caters to UK residents, such as the terminology used, the information on choosing an aerial antenna and how to place it, etc., will remain valid everywhere on Earth - the laws of physics do not observe your local laws, no matter how fucked up they might be.<br /><br />"Name changing bollocks," I can't help but to laugh while I learn...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15651496.post-2511607538508847512010-04-20T00:04:00.003-07:002010-04-20T00:05:59.803-07:00Why RuneScape's Graphics SuckIf you ever wondered why RuneScape's graphics sucks, it's because it's graphics engine can easily be made to do this:<div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/7095/rswdf.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 777px; height: 510px;" src="http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/7095/rswdf.png" border="0" alt="" /></a></div>If you ever wondered why RuneScape sucks, it's because it's graphics engine can easily be made to do this:<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535818933839141361noreply@blogger.com3