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Comment Re:Hmmmm (Score 1) 570

You can even find MD5 dictionaries online which have precomputed hashes. You can just search for the one you need and it will give you the reverse MD5. I would assume authorities already have tables of precomputed MD5 hashes which reduces cracking time significantly.

Comment Re:Wait a second... (Score 1) 260

I hear ya! A client of mine seems to use the word "small" a lot while scope leaping. Let's add another "small" box here and mebbe a "small" drop down there, as if making the controls smaller would somehow reduce my coding time. I went along for the first 2 leaps, then I started budget leaping. The controls don't seem so small to him no more. Bitch.

Comment Re:Build one to throw away (Score 1) 130

I didn't say he should have predicted the future. I said that considering he could achieve something using Zen in less than an hour, it could probably be done in Garland as well within a reasonable amount of time without having to mess with 1000+ lines of customization code. And before you assume I have a God complex, no I don't. I have made the same mistakes and yes I agree they are a necessary part of the learning curve. But that doesn't prove that Drupal "sux". It just proves that Drupal is flexible enough to accomodate varying degrees of customization needs and time and experience allow the developer to customize it in insane ways. Sometimes you find existing templates that are close to your desired outcome and you can get away with tweaking them a wee bit to fit your needs and sometimes you can't find any existing template that's even remotely close to what you want in which case its probably a better idea to either use something like Zen or just start with the bare php-template engine output and customize it from scratch.

Comment Re:Drupal Sux (Score 3, Informative) 130

As a Drupal developer myself, I'm not really sure why Greg had to mess with 1000+ lines of Garland-adapted code specifically because he goes on to say that he could do the same thing using Zen in under an hour which means his customization needs weren't too detailed to even require messing with 1000+ lines of code. I'm sure he knows what he is doing, but in my own experience I've managed to use the php-template engine with CSS to create some fairly customized sites in very little time without requiring Zen or any other 'specialized' base theme or requiring messing around with copious amounts of php code.

As for multimedia and no "native" support for images, while I am not familiar with Joomla or other CMS systems to make a fair comparison, Drupal does have many third party, well recognized and documented modules for this very specific purpose that integrate very well with the base system. The "installation" process is standardized and the extended help system delivers useful information to aid the developer. I'm assuming the reason that multimedia modules aren't integrated with the base system is because it allows users to consider options to implement galleries, videos, etc within the Drupal system and allows innovation (more options for end-users) and regular module updates without requiring multiple Drupal releases.

In that sense I would compare Drupal to C. A core system with a very small footprint with the bulk of the functionality being relegated to library code (modules in Drupal speak). I guess, as and when a module becomes the standard way of doing things in Drupal, it will get integrated into the core (like the standard library in C). The CCK module is a very good example of this which is being integrated partially into the core in Drupal 7. Personally I found CCK, Image, Views and Panels (all Drupal modules) invaluable to all my projects and they have become part of my "standard library" of sorts. For needs not satisfied with these modules, I just Google Drupal + need and choose between the numerous modules that come up.

Having said that, I do agree, Drupal could do well with "pre-installed" modules for basic functionality like image uploads and video integration with the option of overriding these with third party modules to perhaps make things a bit simpler for the uninitiated. But for me, the current state of things isn't a deal breaker given that I have my standard modules stashed away and I just have to copy to my new Drupal installation to have a very usable base system.

Like all else, Drupal (like C) has a very specific philosophy and if that gels with your preferred development methodology, then great! If not, the alternatives are good too.
Enlightenment

Submission + - Michael Pritchard turns filthy water drinkable (ted.com)

peater writes: Too much of the world lacks access to clean drinking water. Engineer Michael Pritchard did something about it — inventing the portable Lifesaver filter, which can make the most revolting water drinkable in seconds. An amazing demo from TEDGlobal 2009.
Portables

11.6" Netbooks Face Off 238

Dr. Damage writes "Netbooks have grown from tiny curiosities with 7" screens into surprisingly well-rounded little computers. The latest step is 11.6" displays with 1366x768 resolution and near-full-sized keyboards. Two such systems are available now for under $400 at US retailers: the Aspire One at Walmart and the Gateway LT3103 at Best Buy. The Gateway packs an Athlon 64 processor and Radeon graphics. The Tech Report bought them both and has compared them head to head in some depth, choosing a clear winner between the two." Like most such in-depth reviews, this one is spread across 10 pages.
Privacy

Submission + - Can we abandon Confidentiality for Google Apps? 1

An anonymous reader writes: I provide IT services for medium sized medical and law practices and have been getting a lot of feedback from doctors and lawyers who use gmail at home and believe that they can run a significant portion of their practice IT on Google Apps. From a support standpoint, I'd be happy to chuck mail/calendar service management into the bin and let them run with gmail, but for these businesses, there is significant legal liability associated with the confidentiality of their communications and records (eg HIPPA).

For those with high profile celebrity clients, stating that "Google employees can read your stuff" will usually end the conversation right there, but for smaller practices I often get a lot of pushback in the form of "What's wrong with trusting Google?" and "Google's not interested in our email/calendar". Weighing what they see as a tiny legal risk against the promise of Free IT Stuff(TM) becomes increasingly difficult in the face of the clear functionality/usability/ubiquity that they experience when using Google at home. So my question to the Slashdot community is this:

Are they right? Is it time for me to remove the Tin Foil Hat from their confidentiality obligations and stop resisting the juggernaut that is Google?
If not, what's the best way to clarify the confidentiality issues?

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