Citation needed. What spinning HDD uses wear leveling? Unless you mean sector sparing, but that's something different.

Or I guess it would not use any data network if it didn't contact a server. In the Slashdot tradition I haven't RTFI.

Because this would not use any traceable/loggable data network and may work in a situation where there is the cover of noise.

Maybe creation will just be so easy and commoditized that it isn't worth it to try to do it as profitable activity. Doesn't mean people won't do it. They'll do it for fun, or because they themselves need something. I'd love it if it was so easy to create a program I need that I could do it on my own without having to hire anyone or rely on someone else to come up with the idea and try to charge me for it. I don't ever see this happening, of course, but if it did, it's not a bad thing.

There isn't always a need for a middle man and no real reason to have one if one is not needed.

Nothing stopping you from using a PC as a router. 2 NICs + Linux or BSD, and some knowledge about how their respective packet filtering tools work, and there you go.

It is involved, and requires lots of networking knowledge, but a lot of fun.

how much longer until I can install Debian on my SIM card?

SSH over PPP.

Because I like transmitting and receiving at .56kbits/sec.

Barcodes aren't that difficult to decode. If you can't get a barcode reader, a program could likely easily decode it from a scanned image.

+1 Paperbak

http://ollydbg.de/Paperbak/

> Tiled Resources

So basically 3D text mode?

I'll take my -1 Troll with cream and sugar, please.

Retrogression.

Here are some problems with that:

- Did you pay with a credit/debit card? If so, that shit's logged.
- Did you modify your appearance to foil the likely Internet-connected security camera watching the cashier? If not, evidence of your purchase is available there.
- Did you take the car you normally use to the store? If not, it's possible parking lot security cameras have identifying information on you, including a license plate number.
- Cell phone towers are at least capable of logging the towers and RSSI of MS's (i.e. cell phones) that communicate with them. It's possible if you've activated more than a couple phones that a pattern of movement, the correlation which could identify you, could be established against multiple IMSI's such as IMEI, ESN, etc. Especially if you use it a lot in single location like your house.
- Certainly the cell phone companies keep logs of the numbers dialed from a particular device. It's possible if you are statistically similar to previous units it can be said that your current phone matches usage patterns and can identify you.
- Sales records may indicate that an unusually large number of $15 cell phones have been bought at one location, revealing someone is trying to hide something.

Ahh yes, ain't. Forgot about that one.

"NSA officials have repeatedly denied under oath to Congress that even producing an estimate... ain't gonna happen no way no how.. "

Reminds me of my current company's data retention policies, which likely match the NSA's:
"Never delete nothing never."

Emphatic is the word you are looking for.

In English, a way to express a verb emphatically is through adding the helper verb "to do" - as in "Yes, I did say that." Emphatic moods are usually used in English if the verb is being used interrogatively (i.e. "Did you say that?") or negatively (e.g., "I did not say that" - as opposed to "I not say that.")

Still, it's proper to say "I never said that" as opposed to "I never did not say that" or "I did not say that never." If you want to sound full-on uneduamacated you would say "I never not say that." Emphatically proper: "Never did I say that."

For +1 pomposity you can expand "never" to its original form "not ever": "Not ever did I say that." Though "I not ever say that" sounds weird to me, but "I not ever did say that" sounds OK. "I not never say that" is basically admitting you never passed 8th grade. "I did not never say that never" is actually a scientifically documented way of reducing the IQ of those surrounding you by 10 points just based on the utterance of those words. Add "ever" after "never" to double the impact.

Spanish considers double negatives valid though, as an example of a language where the construct is supported.

Running outdated software is bad thing. Debian's aptitude resolves dependencies and installs them automatically. There is also nothing stopping you from installing older libraries if needed. If you really want to run 8 year old software on Linux, you can keep your 8 year old operating system .iso you downloaded and run it from that.

But, with regard to Windows ... maybe it's less about proper package management and more about componentizing Windows a bit better. Even without considering third party software, Windows itself could benefit from this.

Here's an example: In Windows Vista, they introduced DreamScene, which allows you to set a video file as your background. It's a useless feature to me, but hey, someone else may want to install it. I might even want to install it temporarily just to use it. To my knowledge this feature is unavailable in Windows 7. I mention this because it's something like an optional "package" that you can install after your Windows install is complete.

Now, go to Programs and Features, and then you'll see Turn Windows Features On and Off. So here, it looks like they have the beginnings of a repository. You can enable and disable things here. But to me, it would make sense for this to go out to a Windows repository online, look for available Windows packages, like the aforementioned DreamScene, find out the latest version, and let me install and remove from there. Also, maybe let me add certified Windows packages from a CD for those in extra secure or disconnected situations.

So why can't individual features be updated and upgraded when ready, independently of the Windows version, instead of forcing it upon users to jump to a next major Windows revision? I understand the necessity for such things with regard to basic OS architecture - for example, DirectX 10 needs the Windows Vista kernel. So it may be easier to say certain packages require a specific Windows version instead of the hundreds, if not thousands of files that it depends on. But there are numerous smaller features that I'd love it if I could install on demand.

We all know why this won't happen, which is because Microsoft wants to force things on the user. Microsoft wants to force Metro on you, to collect app revenue like Apple does. Microsoft wants you to upgrade to a new OS every two years. Microsoft cares about its relationship with antivirus vendors more than your security, etc.