Comment Their targets are getting bigger... (Score 1) 245
They are getting more govt. agencies on their systems.
http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2012/01/noaa-moves-25000-to-google-apps.html
Comment Interesting times (Score 1) 38
So they sell their hard drive business to seagate and buy out Sony tv.
Curious.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/04/19/139259/samsung-hd-unit-bought-by-seagate
Comment Re:They've obviously obfusticated the data, obviou (Score 1) 182
Retrieving the data on the tapes would require knowledge of and access to specific hardware and software and knowledge of the system and data structure
-Who wants to bet that all you need to pull the data out is something like: dd if=/dev/tape | strings, perhaps with conv=ascii given to dd... and maybe gunzip or bunzip2. Sigh. Specific hardware: tape drive and a scsi card. Software: any recent unix would do. Knowledge of data structure: they obviously Huffman-coded all their SQL dumps, right? Haha.
I'd take that bet.
Its not Unix, its OpenVMS.
The software is written in MUMPS.
When code looks like this http://www.hardhats.org/history/chcs4.htm you certainly do need to have specific knowledge of the system and datastructure.
Again, assuming this is the old system that has been in place for 30+ years because with the new system all data is sent to DISA Alabama.
Comment Re:Why no encryption? This is why... (Score 1) 182
Rather this:
http://labs.hoffmanlabs.com/node/85
Comment Re:Why no encryption? This is why... (Score 1) 182
Comment Why no encryption? This is why... (Score 1) 182
Speaking as a former sysadmin at an Army hospital...
The tapes in question were probably these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Linear_Tape
Running backups on a cluster of these babies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEC_AlphaServer#AlphaServer_SC
This is essentially a 30 year old platform. Back then, nobody ever imagined identity theft would be such a problem or guessed there would be legislation for HIPPA/PII like we have today.
Comment Re:Great, now if only they could fix *real* proble (Score 1) 157
... or let me use my Apps for Domains account
Submission + - First 3.0 Kernel Prepatch is out (lwn.net)
mvar writes: Linus has announced the availability of the 3.0-rc1 kernel prepatch:
Yay! Let the bikeshed painting discussions about version numbering
begin (or at least re-start).
I decided to just bite the bullet, and call the next version 3.0. It
will get released close enough to the 20-year mark, which is excuse
enough for me, although honestly, the real reason is just that I can
no longe rcomfortably count as high as 40.
The whole renumbering was discussed at last years Kernel Summit, and
there was a plan to take it up this year too. But let's face it — what's the point of being in charge if you can't pick the bike shed
color without holding a referendum on it? So I'm just going all
alpha-male, and just renumbering it. You'll like it.
Now, my alpha-maleness sadly does not actually extend to all the
scripts and Makefile rules, so the kernel is fighting back, and is
calling itself 3.0.0-rc1. We'll have the usual 6-7 weeks to wrestle it
into submission, and get scripts etc cleaned up, and the final release
should be just "3.0". The -stable team can use the third number for
their versioning.
Submission + - Limewire being sued for 75 Trillion. (law.com)
DarthVain writes: "Apparently 13 record companies are trying to sue Limewire for 75 Trillion. The NYC judge thinks it is "absurd". Its almost like these media companies are their worst enemy trying to make themselves look ridiculous."
Comment Re:Registry (Score 1) 303
Really? Switching to text files would magically fix this??
This flaw is not related to how the registry is loaded and/or interpreted, actually it's not the fault of the registry at all - it's a kernel exploit. The mitigation is to tweak *permissions* on a couple of reg keys that should have been tightened up in the first place. It's akin to allowing SUID root on the sudoers file and a kernel vulnerability that allows $BAD_GUY to use that fact - it's not the file itself.
Whether the info is in a database of binary values or a database composed of text files laying around a hard disk is immaterial - the permissions to change said config info would have made this a non issue.
Yes, Microsoft have been idiots, but they are trying to clean up thier act. If you're going to dis them, dis them for missing the reg key permissions, not the registry itself - al much more valid argument.
Comment Re:This is old news (Score 1) 233
Keith is already dead, his brain just don't know it yet. The D&R license is likely for him, I think.
Comment I prefer printed and bound. With a side of modern. (Score 1) 390
The UI is simple and elegant - you need no help file in order to operate it. The DRM stops immediately after you pay for the book. If you take proper steps, it will be preserved for a very long time, with no worries as to whose digital format it's in. The device can work with the power of one candle. Printed and bound books are timeless.
That being said, I like electronic versions too - the speed at which they can be copied are unmatched, they go wherever you do fairly conveniently and can be updated very quickly. You can zoom in and make the text as big as you want. Annotation and quotation are a breeze.
The best of both worlds would be a hardcover book, with a sleeve on the inside cover that has a USB type device that you can get the contents digitally to whatever device you want. Hell - if Bluetooth gets cheap enough, you could get it wirelessly from the book itself.
Hey, a man can dream.
Comment Re:Obvious missing option... (Score 1) 272
Achh, laddie, then the TSA will 'no where to be puttin' tha brrrrooom stick, righ' up yer kilt.
Comment Re:This isn't a DOS attack. (Score 1) 292
Snuffing it on facebook before your time is not much of an issue, as they explicitly don't disable the account's ability to actually log in. If you wake up one day to find out you're dead, you can still log in, and that provides a pretty decent avenue for contesting the claim.
And I'd rather not go into how I know.
Lemme guess - You're Jesus and after Your resurrection Facebook screwed you over?
Comment Pffft. What about BOFH^WSysadmin Day? (Score 1) 306
This should be a holiday before Prog-Rammers get one. After all, we're left cleaning up the mess that these people make of our systems.
(Yeah yeah, I know - the endless recursive fork() was a typo, you need root to make your job easier, you need more CPU, the SAN sucks, etc. Give me your budget and I'll do something about all that, K? HTH, HAND.)
Yes, I'm trolling, but without us on the job the Prog-Rammers would be staring at a black or blue screen.
