I have an idea for a secure email system. It is this. Every email sent to me will come on a new, unique, one-time email address. My email server will recognize the address, and the sender, and on that basis accept the email or reject it. The meta-negotiation process allows people to get an email address on which to contact me. In the simplest fashion, they simply copy the address from my website, where a form asks them to first enter their email address, then provides them with an email

Today's Jargon Entry (actually this is This Year's Jargon Entry unless sweet inspiration strikes me again soon)...

To Flush (v): to raze a system (spec. MS Windows) and reinstall a Joe Random Linux. Professional flushers can turn the virus-ridden carcinogenic carcass of a consumer Windows PC into a new, lean and mean Linux workstation in under 180 seconds.

I tried to set up RedHat 9.0 from the single CD that Mato gave me and have decided that these guys are so destined for the big time. No kidding, RedHat are going to be the Mainframe Boys of Linux. Their installation routine was designed by the same guy who wrote IBM's OS/400 operating system, paid according to how many commands he could invent. RedHot 9.0 boots into a menu that gives you a choice of intallation roadmaps. Choose one and you dive into solid retro installation chrome, hef

Microsoft Windows: "The Closest Thing To Real Software Money Can Buy!!"

-- Heironymouscoward, 11 December 2003

So we went and built a prototype. Beautifully simple: a Technics turntable, two optical mice, a Linux notebook and Sweep, an OSS package that lets you mix and scratch digital audio in realtime.

The two mice track the rotation speed/direction of the turntable, and the angle of the arm. With this one can calculate exactly where the music should be playing.

10 Things I'd Like To See In Slashdot. Perhaps some of these exist in the paid version. I'm too lazy to check:

1. Tradeable Karma: I give you karma, you sell me mod points.

2. Anonymous Slashdot credit cards: hey, my Karma is worth something, no?

3. Supercomment ratings - stopping at 5 gives excessive power to mod-down trolls. Allow comment ratings to go as high as they like.

4. Rolling karma: average of last twenty postings.

I read this discussion about population control by Pieter Hintjens.

One quote:

A blantant theft from a site called Slashdot, with a twist.

The problem with video conferencing is that you can't look your correspondent in the eyes, you're watching the screen while the camera is just a little bit higher.

Posting an email address to Slashdot is too indiscrete for my purposes. A telephone number can be abused. Perhaps the simplest way to meet is the old-fashioned way, in a dimly-lit cafe, for instance near the Bourse.

Inspired by the insipid story of 'will you be my friend' (the answer is a firm "no") badges.

The problem is certainly there: dating is expensive, inefficient, and far too random. Surely there are accurate ways of finding your soulmate in a crowded room or nightclub without the hassle and expense of mismatches.

This is an old idea, I'm just putting it here for the record.

Problem statement: there are still too few people enjoying the wonders of massive copyright violations. This smallish number creates a viable target for the *A boys.

Solution: The Granny Box.

This is the hardware, roughly:

Speaking to a friend who's a trance-techno DJ, he's hurting because vinyl is getting so expensive. 10 Euro, he says, for a 5 minute piece. But a working DJ needs dozens of these each week, always the latest and newest stuff.

Pioneer have a cd-based turntable that DJs like, but it's not the same. Good, yes, but it's not as good as vinyl.

So, this prompted MDPA/4. The concept is a modded dual-platter turntable, consisting of:

Instant poll:

Who smoked the most crack in 2003?

(_) SCO
(_) Belkin
(_) Verisign
(_) *A
(_) All of the above
(_) CowboyNeal
(_) YIS I can't afford crack!

This one comes from a discussion on /. today about spam.

Spam, spam, glorious spam. It's not getting any better, despite creative solutions of all kinds. And how can it? For every inventive and courageous spamfighter, there is an equally desperate and inventive spammer. Necessity breeds invention and what man makes, man can hack.

Cars should be able to show emotions. I'm not just talking about the brake lights that shine brighter when you brake harder, I'm talking about a fully controllable paint job that can flick from blue to red, to green and back.

When some jerk drives too close behind me, my car will start to glow angry red. "Back off, dude!" When the cops are prowling, the car goes discreet black, "nothing to see here, move on."