Chris Rhodes - Slashdot User

Comment: Re:Obligatory xkcd (Score 1) 372

by Chris Rhodes on Thursday March 15, @06:39PM (#39371255) Attached to: Multiword Passwords Secure Or Not?

People are under the mistaken impression that would-be hackers waste their time trying to brute force passwords. They don't.

Then why are my logs full of brute force attempts on the ssh and mail servers every day of the week?

MySQL 5.1 Plugin Development 44

Posted by samzenpus on Monday November 01 2010, @02:24PM
from the read-all-about-it dept.

Michael J. Ross writes "If you were to ask some database developers to cite their favorite strategies for expanding the functionality of the relational database management systems with which they work, you would probably hear a variety of answers. One individual might recommend the use of an alternate database engine optimized for the given application. Another might explain the many advantages of using stored procedures to replace SQL queries embedded in the source code of any programs that connect to databases. But one answer you likely would not receive involves changing the internals of the database engine itself. With the latest major release of MySQL, developers using that particular RDBMS are now able to extend the capabilities of the built-in database engines, by creating plug-ins. This is the topic of a book by Sergei Golubchik and Andrew Hutchings: MySQL 5.1 Plugin Development." Read on for the rest of Michael's review.

HULC Robotic Exoskeleton MK II Undergoing Tests 72

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 30 2010, @12:25PM
from the i-know-what-i'm-getting-grandma-for-christmas-this-year dept.

fergus07 writes "Lockheed Martin is putting an updated, ruggedized version of its HULC Robotic Exoskeleton through lab evaluation tests. The hydraulic 'power-suit,' which enables the wearer to carry up to 200 lbs and run at 10 mph, now boasts better protection from the elements, improved fitting and easier adjustment, increased run-time and new control software."

US Says Genes Should Not Be Patentable 127

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 30 2010, @09:08AM
from the roddenberry-siskel-and-simmons-agree dept.

Geoffrey.landis writes "A friend-of-the-court brief filed by the US Department of Justice says that genes should not be patentable. 'We acknowledge that this conclusion is contrary to the longstanding practice of the Patent and Trademark Office, as well as the practice of the National Institutes of Health and other government agencies that have in the past sought and obtained patents for isolated genomic DNA,' they wrote (PDF). The argument that genes in themselves (as opposed to, say, tests made from genetic information, or drugs that act on proteins made by genes) should be patentable is that 'genes isolated from the body are chemicals that are different from those found in the body' and therefore are eligible for patents. This argument is, of course, completely silly, and apparently the US government may now actually realize that."

How Not To Design a Protocol 186

Posted by timothy on Saturday October 30 2010, @08:06AM
from the sweet-morsels-of-logged-in-ness dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Google security researcher Michael Zalewski posted a cautionary tale for software engineers: amusing historical overview of all the security problems with HTTP cookies, including an impressive collection of issues we won't be able to fix. Pretty amazing that modern web commerce uses a mechanism so hacky that does not even have a proper specification."

How Allies Used Math Against German Tanks 330

Posted by CmdrTaco on Tuesday October 26 2010, @02:56PM
from the tanks-for-the-memories dept.

Pepebuho writes "This an article about how the allies were able to estimate the number of German tanks produced in World War 2 based on the serial numbers of the tanks. Neat! Godwin does not apply."

Comment: Re:Use? Yes. Drive? No. (Score 1) 606

by Chris Rhodes on Thursday October 07 2010, @01:24PM (#33826772) Attached to: How Long Until We Commonly Use Flying Cars?

So yes, I think there will be a time when we commonly use flying cars. No, I don't think people will actually have to steer them in 3D.

Where's the fun in that?

Comment: Re:Cleartype fails. (Score 1) 1140

by Chris Rhodes on Thursday October 07 2010, @12:13AM (#33820482) Attached to: Why Are We Losing Vertical Pixels?

The canonical PC monitor is supposed to have square pixels (unlike old TV sets which have pixels elongated vertically.) Unfortunately, some LCD's don't follow this standard. You could try a different monitor, maybe you have a different panel type lying around.

Comment: 911 System (Score 1) 120

by Chris Rhodes on Thursday October 07 2010, @12:06AM (#33820458) Attached to: Facebook Patents Location Social Networking

Wouldn't that loosely describe any 911 system receiving location information from your cell phone? That's a hugely obvious chunk of prior art.

OpenOffice.org Declares Independence From Oracle, Becomes LibreOffice 648

Posted by CmdrTaco on Tuesday September 28 2010, @10:42AM
from the because-they-can dept.

Google85 writes "The OpenOffice.org Project has unveiled a major restructuring that separates itself from Oracle and that takes responsibility for OpenOffice away from a single company. From now on, OpenOffice's development and direction will be decided by a steering committee of developers and national language project managers. Driving home the changes, the OpenOffice.org project is now The Document Foundation, while the OpenOffice.org suite has been given the temporary name of LibreOffice."