1. smartctl -AH
Get an initial baseline report.

2. mke2fs -c -c
Perform a read/write test on the drive.

3. smartctl -AH
Get a final report to compare to the initial report.

"mke2fs -c -c" is running badblocks -s -w for you.

If you want more to stare at, you can also add -v , or specify your own test patterns with (multiple) -t options. ( -t 0xCAFEBABE -t 0xDEADBEEF or whatever)

Badblocks does fill a full disk with the pattern, then read it all back confirming no changes.
This does miss flaky devices that, for example are writing over other parts of themselves. (Fake USB flash drives that misreport their size have been known to do this.)

Not sure what a good test would be... first thing that comes to mind is:

1. openssl enc -rc4 -nosalt -K 0 -iv 0 < /dev/zero > /dev/sdXX
2. openssl enc -d -rc4 -nosalt -K 0 -iv 0 < /dev/sdXX | tr -d '\0' | wc -c (should return '0' w/o errors)

An Atari ST fan. Calling them an Amiga fan is just about the most egregious trolling you could do! ...IIRC, Linus was an Amiga hacker before he got his 386 to work on Linux. The Atari community had TOS (GEM gui, GEMDOS disk/filesystem, and other syscalls).

You forgot the 1 start bit and 1 stop bit. 240 chars per sec.

...will this article be enough to make CleverNickName log back on after 2.5 years? :-)

...And it's a glorified rental that they can take back from you at any time.

Well stated!

Also, not that EGL, nothing to see here, move along weeaboo.

Go give the 2007 open letter "Thoughts on Music" a read.

I somehow doubt Jeff Bezos will publish a similar article.

DRM-free MP3 sales from Amazon only happened as a "fight back" against the "evil single source for music" that was iTunes at the time.

If we-the-public have got to rely on some similar benevolent dictator demanding DRM-free choices, is it gonna be Barnes and Noble's Leonard Riggio? I'm not holding my breath. :-/

...and yet, just like the OpenMoko FreeRunner (giant opaque SMedia Glamo blob meant 2d VESA grade graphics only) and the OLPC XO-1 (giant opaque Marvell blob meant the whole WiFi subsystem and "mesh-while asleep" was all a black box and driver couldn't be troubleshot) , all the software is "open" yet obfuscated

The entire Raspberry Pi depends on a gigantic proprietary blob from Broadcom.

Hmm. Google search came up with this deviantart for "Raspberry Blob", maybe this can be the project's mascot. Hooray for undocumented blobs, we don't need source code, maybe we'll get Windows CE for it someday!

Damn you. I tried four times to load that XKCD then realized... "oh wait."

IHBT. IHL.

Links?

For those business sites like Asus or HP, I've begun filing ADA (american disabilities act) complaints that the websites are no accessible to disabled users

Who exactly are you filing the complaints with?

It seems that there is at least a settled class-action suit (NFB v. Target 2006) (with no judgement entered to set precedent) , are there any cases that went to judgment for website accessibility?