LEGO Universe: 'LEGO Star Wars Multiplied By A Million' - wow. A Lego-MMO!
Linkblog - 31.1.2008 - 26.2.2008
Mathomatic - small command line program for symbolic manipulation of equations. Very practical, you can solve an equation for various variables with a few characters - great for everyday mathematics.
Murphy's Law Strikes Again: AS7007 - what Pakistan did with Youtube, it has already happened in a much more severe way. In 1997.
Rope, a python refactoring library ... - not looked at in detail, but saved for later. Could definitely become interesting.
Steuer-Razzien: Bisher fast hundert Geständnisse - "In the Liechtenstein tax affair, 72 self-disclosures have been received so far. This was stated by the Bochum public prosecutor Hans-Ulrich Krück. Speaking to journalists, Krück further explained that in the course of the investigations, confessions had been made in 91 cases. In some cases, taxes have already been paid to the state. So far, 27.8 million euros have been handed over, but the amount is increasing daily." - the data purchase has already paid off!
Django snippets: MintCache - interesting idea to avoid the "Dogpile-Effect": if the regeneration of data takes longer than new requests come in, the requests that trigger the regeneration of old data pile up, and this makes the generation time even longer. This cache idea triggers the regeneration on the first access to outdated data, but simply delivers the previous old data to all others, thus avoiding multiple regeneration and the associated annoying load effect.
Cryptanalysis of A5/1 - "What's new about this attack is: 1) it's completely passive, 2) its total hardware cost is around $1,000, and 3) the total time to break the key is about 30 minutes. That's impressive."
Erlware - the start of a package repository for Erlang. Could be very interesting - I know it from Perl's CPAN and Python's cheeseshop, both of which provide a lot of relief when using available modules.
memcachedb - interesting project. An implementation of the memcached server protocol, but the key/value pairs are not held in memory, but in a BerkleyDB database. Therefore, it is not as fast as memcached, but persistent across process runs. Since many languages have memcached bindings, a nice low-level database for typical key/value situations - could be interesting for use from LSL with a small HTTP REST frontend.
New Research Result: Cold Boot Attacks on Disk Encryption - wow. Simply amazing. This looks really bad for disk encryption - at least when it comes to high security requirements.
AquaCurry - even though I have turned my back on Haskell and its relatives, I can't quite let go. Curry is another representative from the broad field of functional languages, although it is also represented in the area of logic-based languages (i.e., the area where Prolog and its relatives are often found). And there is a GUI environment for the Mac. In addition, the project is based at the University of MĂĽnster, and the part is called MĂĽnster Curry Compiler. Of course, I have to take a look at it.
djapian - Integrate Django and Xapian to allow full-text search over database models. Sounds nice - would have saved me a lot of work when creating my own blog software.
Harsh criticism from Liechtenstein due to tax investigations - cute, how this carnival prince talks about "democratic states". Does he even know what democracy is, as a monarch? Of course, I understand him, since his entire business model only consists of "helping moneybags to rip off the tax authorities". Annoying when this operetta state is suddenly brought into the public eye in such an unpleasant way.
OS 2008 Hacker Edition - Nokia is being mean right now, but still, it should be noted that their OS 2008 (actually written for the N810) is now also available in a Hacker Edition for the old 770. Since with 2008 you get a Mozilla-based browser, it is definitely worth considering. It simply renders better than Opera.
Romanian union criticizes Nokia's "new form of slavery" - yeah, yeah, capitalism makes everything better. Or so. Hey, even Ford knew in the 20s that 40-hour weeks are the maximum and more hours don't bring any productivity gains. But what do today's CEOs care. Whatever can be squeezed out will be squeezed out. Regardless of whether only garbage comes out in the end.
Thousand Parsec - turn-based space exploration games in python. Sounds a bit like time-sliced Eve Online without graphics. Open Source on WxPython.
chumby - damn. Still only available in the USA. I also want a useless gadget on the table!
Command line Haskell and error handling examples - those who want to know why I decided at some point that Haskell is a stupid language should check out the link. A language in which such a banal problem as summing numbers in a file undergoes such extreme changes just by adding error handling may excite mathematicians and computer scientists, but is simply unproductive. And yes, I know that large projects with Haskell are successful and the programmers are enthusiastic about it (pugs and darcs come to mind spontaneously). Doesn't change my judgment about Haskell.
Cooperative Linux - crazy, the Linux kernel recompiled as a Windows executable. Booting Linux happens by running the Linux kernel and all drivers are redirected to Win32 APIs.
Comment: Stasi statement a super-GAU for Die Linke - why the demand of a Left Party deputy of what the Interior Minister is diligently implementing should now be a super-GAU ... (ok, ok, I understand, the Left should distinguish itself argumentatively from the CDU - and whoever believes that there are significant differences between parties, for whom I have a cheap bridge in Brooklyn). The way in which the press is now stirring up this - admittedly stupid - statement, while at the same time a federal minister sworn in on the constitution tramples this constitution underfoot, is already highly embarrassing.
Pisa losers are victims of their media consumption - no wonder. Just take a look at the current reporting in the media. A child can't learn anything decent from that. And the brutality in the business section. Or did I misunderstand something?
Steueraffäre: Mehr Fahnder und härtere Strafen gefordert - ah, right, it's election campaign. Only the stupid Westerwelle hasn't noticed again and quickly takes the side of the tax evaders. The real joke, however, is the appeal from the Union's mouthpiece Pofalla to the code of conduct and morality of the economy. I'm actually just waiting for an explicitly formulated "Tightening of tax law harms the economic location Germany" from some party blowhard. Preferably something from the allegedly left spectrum, for entertainment purposes.
WiebeTech Micro Storage Solutions - HotPlug - Move a computer to battery power and transport it without ever shutting it down. - coolio, easily pack up and carry a computer while it's running. And thus, for example, negate disk encryption - because if the user is logged in, access to the encrypted media is usually possible (at least if the encrypted drive is logged in). Clever idea.
Become a Mac OS X Services Ninja - how to build services (those integrated editor extensions in OS X) with F-Script. Looks really interesting - I should really get back to F-Script, especially since I'm in a Smalltalk phase again.
SCO vs. Linux: Complaints until the end, but without Darl McBride - "An additional $95 million should be provided as a loan over a period of five years, which will be offset against the claims from the lawsuits with Novell, IBM, Red Hat, Autozone, and other companies. The interest on this million-dollar loan should be 17 percent above the current interbank credit rate. Currently, the interest would be approximately 21 percent." - And if they don't pay, the big men with the clubs come and smash a few kneecaps? That sounds more like loan sharks. Therefore, it's probably bearable if they go down with the nonsense of SCO.
Zumwinkel steps down as Post chief - and others may face similar publicity. It remains exciting. Thanks to the well-meaning sender of the data from the Liechtenstein royal bank ...
Atomic Commit In SQLite - very interesting documentation about write access in SQLite, definitely worth considering for your own projects where stable writing is important.
Astana not to Tour 2008 - maybe something could actually change, and if only by making a few other teams more well-known, because they have come into the races through wildcards, which the "usual suspects" are denied in 2008.
German government considers "Big Brother scenarios" with RFID to be far-fetched - and once again proves how clueless and technically inept they are. Or how bought. I have no idea which would worry me more ...
LG Hamburg will comprehensive forum liability when using pseudonyms - news from the Hamburg judge-zoo.
Zypries threatens imprisonment or fine for storing IP addresses - "According to a now published decision (PDF file) of January 10 (Az. 5 C 314/06), in case of non-compliance, a fine of up to 250,000 euros and, as an alternative, even up to six months imprisonment for Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries (SPD) personally is threatened."
So you’re going to write an iPhone app… - about experiences with the (not yet available) iPhone SDK and software development for the iPhone.
Caecilian - Freakshow Natur ...
In-Depth TimeVault Review: Backing up in Ubuntu is Finally Made Simple!! - when I look at something like this, it's a nice example of a problem in the Open Source community: they understand the features and techniques, but they have no clue about user interface design.
Polaroid says goodbye to instant film - another one bites the dust. Too bad - the black and white pack films in cassettes were always a nice treat for my little thick one. Okay, I eventually switched to the Fuji FP100B because it's just crisper. But that's probably no longer available (or if it is, it's only a matter of time before it disappears). The format is just too exotic. With my low photography output, the compartment in the fridge should last a few more years ...
The world's rubbish dump: a garbage tip that stretches from Hawaii to Japan - "The original idea that people had was that it was an island of plastic garbage that you could almost walk on. It is not quite like that. It is almost like a plastic soup. It is endless for an area that is maybe twice the size as continental United States."
CamlX - GUI shell for Ocaml and Caml Light (wow, that's ages ago, my tinkering with Caml Light - and the DOS port of Ocaml 1.0 ..)
FastCGI Programmer's Guide - Chapter 2, Developing FastCGI Applications in C - and yes, it does make sense from time to time to program your CGIs (or FCGIs) in C.
Tenerife Skunkworks: Parsing text and binary files with Erlang - nice article about one of the mysteries in Erlang: how to handle strings? Lists of characters or binaries? (oh, and everything I've written in the last few days is gone due to a server crash. Hmm. Did I have anything interesting to say?)
Developing an iPhoto export plugin - as the name suggests: how to build iPhoto exporters.
Microsoft prepares to acquire Yahoo - urks. I only use del.icio.us and flickr.com from all the Yahoo clutter - and even those only for my Second Life avatar. But somehow it's probably time to switch.
ScriptExport - very nice. A plugin for iPhoto, with which you can export images via shell scripts (or also Python scripts and whatever else can start the shell). Hmm. With a bit of tool help, I should be able to push snapshots from Second Life to my static server instead of to Flickr.
Programming Nu - mini-Lisp with integration in ObjectiveC on Mac OS X. Sounds quite interesting.
real programmers - use vim, dammit!
Upload with SCP - with Automator. No idea if I already have it, but it could be useful.
9.com patents HTTP-Redirects - once again a nonsense patent that was granted in the USA. And again, a long legal battle will presumably follow before this nonsense is eliminated. Extremely disgusting, but the audacity with which Jeff Bezos likes to stand out with such absurd patents (his One-Click-Buy patent, for example). Of course, the examination at the patent offices is usually worse than bad for Internet patents. But it also takes someone who is so bold to file such garbage as a patent in the first place.
Arc - does anyone remember the fuss Paul Graham made about the 100-year-language? And that he wanted to achieve it with Arc? Well, he has scaled back: Arc is now just a language for exploratory programming. If you look at it, it looks like Common Lisp without the advanced features, with a more compact (but incompatible with other Lisp) syntax and some ready-made libraries to relatively easily put together a web application. Not really particularly exciting. There was already Picolisp for that - and if he is already based on MzScheme, one could simply use that, it has a much larger library and is used by more than just a few grumpy-old-men ... (and the excuse he gives for supporting only ASCII as a character set is simply embarrassing - especially since his underlying infrastructure cleanly supports Unicode ...)
Billions are bubbling at Shell - will anyone ever notice that it's extremely strange when a corporation raises fuel prices "reluctantly due to rising oil prices" but ends up with higher profits from the game? They don't even bother to disguise the scam anymore. Sure, they make their money from oil production - but why do they have to raise gasoline prices along with all the others if not because of price agreements with the other gasoline corporations?