Track SARs on OSX!

SARS 1.0b4 - VersionTracker

] The Intel Xeon processor introduces a new technology
] called Hyper-Threading (HT) that, to the operating
] system, makes a single processor behave like two logical
] processors. When enabled, the technology allows the
] processor to execute multiple threads simultaneously, in
] parallel within each processor, which can yield
] significant performance improvement. We set out to
] quantify just how much improvement you can expect to see.

Hyper-Threading speeds Linux

] However, there have also been a number of people who
] claim I'm overstating the case and that it's not possible
] to build a real cruise missile without access to
] sophisticated gear, specialist tools and information not
] readily available outside the military.
]
] So, in order to prove my case, I decided to put my money
] where my mouth is and build a cruise missile in my own
] garage, on a budget of just US$5,000.

Fux0ring 3133t Cruise Missile d00d3s

] A Pentagon project to develop a digital super diary that
] records heartbeats, travel, Internet chats — everything a
] person does — also could provide private companies with
] powerful software to analyze behavior.

A very strong article about the coming conflicts between Ubicomp and Privacy. I wrote a paper on this in 1999. Search my MemeStream.

Pentagon Project Could Put Powerful Software in Private Hands (TechNews.com)

] The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association
] counted 140 million cellphone subscribers in this country
] in 2002 %u2014 a number that is sure to keep rising as
] cellphones become smaller, lighter and more versatile.
]
] One of the most popular new configurations is the
] cellphone with a built-in personal digital assistant. But
] that combination represents only a small fraction of what
] telecommunications or computer companies and independent
] inventors say cellphones can do.

New Functions for Cellphones

Rerecommending with some changes to Elonka's text:

The Kryptos sculpture at CIA Headquarters has 4 sections of code on it. The first three have been solved. In 1999 there was a big media splash as Jim Gillogly announced his solution, which had been obtained via a computer attack. Part 4 (the last 97 characters) is as yet unsolved.

I wish I could say that I'd solved Part 4, but I haven't (yet). What I *did* do this week though, was come up with a new solution technique for part 3 which I believe to be the "pencil and paper" method that the original authors of the sculpture intended to be used. It's a way of eyeballing the code, such that anyone with access to the ciphertext ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/july99/kryptoscode19.htm ) could quickly make a grid and check the letters off to get the entire message. -- no elaborate mathematical formulae or number-crunchers required.

I've written to Gillogly and a couple other cryptographers to check my work. If anyone else would like to take a look in the meantime, I've got a page describing the technique which is posted at my Kryptos site:

Elonka's Solution to Part 3 of Kryptos

] I know this whole SCO/Linux thing can be very confusing,
] so I created this summary page to explain what's going
] on.
]
] To make it easier to understand, I put it in familiar
] terms.
]
]
] Cast:
]
] Daisy - Linux
]
] Roscoe P. Coltrane - SCO
]
] Boss Hogg - Microsoft
]
] Bo - Free Software Foundation
]
] Luke - Open Source Initiative
]
] Cooter - Bruce Perens
]
] Uncle Jesse - Novell

Someday the mountain might get 'em, but the law never will.

] Here's the idea: you promise a voter 50 euros (31 pounds)
] to cast their ballot for your candidate, send them into
] the booth with a 3G phone, they send a picture via the
] phone proving that they have voted as instructed and then
] they get the cash.

The T-Mobile Election Rigger

] Commercial users and distributors of the Linux operating
] system could face legal action from the key patent holder
] of Unix, which said Wednesday it will suspend sales of
] its own Linux products.
]
] SCO Group, formerly known as Caldera International,
] claims its intellectual property has been illegally
] included in all distributions of the Linux operating
] system.

OK, I'm now officially declaring Caldera the North Korea of Linux Distributions. SCO has to figure out if it can offer itself up for less money then these legal wranglings are going to cost the major players in terms of slower adoption rates. There are a number of companies that have made a significant investment in Linux who have a lot of cash in the bank. The big IF is whether the market will beleive that there are real risks. Ultimately, this will be bad for the Linux Business any way you cut it. No one is going to pony up for Caldera until they bleed a bit, and Caldera has absolutely nothing to loose.

Wired News: Unix Developer Stops Linux Sales

] In a step toward electronic newspapers and wearable
] computer screens, scientists have created an ultra-thin
] screen that can be bent, twisted and even rolled up and
] still display crisp text.
]
] The material, only as thick as three human hairs,
] displays black text on a whitish-gray background with a
] resolution similar to that of a typical laptop computer
] screen.
]
] The screen is so flexible it can be rolled into a
] cylinder about a half-inch wide without losing its image
] quality.
]
] Although it's not quite the dream of single-sheet,
] electronic newspapers or books that can display hundreds
] of pages of text, its creators said it's the first
] flexible computer screen of its kind.

Cool! Where do I get one?

Laughing Boy

Paper-thin screen created