LUX.ET.UMBRA"Alas! must it ever be so? Do we stand in our own light, wherever we go, And fight our own shadows forever?" - Lord LyttonAT&T changes policy due to backlash- October 11, 2007 It looks like this little policy is getting changed. There's a lot of talk that this wasn't what they meant, but this is coming from the same company that would force the customers to pay for charges coming from stolen or lost calling cards at one point. To tell you the truth, since the TOS hasn't changed yet, and I wouldn't trust it as far as I could throw it, it sounds like it's a PR move rather than actual policy move. I'm willing to bet that the moment someone's watchful eye is turned,.http://life.firelace.com/2007/10/att_changes_policy_due_to_back.php MusikCube- October 11, 2007 MusikCube is a music management program that is open source and for Windows 2000 and Windows XP. It can manage dynamic playlists depending on how you listen to your music and your playlist habits. What's more is that it's extremely fast because it's database driven, so large playlists won't be any sort of problem since it scales. Got to love sqlite. It also allows you to transfer music to pretty much any portable device from thumb drives to mp3 players. That makes it extremely...http://life.firelace.com/2007/10/musikcube_1.php How the Democrats are just as scary with domestic spying- October 10, 2007 You thought it was all the Republicans, didn't you All the domestic spying Alas, Democrats are way on board with this one too. House Democrats are proposing to have it permanently put in place as long as there is oversight. Don't get me wrong. This bill is way better than the so-called temporary action where telecommunication companies are given immunity to spying domestically, and there's a whole bunch of other types of anti-privacy acts that would make privacy activists mutter...http://life.firelace.com/2007/10/how_the_democrats_are_just_as_1.php RogueScanner- October 10, 2007 NetworkChemistry has another interesting free Windows product that is open source. RogueScanner can be used to detect patterns and characteristics of devices that are wireless. I'm curious if they wrote this or if this was using someone else's deal. The unfortunate part of this free tool and the rest of NetworkChemistry stuff is you have to fill out a contact information type form to actually download the tool. Makes me slightly suspicious of these free tools, but hey... nothing in...http://life.firelace.com/2007/10/roguescanner_1.php Game Review: Medal of Honor: Vanguard- October 9, 2007 It's one of those WWII games that just keep getting more and more realistic as the generations of game consoles advance. While it's not as good in graphics, there are parts of this game that are practically ridiculous when it comes to advancing without dying. Controls: The controls are with the Wii Remote and the Nunchuks. Usual playing style with pointing of the Remote and the Nunchuks that drive movement. I have to say that most of the controls are fairly well driven although the...http://life.firelace.com/2007/10/game_review_medal_of_honor_van_1.php Incredible landing in EA Skate- October 9, 2007 Sometimes, it takes the impossible to actually see something amazing. Well, here's what seemed to be the impossible. Someone was playing Skate, by Electronic Arts, and happened to record a most brilliant landing after doing a failed trick and flying through the air. The screenshots don't do it justice, so just go check out the video. While I can see the physics behind how this happened, it's pretty amusing and somewhat difficult to reproduce again and again. How exactly do you go from...http://life.firelace.com/2007/10/incredible_landing_in_ea_skate.php Lightning speed of a pick- October 9, 2007 You've never seen the speed of a guitarist until you've seen Yngwie Malmsteen speed playing. This guy is so fast, that it's amazing the pick isn't smoking. What's even more interesting is that his fingers fly pretty quickly too.http://life.firelace.com/2007/10/lightning_speed_of_a_pick.php Packetyzer- October 9, 2007 Packetyzer by NetworkChemistry for Windows that's free. It uses the Ethereal engine, but puts on top of it a more usable GUI, and allows you to configure it and filter the packets and capture it for whatever you're looking for. What's interesting is that I don't seem to see anything that's that much different from Ethereal's Windows version except for the RFprotect Mobile integration. According to this, it can sniff 802.11 packets and watch control and management frames.http://life.firelace.com/2007/10/network_packet_analysis_tool.php Thoughts on the RIAA trial- October 9, 2007 Disclaimer: The following is opinion. Don't like opinion Don't read on. Completely subjective piece based on the little facts I have about the trial from my linked source on the trial and my own expertise on the technology. Been following the RIAA trial a little bit and a couple things bother me. One is definitely the music industry and this really annoying and hateful but powerful special interest group. The question really is... who doesn't like them But another is this defense...http://life.firelace.com/2007/10/thoughts_on_the_riaa_trial.php Why communities should be proactive instead of reactive- October 8, 2007 It's funny, but one of my managers used to tell me, "It's better to be proactive, than reactive." This was in relation to our customer service, and it was a wonder how much that improved from my end when I took this to heart. Strangely enough, this can be applied to community service and projects... in which I've felt has been lacking as of late. It's not that there isn't the same or more effort. But I'm a huge advocate for efficiency. There's no point in doing anything if you can't...http://life.firelace.com/2007/10/why_communities_should_be_proa.php |