] MusicBrainz also takes this concept one step further in
] applying it to digital audio files like MP3 files and Ogg
] Vorbis files. The metadata contained in these files is
] often incorrect or missing altogether. If this data is
] not present or correct, it makes it difficult for users
] to find the music they wish to play. Many MP3 lovers have
] a huge collection of MP3 files but often have a hard time
] finding the music to which they want to listen. The
] MusicBrainz solution for this is the MusicBrainz Tagger,
] a Windows application that uses acoustic fingerprints
] (TRMs) to semiautomatically identify tracks in your music
] collection and then write clean and accurate metadata to
] your music files.

I believe some of us were having a conversation about needing something liek this integrated into BitTorrent while at Phreaknic 8.

MusicBrainz - Music Identifier

The Mozilla Foundation took out a 2 page ad in the NYTs today, complete with several thousand names of people who donated money.

Stop using IE. 11 Millions downloads can't be wrong.

Firefox gets 2 page NYT ad

] Portable Network Graphics (PNG) is a lossless compressed
] image format. For comparison, JPEG is a lossy compressed
] image format: it throws away some information to save
] space.

This rules! I'm actually writing several buffer overflows exploits on older security notices to prepare myself for a job in the security industry, and better understand how thye work.

Fun fun fun

libpng Buffer Overflow exploit assignment

] It is has been a long time coming, but we have finally
] gotten DDP HackRadio up and running! Click here to listen
] to our new 24/7 hacking radio station.

Check out http://radio.binrev.com for more information. We have a schedule and rotation of show that is already pretty full and we are adding many things as we go along. Expect to hear talk shows, independant music, conference presentations, and some other surprise things to be announced soon.

If you are like me and listen to a lot of talk radio, you now have a central resource for hacking related material. I hope someone enjoys it.

Way to Go Stank! I love to see grassroots efforts like DDP and Binrev succeed, and I know you put an insane amount of work into it.

DDP HackRadio goes live!

] The OSI was Rove's idea, created shortly after President
] Bush was elected in 2000. It is the smallest unit in the
] Rove empire, with six employees, and represents the
] closest thing the White House has to an in-house think
] tank.
]
] The office, tucked away on the fourth floor of the
] Eisenhower Executive Office Building, conducts research
] on the presidency -- looking for historical patterns or
] analogies to guide the administration's strategic
] thinking.

This seems eerily like the Nazi Ahnenerbe (Ancestral Heritage) Department. They were scientists who made historic "discoveries" to justify Hilter's policies of Aryan supremacy and Jewish Conspirancy.

Resident Thinker Given Free Rein In White House

] But if these machines were ingenious, what shall we think
] of the calculating machine of Mr. Babbage? What shall we
] think of an engine of wood and metal which can not only
] compute astronomical and navigation tables to any given
] extent, but render the exactitude of its operations
] mathematically certain through its power of correcting
] its possible errors? What shall we think of a machine
] which can not only accomplish all this, but actually
] print off its elaborate results, when obtained, without
] the slightest intervention of the intellect of man? It
] will, perhaps, be said, in reply, that a machine such as
] we have described is altogether above comparison with the
] Chess-Player of Maelzel.

Poe talks about the Mechanical Turk when it was demoed in Virgina. It's pretty cool to hear him extrapolate the abilities of Babbage's calculating machines from the abilities of the Turk. For some reason my mental impression of Babbage was kind of a 1800's version of Dr. Emmet Brown from Back to the Future. Smart, but generally viewed as a crank and crackpot by his peers. I am surprised that Poe knows of him, and his work.

Edgar Allen Poe's Account of the Mechanical Turk

] The Turk was a famous hoax which purported to be a
] chess-playing automaton first constructed and unveiled in
] 1769 by Wolfgang von Kempelen (1734-1804). It had the
] appearance of a maplewood cabinet 4 feet long by 2 feet
] deep and 3 feet high, with a mannequin dressed in cloak
] and turban seated behind it. The cabinet had doors that
] opened to reveal internal clockwork mechanisms, and when
] activated the mechanism appeared to be able to play a
] strong game of chess against a human opponent. It could
] also perform the knight's tour (a puzzle which requires
] the player to pass every square of a chess board once)
] with ease. However, the cabinet was a cleverly
] constructed illusion that allowed a man to hide inside
] and operate the mannequin.

Saw this off a link for a /. story. The URL is for the Wikipedia Story

The Mechanical Turk

] Unsolicited pop-up ads are annoying and may introduce
] spyware to your computer. Banish them forever with MSN
] Pop-up Blocker.

Does anyone else see how fscked up this is? MS had to release a toolbar to block pop-ups, preventing "spyware." But a major reason spyware spreads isn't because of pop-ups, its the complete broken ActiveX controls. So instead of fixing ActiveX (ie killing it), they have to kill the transit mechanism!

Its the same thing with Searching for things on the computer. Instead of simply retrofitting and improving their existing find feature, which already is nicely integrated and can find computers, printers and other things, they instead add a totally new search bar. Wait a minute which do I use if I'm Joe six pack? Why does one suck and the other is good? More importantly, Why the hell should I have do download a plug-in to a freaking *web browser* to improve my ability to find files managed by the *operating system*

This is so totally backwards.

MSN Toolbar... HA!

] Graphics Functions
] Here are detailed descriptions of the various hardware
] graphics functions as used in the N64

Stumbled on this today while looking for info on MIPs processors. Its from a page with extensive info on the hardware specs of the N64. This section discusses common graphical effects (Texture MApping, Gouraud Shading, Anti-aliasing): explaining what they are, common implementations (hardware -vs-software), and how the n64 accomplishes them. Very cool for those interested in graphics and in need of a overview.

Graphics Functions Descriptions

While Phreaknic 8 has come and gone, I ran across a file on my laptop called "pn8-quotes" which, apparently, I started to keep PN8 quotes in. Not many here, but fun for all:

Guys *do* want a plot. They don't want it to open with a banging. They want [DING-DONG] 'Hi, I'm here to fix the fridge,' and *Then* banging!
-Abaddon

Yeah I get that "Nick, why all the black?" thing alot. You know why? I abhore fashion. I hate it. No one is into patterns quite like I am.
-Rattle

No color for you. I ABSORB your color
-Rattle

Fuck Rockit, he sues everyone. Thats how he says 'Hello!'
-Abaddon

Acidus: "Jill told me 'Don't do something stupid,' but that thing with the cigarette, that was smart!"
Abaddon: Congraduations MacGyver, so why didn't it go boom?

It's a MISDEMEANOR you pussies!
-James

America! Fuck Yeah!
-Decius, all damn weekend

...wait a minute. Thats not my MOTD
-Acidus after Palindrome and Decius 0wned his laptop