In Tofu, text is arranged in columns, and each column is only as high as your window. So lines are nice and narrow, they don't move about vertically, plus your text is now in easy-to-digest chunks. You just scroll from column to column horizontally, and feel more in control.

Wow. That makes a lot of sense. I am a full-screen, no-overlapping windows junky. But it does have the downside that text or code can be overwhelmingly wide. Standard operating mode for Emacs, or any text dominated session of any kind, is to split the screen vertically into two (or three) columns, side by side like. But that's when I'm using a terminal, or writing code, and it is useful for comparisons (and limiting line width.

But for text, this notion of flowing columns is excellent. it is a reason I like reading articles at the International Herald site. It would be nice if my window manager (ION) or a reasonable editor/viewer of PDFs or such could take this idea and use it. It would probably be complicated and involved...

Amar Sagoo - Tofu

Altix Performance and Tunning Tools

Shuxia Zhang
Supercomputing Institute

SGI document on porting and tweaking applications for Altix supercomputers. Good process for any distributed application, and good meta-process for putting the importance on: let the compiler do the hard work; tune for what your platform does well, not just where performance may be eeked out.

SGI_Altix_Performance_Tuning.pdf (application/pdf Object)

The following program is able to exercise the posix timer subsystem in various ways and also able to check for posix compliance by detecting system libraries that violate the posix specification by providing real time instead of cpu time

I was happy to find that not only does POSIX define an interface for the OS to provide cycle time information per thread, but that Linux Kernel >= 2.6.10 has full support. I think. I still need to play with it. Meme'ing this for future reference when I have time to do so.

Christoph Lameter - posix timer test program / glibc patch to make glibc posix compliant

Besides advertisers, other savvy organizations and institutions have discovered the power of SMS. One such institution are the temples in India, who have discovered the power of technology and telecom to deliver rich media solutions to their clients. There are two temples that appear to be in the forefront of implementing IT solutions to make the whole process of praying and seeking blessings a relatively pain-free and hassle-free process. No more pushing and shoving, and jostling in a tightly packed room. Sit back, relax, have a cup of tea and seek your blessings from the comfort of your living room. Welcome the world of virtual living.

Kamlas India: India: The Power of Technology and SMS in Indian Temples

In that regard, I started a project on the weekend that I wasn't sure was possible: creating a fully secure "ajax"-powered login system, ideal for blogs, forums, and other similar sites. I had a barebones secure case working within a few hours, and a few more hours gave the final result that I will share today.

Yes.

I was a happy camper when LiveJournal added such a thing, but this is even cleaner and easier.

AJAX Login System using XMLHttpRequest | evolt.org

As we move our data to the servers at Amazon.com, Hotmail.com,
Yahoo.com, and Gmail.com, we are making an implicit bargain, one
that the public at large is either entirely content with, or, more likely,
one that most have not taken much to heart.

That bargain is this: we trust you to not do evil things with our
information. We trust that you will keep it secure, free from unlaw-
ful government or private search and seizure, and under our control
at all times. We understand that you might use our data in aggregate
to provide us better and more useful services, but we trust that you
will not identify individuals personally through our data, nor use
our personal data in a manner that would violate our own sense of
privacy and freedom.

That’s a pretty large helping of trust we’re asking companies to
ladle onto their corporate plate. And I’m not sure either we or they
are entirely sure what to do with the implications of such a transfer.
Just thinking about these implications makes a reasonable person’s
head hurt.

I'm just starting to read _The Search_. I love that the expectation for an influential book has a blog, either post (like Battelle's) or prior (The Long Tail), and will keep you informed. It is a nice model for deadtrees.

John Battelle's Searchblog: Don't Look Now, But It's Happening

The more profitable questions to answer are: What does Satan invest in? How does he fund evil? Satan's Portfolio will track the perfomance of the stocks which Mephistocles is proud to put his money into

Long or Short?: Satan's Portfolio

As someone who is a former Windows programmer, a Wine hacker and a security expert, I cannot escape the notion that many of Windows security weaknesses are a direct result of a deliberate design decisions made by Microsoft. This is not to say that Microsoft maliciously designed the entire system, starting with the API, going through the security and users system, and ending with the program features, based solely on "usability" and "convenience", with "security" either being discarded as unimportant or not being considered. Either way, it appears to me that many of the design decisions behind the way Windows were poorly made, security wise.

One of those rare Great Posts on Slashdot... An argument backed by facts and features not widely known in the GroupThink

Ask Microsoft's Security VP

A federal grand jury in Denver has returned an indictment against Karen Durante, 24, of Loveland, Colo., in connection with the thefts of DVD movies from the U.S. mail.

Durante was working as a contract mail carrier at the time of the thefts, according to the indictment.

She is charged with four counts of mail theft and a fifth count charges her with possession of 1,256 movies that had been stolen from the mail.

Mail theft is a seriously bad offense. What's 1256 * 5 years / $250,000? A lot.

TheDenverChannel.com - Health - Postal Worker Indicted Over Netflix, Blockbuster Movie Thefts

Terry O'Neill, 50, of Pittsburgh, was watching the game at a bar and had a heart attack seconds after Jerome Bettis fumbled trying to score from the 2-yard line late in the fourth quarter.

This might be newsworthy OUTSIDE of Pittsburgh. Within, it is to be expected. It *would* have been an awful final play for Bettis. Worth the life of a fan?

SI.com - 2005 NFL Playoffs - Man recovering after heart attack during Steelers game - Tuesday January 17, 2006 11:09AM