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fyhuang

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Posts posted by fyhuang

    The Free Software Campaign!

    in Computer Desk

    Posted · Edited by fyhuang

    Testimonials... hey, that's a good idea :)! I'm thinking of replacing the weird Haiku poem with a random (yes, more randomness!) quote/testimonial selector.

    Thanks for the compliments BTW, Nate :D. Most of the design, as I mentioned isn't actually my own, but I've been tweaking stuff to make it look better (biggest change so far is switching from fixed-width to non-fixed-width). About the images on the FF page, I'm going to make the tabbed browsing one a bit taller, as in this one the gradients kind of overlap the tabs.

    I've also updated the gradient behind Mr. Tux on the Linux page... it now looks very cool, if I may say so myself.

    [edit] And the one on the front page, which is cooler now too ;).

    Cheers!

    The Free Software Campaign!

    in Computer Desk

    Posted · Edited by fyhuang

    Scary discovery: upon loading my campaign page in Firefox, a Tux favicon was automatically loaded... which is scary because I didn't put it there:

    fscfirefox1id.png

    I have, BTW started to work in some graphics for the banners (the FF one is pretty cool, the Linux one had bad colors, I need suggestions for a color scheme to use for Linux).

    Cheers!

    [edit] Fixed image

    The Free Software Campaign!

    in Computer Desk

    Posted · Edited by fyhuang

    [uPDATE] I got a domain name! The site's still prototype, but you can now visit the site at http://www.freecampaign.org/. I was really lucky, I was actually able to pick up the first domain name I had thought of :).

    Hey all,

    I'm not sure if I've mentioned this to anyone, but I've been working to promote free software in my community/school/anyone I know. I've finally come up with a name and prototype website for my campaign - the Free Software Campaign! The sitehost is temporary (my computer *cough*), so it's probably not going to be available for the whole day. A good estimate of when it'll be available is probably from about 10:00 AM EST to maybe like 8:00 PM or 9:00 (EST).

    This is just a prototype website (converted from andreas02 @ OSWD), and it's not even fully converted yet (haven't converted print stylesheet, the sidebar's still there). Goldenratiophi - it looks rather nice full-width, no :D? I think it scales down to about 640 before totally breaking. I *will* be replacing the ugly green placeholder banner.

    My goal right now is to make sure that all the text and stuff I have written is suitable for end-users. I don't want any more of that "Linux is a full free operating system and kernel, and when combined with the GNU OS forms a complete operating system." stuff, I want something that computer-illiterate people can easily take in. Also, because teens/young adults are more likely to switch (to Linux/free software) than adults (i.e. they can get used to a new interface, or they're not locked into one piece of software by their company or something, thanks to goldenratiophi for the idea), many of the terms are more oriented (i.e. 'chat programs' instead of 'IM clients'). The site is very 'question-oriented', and kind of hand-holds the user through the process (or at least it *will*, once I have all the pages put up). There's also a short list of useful/popular/common free software, which is far from complete. I need more additions to that ;).

    There will be an 'enterprise edition', more information/reference-oriented and aimed towards professional users/geeks+hackers/enterprise people. It will use 'professional' terminology :P.

    BTW, not under the name of the campaign I have already converted 1 person to Linux (!!!) and one to FF.

    Tell me what you think, give me suggestions, tell me if you want to join the campaign in your community :). Cheers!

    Sun's open-source DRM!

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Unlikely that parts will be closed-source. My guess is that it's all or nothing.

    About the CDDL - the CDDL was originally invented by Sun, probably because they still aren't ready to go 'full-open-source', or they just want their name pasted on something in the OSS world. It makes sense that they would use their own license, but the license itself isn't that great.

    Cheers!

    Sun's open-source DRM!

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Yes, as I mentioned in my first post, one of the big problems with open-source DRM is that anyone can look in the code and determine the algorithm being used. This, however is not the biggest problem (as with algorithms such as AES-256, it's virtually impossible to decode the data unless you have the key). The biggest problem is a combination of this and another problem. Once you look in the source code, you now know 1) how to decode the music, and 2) where the key for the music is. This allows any semi-proficient programmer to copy & paste some bits of code, and end up with a program that can convert from music.encrypted into music.wav. He/she can then easily distribute the unencrypted file, free from DRM.

    I dunno how Sun is going to solve *this* problem, but one thing is for sure - if they don't switch away from the CDDL, no open-source programs will probably support it (at least I think, as most useful programs are either GPL or LGPL).

    Cheers!

    Sun's open-source DRM!

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    You're right about that, but I think we need to take it back one step at a time, and open-source DRM is the first step. If Sun destroys the first step, we may never be able to progress along that path again (metaphorically, but in practice, if the entire OSS world files a lawsuit against the RIAA, we probably could :)).

    Cheers!

    Sun's open-source DRM!

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    I think not. Why? First of all, most people don't trust open-source (wrongly). Sun will have to take great steps to convince people that an open-source solution would work just as well/better than a proprietary one. I have tried to design an open-source system before, and there was always the big problem that anyone could just look in the code and discover the decoding procedure. See thread.

    But there's a bigger problem with Sun's solution. It is licensed under the CDDL (Common Development and Distribution License). Now, this is all nice and dandy, except for one thing:

    ... it has some complex restrictions that make it incompatible with the GNU GPL. That is, a module covered by the GPL and a module covered by the CDDL cannot legally be linked together ...

    Ouch. That means I can't use this DRM in my GPL-ed music player, or in anything GPL-ed in fact! What's the use of making an open-source DRM project if you can't link it with other open-source works?

    So, unfortunately while I would seriously like the world to adopt an open-source DRM scheme (so I can finally play music on Linux), I think Sun has already killed its own project by using the CDDL. This will probably convince the world that an open-source solution would never work, and will kill this opportunity forever :).

    Your ideas, comments, whatever please!

    SIXA Dialer

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Do you use dial-up? If you do, once you have made a dial-up connection it will not bother you (as it cannot connect while you are connected). While you aren't connected, disconnect your phone line until you find a better solution :D. If you don't use dial-up, I don't see the problem :).

    But as for the actual removal of the virus, I'm afraid I cannot help you ;). I've been rather disconnected from the Windows security world lately.

    Cheers!

    Diagram software

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    I was *just* going to mention Dia. I've used it for some simple diagramming, and it seems to work pretty well. It probably won't open Visio files or anything, but at least it's a start.

    GameDev.net recommends SmartDraw - http://www.smartdraw.com/. I've used this before as well, and it seems to be pretty good. The interface, if you ask me, is somewhat cluttered, but that can be overlooked for the fairly large featureset this offers.

    Another alternative is something like OO.o Draw. OO.o Draw (at least v2) has a couple of templates for flowcharting, so if you can't find anything else, at least this will do for a start.

    Cheers!

    buying a cpu+mobo

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    For future-proof, upgrading purposes, I would recommend getting a 939 socket (AMD)/800 Mhz FSB (Intel). AMD's 3200+ line is considered 'budget' these days, so if you want to pick one up they're only about $150 (same with Intel's P4 3.2 GHz). Also get PCI-express if you can, not for performance (I'm not sure anyone even sees a performance difference anyways), but once again for future-proofing. PCI may be phased out sooner than we all think.

    That's about the extent of the advice I can give you, as I don't know much about the subject myself...

    Cheers!

    Hosting firms and frustration

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Downside is that they don't provide an admin panel like Ensim or CPanel,

    A slightly off-topic note - the control panels, to me, are a small convenience, but if you ask me their themes/appearance and performance aren't very good. The interface, I think gets in the way (I still have trouble sometimes finding the icon I'm looking for). And (at least on my host), CPanel pages load/generate really slowly...

    So, yeah. Cheers!

    Google Talk

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    It's nothing revolutionary,

    To users, maybe. The only difference you (as end-users) will probably see between GT and other IM programs is its interface (which, in my and others' humble opinion, is way better, as already stated quite a few times).

    But, for developers (especially open-source ones), GTalk is a gift from god (no offense to anyone religious for use of the metaphor). First, it brings the XMPP protocol to mainstream use. Second, all extensions it adds are fully documented (or at least will be, or they are but I can't find the docs :P), making it great for open-source (and closed-source!) developers to integrate GTalk capability into their programs.

    Google is really helping out the open-source community by doing all this generous stuff (i.e. all their enterprise servers are Linux-based, they're making the protocol for GTalk open, Firefox Google Toolbar, etc.). I hope this continues because, with their help, Linux might finally turn mainstream for desktop use (it's already mainstream for server use, and Microsoft can't do anything about it :)).

    Cheers!

    Google Talk

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    An extra note about Google Talk - their voice protocol is an extension of XMPP and will be fully documented. Which means someone will probably implement voice plugins for gaim/whatever sometime soon (hopefully).

    Cheers!

    Google Talk

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    'Advanced features' as you say are all, to me, feature creep, or marketing crap. I prefer gaim, because of its simplicity - its sole purpose it to let you talk to other people online. Specialized for one task and does it very well.

    On the other hand, Yahoo!, MSN, AIM, all have added 'extras' like games, etc. that really don't serve the purpose of communication at all, but merely add more points to the featureset to make you think it's better. AKA bloatware.

    Bolding smilies? Greatness! Finally I don't have to stare at stupid images cluttering my view of the actual text, and finally I can type code without worrying about accidentally typing in a smiley combination (it's still possible, but it won't be confusing). This always bugged me when I was trying to teach people to use CVS:

    1: cvs -d:pserver:...

    And the : p would always show up as a smiley, and everyone would be like "huh?".

    So yeah. While Google may take over the software industry like Microsoft, at least they are a benevolent dictatorship. At least the software is free and works.

    My .02 (which has been expressed at least 3 times already). Cheers!

    Google Talk

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Google is the best so far AFAIAC because:

    1. Open format (Jabber)! (this sort of thing has seriously solidified Google's standing in the OSS world I believe)

    2. Clean interface.

    I mean, MSN is so 'easy to use', and it's got the most bloated interface *ever*. AIM's interface is too childish if you ask me. I haven't seen GT's smilies yet, but hopefully they're much better than the dumb default ones included with AIM and MSN.

    Oh, and about voice in gaim. Gaim will most likely not support voice without a plugin. Gaim's goal is to provide a simple, clean IM client, and they have already stated (so I hear at least) that they are not interested in providing voice because it kind of strays from their ultimate goal. However, no one has yet implemented a voice protocol for gaim (that I know of), and if Google releases their voice protocol for GT, someone probably will (yay! no more reverse-engineering!). Miranda, being so bloated with plugins (emacs!!!), probably already has a voice plugin (it may or may not work with GT).

    Cheers!

    Google Talk

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    Finally! Google's IM program! All we await now is Google Browser (which, of course will be Mozilla-based) and Google OS (which, of course will be Linux-based)!

    fyhuang -AT- gmail -DOT- com

    Cheers!

    MSN and Hackers

    in Computer Desk

    Posted

    ZoneAlarm used to be my favorite firewall (only asked me when programs were trying to access the Internet), but lately it's become extremely annoying by popping up alerts for the smallest packet trying to get to my computer. It's, well, annoying. Especially when this happens in the middle of a fullscreen game.

    I'm not sure if SuSEfirewall2 has outbound protection, but I doubt it. All my applications have worked flawlessly without any alert of any kind.

    Ah, and yes CodeOp, among hackers, hackers are usually intelligent, computer/programming-literate people. The media, of course, distorts all things.

    Cheers!

    MSN and Hackers

    in Computer Desk

    Posted · Edited by fyhuang

    It's actually rather simple to get someone's IP address. Without your IP address, he could not be talking to you online. All he needs to do is to intercept packets from MSN messenger.

    The good thing is, just having an IP address isn't all that useful. Most viruses need to be stationed on your computer in order to function. Worms exploit security flaws in Windows software, but since he's a "hacker", I highly doubt that he can set worms on you. Besides, worms are uncontrollable, they're automated, and can easily be stopped with a half-decent firewall.

    Hackers hack large sites because of ports they may have open (i.e. telnet, SSH, etc.) or flaws in the scripts used on the webserver, but hacking a personal computer is much harder.

    You probably won't have much trouble with this guy, but (disclaimer!) I can't tell you for sure. One of the people I know online claims to be a "hacker" (he doesn't talk to me much anymore, fortunately), and he also claims that DOS is the ultimate OS, and that Linux is totally useless. Whatever.

    Cheers!

    [edit] Oh, BTW one of the best ways for protection is to get a NAT router (preferably with hardware firewall). This way, you can keep all your ports closed and know that, even if the 'hacker' were to know your IP address, it would be useless because he couldn't reach your computer's 'real' IP address. My 'hacker' buddy that I was talking about was bragging about how he could get past all firewalls, blah blah blah and I was like, okay, go ahead and hack my computer. He never got past my router's firewall.

    Also, while two software firewalls tend to conflict, having a hardware firewall and a software firewall never hurts. I, for one am so paranoid that I run software firewalls on all my computers, a hardware firewall on my router, and am planning to get an nVidia motherboard with a built-in hardware firewall. That makes for a total of three layers of firewall protection :).

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