Computers: May 2005 Archives
Mac-Growl-0.65 has been released. Download it from the CPAN or SF.net.
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
0.65 Fri May 27 22:12:20 2005Posted using release by brian d foy.
- Fix some logic problems in $base stuff, make sure we catch errors
in loading Mac::Glue, so we don't use it for base even if set
My wife tells me I have a terrible memory. She says last year I put an air conditioner in my office window, and removed it for winter. I have no recollection of this. It is quite possibly true, but I don't know. There are no obvious signs on the window itself, though markings exist that could be construed as related to such activity as holding an air conditioner in place.
On the other hand, when the Duelfer report came out in September 2004, I could remember various minute details about Charles Duelfer's appearance on PBS NewsHour (at the time, as a minor State Dept. official) in January 2004, despite not having given it any serious consideration in the interim, except for a mental note in February 2004 when he was appointed to take David Kay's place.
Sherlock Holmes remarked to Watson, "I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones."
I am pleased that, for the most part, my brain-attic stores things most likely to be most important automatically, without my conscious interference.
Either that, or, unbeknownst to me, a space alien is helping me to control my engrams with an e-meter.
On the other hand, when the Duelfer report came out in September 2004, I could remember various minute details about Charles Duelfer's appearance on PBS NewsHour (at the time, as a minor State Dept. official) in January 2004, despite not having given it any serious consideration in the interim, except for a mental note in February 2004 when he was appointed to take David Kay's place.
Sherlock Holmes remarked to Watson, "I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones."
I am pleased that, for the most part, my brain-attic stores things most likely to be most important automatically, without my conscious interference.
Either that, or, unbeknownst to me, a space alien is helping me to control my engrams with an e-meter.
Someone sends me an AIM, and at first this was my own personal The Wrong George moment, but then the person got REALLY crazy-loco. I censored a few words so as not to offend the readers.
AIM IM with Pawlosko.
13:08
Pawlosko: Hey rus, its Captain Tenille.
Pawlosko: I'm away from my home right now and using a friend's screen name.
Pawlosko: Had a quick question for you...
Chris Nandor: who?
Pawlosko: CT
Chris Nandor: think maybe you got the wrong person.
Pawlosko: ...
Pawlosko: Anyway NIWS has a new account, hoping you could wipe it before it causes problems.
13:10
Pawlosko: Are you looking in the logs??
Chris Nandor: i have no idea what you're talking about. i don't know you or NIWS.
Chris Nandor: you have the wrong nick.
Pawlosko: rusty?
Pawlosko has been blocked.
Pawlosko has been unblocked.
AIM IM with Pawlosko.
13:16
Pawlosko: Are you pudge?
Pawlosko: ***** ******, do you want me to *** *** *** ***?
Pawlosko: Why are you fixing to start ****?
Chris Nandor: no, i am rusty.
Pawlosko: Who is NIWS then?
Chris Nandor: the guy with the new account, duh.
Pawlosko: Idiot.
AIM IM with Pawlosko.
13:19
Pawlosko: Everyone I know says you are a total ****, pudge.
Pawlosko: So are you going to *** *** *** or not?
Pawlosko: s
Pawlosko: **** **** like you **** ESR's you little ****.
Chris Nandor: riiiiiiight.
Pawlosko has been blocked.
AIM IM with Pawlosko.
13:08
Pawlosko: Hey rus, its Captain Tenille.
Pawlosko: I'm away from my home right now and using a friend's screen name.
Pawlosko: Had a quick question for you...
Chris Nandor: who?
Pawlosko: CT
Chris Nandor: think maybe you got the wrong person.
Pawlosko: ...
Pawlosko: Anyway NIWS has a new account, hoping you could wipe it before it causes problems.
13:10
Pawlosko: Are you looking in the logs??
Chris Nandor: i have no idea what you're talking about. i don't know you or NIWS.
Chris Nandor: you have the wrong nick.
Pawlosko: rusty?
Pawlosko has been blocked.
Pawlosko has been unblocked.
AIM IM with Pawlosko.
13:16
Pawlosko: Are you pudge?
Pawlosko: ***** ******, do you want me to *** *** *** ***?
Pawlosko: Why are you fixing to start ****?
Chris Nandor: no, i am rusty.
Pawlosko: Who is NIWS then?
Chris Nandor: the guy with the new account, duh.
Pawlosko: Idiot.
AIM IM with Pawlosko.
13:19
Pawlosko: Everyone I know says you are a total ****, pudge.
Pawlosko: So are you going to *** *** *** or not?
Pawlosko: s
Pawlosko: **** **** like you **** ESR's you little ****.
Chris Nandor: riiiiiiight.
Pawlosko has been blocked.
Mac-Glue-1.25 has been released. Download it from the CPAN or SF.net.
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
* v1.25, Monday, May 15, 2005Posted using release by brian d foy.
Fix up some of recent fixes in Mac::AETE::App, which broke certain older apps
OSAXes.
Fix gluemac to get proper app path when recreating glues.
Add new browsers_open_window example.
Mac-Growl-0.64 has been released. Download it from the CPAN or SF.net.
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
0.64 Sun May 15 07:06:05 2005Posted using release by brian d foy.
- Fix Mac::Glue method to specify typeUnicodeText
- Include glues for people not using Mac::Glue 1.24 or above
Mac-Glue-1.24 has been released. Download it from the CPAN or SF.net.
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
* v1.24, Sunday, May 14, 2005Posted using release by brian d foy.
Rewrite Mac::AETE::App to use OSAGetAppTerminology for retrieving aete data.
Requires update to Mac::Carbon 0.74 (which includes Mac::OSA 1.05).
Fix some older bugs with legacy apps which have no app signature.
Mac-Carbon-0.74 has been released. Download it from the CPAN or SF.net.
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
* v0.74, 14 May 2005Posted using release by brian d foy.
Add OSAGetAppTerminology to Mac::OSA, which is what we should have been
doing all along for getting terminology instead of trying to handle it
ourselves in Mac::Glue.
Mac-Growl-0.63 has been released. Download it from the CPAN or SF.net.
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
0.63 Fri May 13 20:28:00 2005Posted using release by brian d foy.
- Updated warning in Mac-Growl.t to be less fear-inducing
- Make notifications go out to all logged-in users under
Foundation
- Be smarter with encodings
U R N X
U R N X
N I, I M N X
I C T V
I C T V
N I C U
I C U, I C U
N U R O K
U R N X
U R N X
N I, I W
I C A D V D
I C A D V D
N I C U
I C U, I C U
N U R O K
I C U, I C U
N U R O K
U R N X
N I, I M N X
I C T V
I C T V
N I C U
I C U, I C U
N U R O K
U R N X
U R N X
N I, I W
I C A D V D
I C A D V D
N I C U
I C U, I C U
N U R O K
I C U, I C U
N U R O K
Translation of TorgoX: "Speeches that have straightforward meaning that I disagree with are an abomination, and must be ridiculed."
Part of Apple's security paradigm is to ask the user before potentially dangerous actions are executed. This sounds nice, but it has a serious flaw: the users don't understand the questions or the proposed answers.
This cropped up recently when a user noted that Dashboard widgets can install and execute automatically from a web page. The question is asked: what about malicious widgets? Widgets can only execute certain actions -- like network access -- if they declare their intentions, and if they do, the user is asked something to the effect of, "Do you want to use this widget?" when it is run for the first time.
Me, if that window pops up when I haven't told the computer explicitly to install and run a widget, I'll say no. But most people won't. Most people don't understand what a widget is, why it might have been installed and run, and what might happen if they say yes, and what might happen if they say no.
Apple used the same "fix" for the running new applications for the first time when it is being run via a protocol handler or a file. "You've never run this application, are you sure you want to run it now?" Sure, why not?
The real fix there is to not ever launch an application for the first time -- ever -- unless explicitly run by a user action. That's not complicated. But Apple wants to be able to have applications, when they first appear on a new volume, registered with the system, register file and protocol handlers. But they shouldn't. That is the security problem itself.
Similarly, with Dashboard widgets, launching them in any way except through the Dashboard UI should simply be disallowed. You can install it by double-clicking, but not execute it. That would go a long way toward protecting ignorant users, which is most of them, probably including me and anyone else reading this, as there's a lot about these systems we don't know all that well.
This cropped up recently when a user noted that Dashboard widgets can install and execute automatically from a web page. The question is asked: what about malicious widgets? Widgets can only execute certain actions -- like network access -- if they declare their intentions, and if they do, the user is asked something to the effect of, "Do you want to use this widget?" when it is run for the first time.
Me, if that window pops up when I haven't told the computer explicitly to install and run a widget, I'll say no. But most people won't. Most people don't understand what a widget is, why it might have been installed and run, and what might happen if they say yes, and what might happen if they say no.
Apple used the same "fix" for the running new applications for the first time when it is being run via a protocol handler or a file. "You've never run this application, are you sure you want to run it now?" Sure, why not?
The real fix there is to not ever launch an application for the first time -- ever -- unless explicitly run by a user action. That's not complicated. But Apple wants to be able to have applications, when they first appear on a new volume, registered with the system, register file and protocol handlers. But they shouldn't. That is the security problem itself.
Similarly, with Dashboard widgets, launching them in any way except through the Dashboard UI should simply be disallowed. You can install it by double-clicking, but not execute it. That would go a long way toward protecting ignorant users, which is most of them, probably including me and anyone else reading this, as there's a lot about these systems we don't know all that well.
On Slashdot recently we had an article about recently discovered Greek New Testament manuscripts, and how they were able to be decoded. And so many people made such grand sweeping statements about what this could mean. I want to call them amateurs, but they are not even knowledgable enough to be amateurs. I'm an amateur, they are just completely full of it.
I came across a nice example of this recently, when someone sent me this brief article, which reads:
A more complete article goes into greater detail. But many details are missing.
For example, it says what the more traditional versions say ("six hundred threescore and six"), but not what this version, Oxyrhynchus, says (actually given in numerals). It also doesn't say why Oxyrhynchus should be considered more authoritative: any first-year student of textual criticism can tell you age is not the only factor.
And perhaps worst of all, it quotes someone who has a certain theological bent, who doesn't think of Revelations as prophecy about the end times, who is therefore predisposed to want it to say something other than what more traditional theologians think it says. And they don't quote any alternative view.
But the real story is more interesting, and less sensational. And it is not new. An article in Tyndale Bulletin by Peter Head from five years ago mentions that Oxyrhynchus uses the 616 number, and actually gives us some background.
First, we know that 616 is not a new variant. Ephraemi Rescriptus ("C", from the fifth century) had it, though it was written differently. And predating any of these manuscripts is St. Irenaeus of the second century, who dismissed the various copies containing "616" as transcription errors. If age is the most important thing, we have records of Irenaeus older than this manuscript using "666" as the number.
Head notes that a Hebrew transliteration of Nero's name from Greek to Hebrew actually changes the calculus from "666" to "616," which might also explain why in Oxyrhynchus the number is in Roman numerals instead of written out in letters, like the more traditional version; perhaps someone redid the math to match the name of the assumed referent, and then wrote it out in numbers because it was simpler.
Codex Sinaiticus is considered by many to be the most authoritative text we have. It has the "666" rendering. P100, the manuscript from Oxyrhynchus, is maybe 100 years older. But age is not everything, and sometimes, it is nothing. We've been studying Sinaiticus for 146 years, and Oxyrhynchus for less than 10.
P100 has a long way to go if it is to be given primacy merely because it is older, especially considering the lack of historical support (e.g., via Irenaeus) and textual support (the variant is quite uncommon). This discovery does grant more credence to the "616" rendering than it had before, but only very slightly, and not nearly enough to overthrow the historical and textual support "666" has.
Again, I am an amateur at this, so I could be totally wrong. But if nothing else, it's not hard to see why so many people who have comments on this topic really shouldn't be saying anything at all, because they have no clue about any of it.
I came across a nice example of this recently, when someone sent me this brief article, which reads:
A newly discovered fragment of the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament indicates that, as far as the Antichrist goes, theologians, scholars, heavy metal groups, and television evangelists have got the wrong number. Instead of 666, it's actually the far less ominous 616.
A more complete article goes into greater detail. But many details are missing.
For example, it says what the more traditional versions say ("six hundred threescore and six"), but not what this version, Oxyrhynchus, says (actually given in numerals). It also doesn't say why Oxyrhynchus should be considered more authoritative: any first-year student of textual criticism can tell you age is not the only factor.
And perhaps worst of all, it quotes someone who has a certain theological bent, who doesn't think of Revelations as prophecy about the end times, who is therefore predisposed to want it to say something other than what more traditional theologians think it says. And they don't quote any alternative view.
But the real story is more interesting, and less sensational. And it is not new. An article in Tyndale Bulletin by Peter Head from five years ago mentions that Oxyrhynchus uses the 616 number, and actually gives us some background.
First, we know that 616 is not a new variant. Ephraemi Rescriptus ("C", from the fifth century) had it, though it was written differently. And predating any of these manuscripts is St. Irenaeus of the second century, who dismissed the various copies containing "616" as transcription errors. If age is the most important thing, we have records of Irenaeus older than this manuscript using "666" as the number.
Head notes that a Hebrew transliteration of Nero's name from Greek to Hebrew actually changes the calculus from "666" to "616," which might also explain why in Oxyrhynchus the number is in Roman numerals instead of written out in letters, like the more traditional version; perhaps someone redid the math to match the name of the assumed referent, and then wrote it out in numbers because it was simpler.
Codex Sinaiticus is considered by many to be the most authoritative text we have. It has the "666" rendering. P100, the manuscript from Oxyrhynchus, is maybe 100 years older. But age is not everything, and sometimes, it is nothing. We've been studying Sinaiticus for 146 years, and Oxyrhynchus for less than 10.
P100 has a long way to go if it is to be given primacy merely because it is older, especially considering the lack of historical support (e.g., via Irenaeus) and textual support (the variant is quite uncommon). This discovery does grant more credence to the "616" rendering than it had before, but only very slightly, and not nearly enough to overthrow the historical and textual support "666" has.
Again, I am an amateur at this, so I could be totally wrong. But if nothing else, it's not hard to see why so many people who have comments on this topic really shouldn't be saying anything at all, because they have no clue about any of it.
Mac-Carbon-0.73 has been released. Download it from the CPAN or SF.net.
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
* v0.73, 3 May 2005Posted using release by brian d foy.
Change cast of errno in Carbon.h to make it build under gcc 4. (Sherm Pendley)
Re-fix Makefile for older ExtUtils::MakeMaker versions.
Mac-AppleEvents-Simple-1.17 has been released. Download it from the CPAN or SF.net.
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
(Note: it may take time for the release to propagate to the various download mirrors.)
Changes:
* v1.17, Tuesday, May 3, 2005Posted using release by brian d foy.
In Tiger, apparently, AECountItems() now returns true for some "lists"
it didn't return true for before, such as typeObjectSpecifierRecord, and
our code falsely assumed it would return false.
jjohn writes about Intelligent Design.
The stupid thing about momst discussions about ID is that it's just a way of saying, "hey, the theory of evolution of species doesn't preclude the Bible being true." ID is not a big deal. Nothing to see here.
jjohn writes, "So to those proponents of Intelligent Design, I implore you to pick a side: faith or science. By choosing faith, you abdicate your voice in scientific debates and inquiry for the certainty of Knowing the Truth and basking in unctuous Righeousnes. By choosing science, you must adopt its methods and put your hypothesis up for independent verification."
Saying so misunderstands the purpose and intent of ID. It also misunderstands the very nature of faith, in that it in no way conflicts with science, which is largely the point here. I think many people who were far better scientists than anyone in this ID debate and who were also people of religious faith might think such statements are pretty damned stupid.
The stupid thing about momst discussions about ID is that it's just a way of saying, "hey, the theory of evolution of species doesn't preclude the Bible being true." ID is not a big deal. Nothing to see here.
jjohn writes, "So to those proponents of Intelligent Design, I implore you to pick a side: faith or science. By choosing faith, you abdicate your voice in scientific debates and inquiry for the certainty of Knowing the Truth and basking in unctuous Righeousnes. By choosing science, you must adopt its methods and put your hypothesis up for independent verification."
Saying so misunderstands the purpose and intent of ID. It also misunderstands the very nature of faith, in that it in no way conflicts with science, which is largely the point here. I think many people who were far better scientists than anyone in this ID debate and who were also people of religious faith might think such statements are pretty damned stupid.
TorgoX references an article on Wired which reads:
Why do people insist on invoking McCarthy in such a way that hurts their case? McCarthy was, we know, right about the Soviet and communist infiltration of the government. Calling this "McCarthyite" tells me that maybe this guy was doing something wrong, as many of those investigated by McCarthy had.
*A note to the feds involved in this case: This is an American artist charged under the "Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act"! Think of the judgment of history, people! You'll be pathetic footnotes in the history of McCarthyite lunacy!
Why do people insist on invoking McCarthy in such a way that hurts their case? McCarthy was, we know, right about the Soviet and communist infiltration of the government. Calling this "McCarthyite" tells me that maybe this guy was doing something wrong, as many of those investigated by McCarthy had.
Tiger ships with Mac::Carbon and Mac::Glue. Huzzah. That's the most code I've ever written that's been included in a default OS configuration (unless Slash is included in some OS I don't know about).
Some notes:
- Mac::Carbon requires gcc 3.3 or below, it doesn't work with gcc 4.
I don't know why, and anyone who wants to fix this or give me clues would make me happy. For now, my personal box is using gcc 3.3 instead (sudo gcc_select 3.3), because I have no desire to try to deal with the problem.
Of course, if using the Mac::Carbon that is already included in Tiger, you don't need to care, because it has already been built. Presumably with gcc 3.3.
- Mac::Glue doesn't include any glues. You have to create your own.
The scripts needed to do so are included too.
cd
sudo
sudo
sudo
sudo
"It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
