Latest postings for The Lounge

Legalities Question

John Simmons / outlaw programmer — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:20:00 GMT

Let's say I was working for a company a year or two ago, and during my tenure there, I came up with a configurable encryption mechanism that involved wrapping a given file with vendor-configurable encryption scheme. This way, the software could only be decrypted by software provided by the vendor, yet regardless of the encryption configuration used.

Now, let's say that some software was being written that used this encryption system, but before it could be released, the company in question went out of business. Patent filing was discussed (before the company went under), but as far as I can find, it was never done. I realize there are no lawyers here, but does anyone think I would be violating any copyrights or anything if I were to write an article here about the encryption method I developed? I would be going completely from my memory of the code.

BTW, the encryption system wasn't going to work for what they wanted, but they wanted it done, and this was the best I could come up with. The actual encryption mechanism worked great, what they wanted it for prevented other types of security to be used. They were streaming files over the web, and the decrypted files existed as temporary files on the user's hard drive. The company went under before we could try to address this issue (and truthfully, there was no fix for this issue due to extenuating circumstances).

.45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
-----
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
-----
"The staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - J. Jystad, 2001

I'm all Windows 7'd up

1.21 Gigawatts — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:40:00 GMT

..and it's good.

I had Vista on my laptop and always defended it as I had never any problems (I must have been one of the lucky ones ).

But now, running 7 it just shows how fat and heavy Vista was.
7 runs so much smoother and faster than Vista, and with the new taskbar is a nice little addition.

So big for W7, and a for Vista.

"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs." ~ Anon
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" ~ Albert Einstein

Currently reading: 'The Greatest Show on Earth', by Richard Dawkins.

Opensource Database - which one

Franz Klein — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:07:00 GMT

What is the best/most commonly used opensource database for Linux?

I want to create a database application and want to make use of a commonly used database or is there something like ODBC for Linux?

I am the handsome one in the crowd.

Specialization

Jacek Gajek — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:49:00 GMT

Well, well... The time is up and I have to choose a specialization on my university.

Specializations [google translation from polish to english][^]
Original version [polish][^]

If I had to decide right now then my choice would be #3 (Computer systems in medicine and technology).
What would YOU choose?

Greetings - Jacek

Off the old block

Ravi Bhavnani — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:49:00 GMT

A monastery decided to start a fish and chips store. When the store opened, a client comes in, and asks one of the clerics: are you the fish fryer? Oh no, the cleric answers, I'm the chip monk.

/ravi

My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536
Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware
ravib(at)ravib(dot)com

The Hayemaker beats Valuev

LabVIEWstuff — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:58:00 GMT

Fantastic performance from David Haye, beats the man-mountain Valuev.

The heavyweight division might have some fights worth watching again.

Andy B

Rain, rain, come again!

Vikram A Punathambekar — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:52:00 GMT

Been raining on and off a bit over the last week, but it's been raining almost continuously since last night. It's brought down the temperatures to the mid-20s, and I'm sitting around in a T-shirt and pyjamas. Just returned from buying a gift for a function tomorrow (although if it's anything like today, I won't be going) and some food.

Nearly 24 hours of straight rain, and IT'S AWESOME!

I know the British (and perhaps to a lesser degree, other Europeans) and North Americans think sun = fun and rain = terrible, but I (and many of my countrymen) love rain. This weather is great for a weekend; my only regret is I'm single and live alone, it would be perfect to have some company. Oh, well, c'est la vie.

Here is a song from a 90s Tamil film shot in Madras: Chinna Chinna Malai Thuligal. I love to play this every time it rains.

How does your culture react to rain?

Cheers,
Vikram. (Cracked not one CCC, but two!)

Remote Access (Development)

Tony.1 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:05:00 GMT

Hi,

This is the first time I have posted a question and I couldn't find a forum that I thought was relevant to it, other than here.

I am a contract software developer currently located in the UK but moving to Melbourne in 2 weeks.

A previous client has asked me if I could work remotely in Australia, connecting to a machine in their UK office, to continue developing software for them (.NET Web/Win SQL etc.).

I know that technically it is quite straight forward, I have worked remotely in the UK before (VPN) to a local office.

However, I am investigating whether or not this is feasible from the point of view of response times, because I would be working intensively and therefore sending many key strokes and expecting a rapid response from Oz <=> UK.

Do you have any information that may help me decide whether or not the proposal is workable?

Upgrading multiple PC's to W7?

Rocky Moore — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:53:00 GMT

Family pack can upgrade three PC's for $150:

http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Windows-7-Home-Premium-Upgrade-Family-Pack/product/87DFFF11[^]

Rocky <><
Recent Blog Post: Win2008 Server without FrontPage Extensions, really?

Something that made me laugh

Simon Stevens — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:32:00 GMT

I just came across this quote on a forum:

"Rumour has it that if you play Microsoft CDs backwards you will hear Satanic messages.
Worse still, is that if you play them forwards they will install Windows"

I'm not anti MS but it made me laugh anyway. Sorry if it's really old, but it's the first time I've seen it.

Simon

Jaundice and work!

Gamzun — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:38:00 GMT

I've just received exoneration from jaundice, after two weeks of bed rest I'll be joining office from Monday (actually Tuesday as we've public holiday on Monday ) I was just wondering should I do programming or even if do, how much time I should give time to it? Shouldn't I be given my brain cells some more rest
Have a nice weekend

Kash

Second Opinion About New Article Needed

Richard Andrew x64 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:39:00 GMT

Could someone take a look at the new article by "Xomega Team" and help me decide if it's just an advertisement in disguise?

I'd like to be fair, but I'm skeptical.

Introducing Xomega for XML Object Modeling and Code Generation[^]

Sitting close and working

N a v a n e e t h — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:29:00 GMT

I joined with my new company[^] and finished the first two days. Got a brand new Dell Latitude E6500[^] laptop and a nice bag with company's logo. Everything went fine so far. The one thing which I am not comfortable yet is the seating. All people sit close together without any cubicles[^]. I found it hard to work (may be I am used with the cubicles).

Do you enjoy such seating?

Best wishes,
Navaneeth

Silverlight Fun Badge !

Quartz. — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:28:00 GMT

Hey guys
I created a simple fun badge for Silverlight , let me know what you guys think ?

http://silverlightfun.com/2009/11/silverlight-fun-badge-is-here.html[^]

Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.

Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

I did not know Avenged Sevenfold were as good as this

Just listening to Avenged Sevenfold - Second Heartbeat.

I Love it!!

If everything was not true, would it be not true that everything is not true? So by saying everything is not true, you are automatically denying that everything is not true.

Useful links:

Creating a bootable CD with several operating systems on.

Why Dell suck today

LabVIEWstuff — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:55:00 GMT

My partner desperately needs a new laptop so she can set up her petfood business after being made redundant. She actually likes the Dell Latitude I use for work so we head on over to the Dell UK website and see an Inspiron 15 with 4 GB of RAM for a very reasonable £349 all-inclusive.

So far, so good. Add a bit extra disk-space, click through on most of the options, head to checkout, hand over the debit card details and et viola! success - your machine is being built and will be dispatched on the 3rd November.

< sits and waits >

Nov 4th comes and goes . . . no Dell.

Nov 5th comes . . no Dell - decide to check email.

email from Dell: your order has been cancelled.

THAT's IT! No reason, no explanation, no alternative being offered not even an apology - this is dire customer service and I'd warn anyone considering buying one for Christmas NOT to risk it - your order could be cancelled in just the same way!

Suddenly going to the local PC shop / PC-World and just saying 'that one please' seems a lot more appealing.

Dell suck!!!!! Did I mention that already?

Andy B

Looking For Video Software

Roger Wright — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:48:00 GMT

A while back I posted about video cameras for my company to buy. We settled on the Canon Vixia HF20, and it's an excellent unit - perfect for our needs. One problem though; the Pixela software that ships with it is useless.

It does a nice job of editing and assembling clips, and will burn a DVD or BlueRay disk, but that's all it does. There is no way to create a file in some format that is universally readable, like WMP or AVI. We did manage (one of our employees, but not me) figure out a way to save a MPG file, but we haven't found anything that can view it except on a machine with the Pixela software installed. Even the latest download of Windows Media Player is unable to recognize and play the MPG file.

Is there a good, preferably free program that can convert the native Canon files to other formats that can be emailed, posted on the web, etc? The files saved in the library by the existing software have the extension .MTS if that's a help.

Thanks!

"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"

Looks like a really big banana?

Steve Mayfield — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:40:00 GMT

Ford introduces inflatable seat belts [^]

Steve
_________________
I C(++) therefore I am

What did he say?

Steve Mayfield — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:34:00 GMT

Crying Baby translator - there's an app for that [^]

Steve
_________________
I C(++) therefore I am

JOTD

SimulationofSai — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:50:00 GMT

Leaving a party late, two guys compare notes. "I can never fool my wife", the first one says. "I turn off the engine, coast into the garage, tiptoe upstairs, change in the bathroom. But she always hears me, wakes up and yells at me for being late".
"You should do what I do", says the second one. "I roar into the garage, slam the doors, stomp up the stairs and start kissing my wife. And you know what? She pretends to be asleep".

SG
Aham Brahmasmi!