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I’m Leavin’ On A Jet Plane . . . .
But I do know when I’ll be back again, but I’ll leave it to your respective imaginations when I’ll actually be back. Actually, if I have the opportunity, I may just throw in a posting or two, just to keep ya’ll guessing!
“Asta la Vista, baby . . . . but . . . . I’ll be back!” - The Kurtinator
10th Rock From The Sun?
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Or is it the 6th Rock, with 4 Gas bags somewhere in between? Yeah, the Media did seem to forget Jupiter, Saturn, YourAnus, and Neptune are Gas Giants.
Ideas for a better name than 2003UB313:
Goofy is my choice! But if it is to be named after a Roman god, then Bacchus. I picked both names to give an unscientific reason for its eccentric obit.
And don’t even go and say that Goofy/Bacchus/2003UB313 isn’t a planet. As long as Pluto is considered a planet, then any Rock bigger than Pluto, orbiting our star, is a planet too!
When Did Explorers Become Such Pussies?
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Tell Me, PLEASE!
If Columbus had to wait for a boat that was unsinkable, I'd be living in Europe, thinking that the World was flat!
Going to Space is dangerous business. Science Fiction is fill with how dangerous the final frontier is! It's OK to send our kids to die to keep us safe from Fictitious WMDs, but our Space program gets put on hold anytime a piece of Styrofoam flakes off?!
If our Astronauts are such pussies that they are afraid to face the risks of Space Flight, I say, REPLACE THEM! Find people that understand that it is dangerous, that they may die in the pursuit of Space. I'm sure that we have plenty of boys and girls in Iraq that would rather face the risks of being shot into space a few times in a lifetime, than face the threat of suicide bombers on a daily basis for months on end!
Even Moron WGA!
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A while back, before WGA went mandatory, one of Microsoft’s fallacious claims about it was:
“Faster access to updates”
“Using genuine Microsoft software is the best way to receive the latest product updates, enhancements and support from Microsoft.”
But not that WGA is mandatory, MS had to drop that fallacious claim. Why? Well lets take a look at the steps it takes to download a WGA file compared to one that isn’t. [Note: I used a fully patched Windows XP SP2 installation, in it’s default configuration, using the SP2 firewall, so this comparison is how most people would see this, not tweakers. It should also be noted that this installation is both activated and validated before these downloads are attempted.]
First let’s show see the steps it takes to download a non-WGA file, Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool.
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Figure 1 |
Figure 1 shows the opening page for the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool download, with the cursor ready to click the download button.
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Figure 2 |
Figure 2 shows the download page for the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, but the download didn’t start automatically for me, so I had to actually start the download manually by clicking on the “Start Download” link, where the cursor is in Figure 2.
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Figure 3 |
Figure 3 shows the download dialogue box for the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. So three steps to get to a non-WGA file.
Now let’s see the steps it takes to download a WGA file, Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta).
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Figure 4 |
Figure 4 shows the opening page for the Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) download, with the cursor ready to click the “Continue” button.
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Figure 5 |
Figure 5 another page for the Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) download sporting another “Continue” button, with the cursor ready to click that button. Why MS added this page with a second “Continue” button is unfathomable with an already validated installation. Just a totally unnecessary hoop that MS wants it customers to jump through.
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Figure 6 |
Figure 6 is basically the same kind of page as figure 1, with an actual download button, for the Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) download. So it took two extra pages to get to the same place as the first step of a non-WGA download. Now you know why even MS’s didn’t have the balls to continue lying that WGA would get you “Faster access to updates.”
So you think that this is all the WGA stuff for today? Nope!
WGA scanning for Windows Update may have been cracked already, according to the Boing Boing blog.
First open up Windows Update, then “before pressing ‘Custom’ or ‘Express’ buttons paste this text to the address bar and press enter: javascript:void(window.g_sDisableWGACheck=’all’) [and hit the “Enter” key] It turns off the trigger for the key check.”
I tried it with the new Microsoft Update, and I still had to download the WGA tool, but I didn’t have to run it, so I think it worked.
Barring news of a better crack, this should be the last WGA entry for a while.
More On, Or Moron, WGA!
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Retraction: MS was in the process of rolling out mandatory WGA yesterday, and as usual the media got some of it wrong, and I was testing things in mid-rollout, so I got some of it wrong too.
Windows and Microsoft Update do require validation. Downloading security updates from Microsoft’s web pages do not. Who know with Automatic Updates! But what I wrote that Security Updates being “totally exempt” from validation is NOT true.
“Which is good news for those using “Corporate” copies of Windows XP in conjunction with a keygen to bypass Product Activation problems, because most of those copies will pass validation also.” This also is not true, if you didn’t install the “Corp” copy over a retail or OEM licensed copy.
Nobodies perfect, but I’d still like to offer my sincerest apologies!
Now yesterday I made a passing reference about Microsoft’s Pirate Salvation Program, in some cases offering free and in other cases 1/2 priced copies of XP to those that were unwittingly sold pirated XP. To become a redeemed pirate, see http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/purchase/BuyNow.aspx for details, but be forewarned. Microsoft only promises salvation the pirates in the US.
Download the “Corp” version of Win XP Pro, file-sharing or torrent, and then run validation, fail, and get MS to sell you a retail copy of 1/2 price!
Do the same thing, download Corp XP Pro. Burn a copy to CD on a computer it isn’t install on, make up a receipt, and go to the Library and do a search of newspapers for computer shows from a couple years ago. Fill out the forms MS gives you and send in with the CD and receipt, and get MS to send you a retail copy for free!
OK, I’m not really advocating anybody doing this, just trying to make a point. If someone is gonna pirate XP to begin with, what makes MS think that people won’t be doing things like this?
Why isn’t retail XP sold at the price that is being offered to people with pirated Windows to begin with?
Anyone here that bought retail XP at the full price to begin with, how do you feel now that MS is only charging half the price to those with pirated copies?
And another question for those of you that have bought generic OEM copies of XP Pro:
How do you like it that people with pirated copies of XP, can now get copies of FULL RETAIL at the price you paid for OEM? That means they get the free support calls and the EULA permission to move their copy of XP to a totally different computer!
See, MS don’t really care about you. If they did then those that could prove that they purchase FULL Retail at a FULL price would get rebates to thank them for not being a pirate.
Those that could prove they bought bought retail Upgrades would get a rebate too!
And those that could prove they bought generic OEM would be upgraded to the FULL Retail EULA.
See MS never thinks of the effects that positive reinforcement has on it’s customers. Instead of rewarding those that were always legit, they reward those that weren’t.
Instead, basically all you who paid the full price for you legit copies of XP are played as Microsoft’s suckers. Congratulations!
Windows Genuine Advantage - Validation Goes Mandatory, Sort Of.
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Microsoft launched MANDATORY Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation today, though not in the form they originally announced in January. Security updates were only supposed to be exempted with Automatic Update, but seemed to be totally exempt, for the time being at least, from validation in order to prevent people spreading viruses across the internet.
WGA no longer requires legitimate Windows users to enter a Product Key in order to validate that a copy of Windows is legit, but validation will compare hardware data to verify that multiple copies of Windows aren't being installed on different personal computers. Which is good news for those using “Corporate” copies of Windows XP in conjunction with a keygen to bypass Product Activation problems, because most of those copies will pass validation also.
And Microsoft continues to solicit customers whose copies of Windows fail validation to either squeal on those that sold them allegedly bogus Windows XP, send in the allegedly pirated CD and fill out a piracy form in order to receive a legitimate copy for no charge, or buy a new retail copy of Windows XP Home for $99 or Windows XP Professional for $149.
Microsoft has seemed to cave in to pressure to not tie security updates to WGA validation, but how long that will last remains to be seen, as does Microsoft's dropping the Product Key entry. With Product Activation, Microsoft tightened up the OEM activation requirements, and I suspect that WGA will begin to creep to become more stringent over time too. One more flaw in validation is, if you know the direct download location, you can by-pass validation and download any WGA-protected file. Below is a incomplete list of direct downloads from Microsoft's download server that are popular downloads. Most were supposed to require validation in order to download, some do not yet require it, but I suspect they might some time in the future.
1.) Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware
2.) PhotoStory 3
3.) Codec Installation Package
5.) Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility
6.) Update for DRM-enabled Media Players (KB891122)
7.) Windows Media Encoder 9 Series
9.) DirectX 9.0c Redistributable for Software Developers - Multilingual
10.) Microsoft .NET Framework Version 1.1 Redistributable Package
11.) Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1
12.) Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.8
14.) Microsoft Producer for Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
15.) Office 2003/XP Add-in: Remove Hidden Data
16.) Excel Viewer 2003
17.) Word Viewer 2003
18.) Visio 2002 Viewer
19.) Microsoft Windows Journal Viewer 1.5
20.) Microsoft Reader for Desktop and Laptop PC
21.) Microsoft Text-to-Speech Package
22.) Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer v2.0 (for IT Professionals)
23.) Microsoft Calculator Plus
24.) Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (32 bit)
25.) Update Rollup 1 for Windows 2000 SP4
26.) Windows Script 5.6 for Windows 2000 and XP
27.) Microsoft USB Flash Drive Manager (Standard)
28.) Script Debugger for Windows NT 4.0 and Later
29.) Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer for Windows XP
30.) Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP (Beta)
Don't Be Deaf In London!
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Not too long after 911, I took a train to Penn Station in New York City, to take a bus to Vermont to go hiking. I got off my train, and was listening to my CD/MP3 Player, and was walking through the very crowded main level with my big backpack stuffed for a 2 weeks hike, and suddenly someone grabbed my right shoulder. I spun around and was about to strike, when I realized that it was a African American National Guard soldier with a M-16 slung over his shoulder. After asking me where I was going and getting my answer, he explained to me that I had unwittingly walked through the security entourage of some State Dept. official and he had been trying to get my attention for a while. I told him that he should be careful grabbing people from behind in NYC, and then went on my merry way to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
In 1999, I was hiking the AT and took a couple days off in Washington DC. I set up a tent after dark near the reflecting pool between the Lincoln and Washington monuments, in an area fenced off for renovation. I woke up before dawn, and headed to the refreshment stand at the foot of the Washington monument hill to use one the picnic tables to cook up some ramen for breakfast. While I was scarfing down my ramen, cops swarmed to the top of the hill and set up a perimeter around the hill and stopped people from getting on the hill. Well I was within the perimeter, I watched this scene for about a half hour, and I was sure some of the cops at the top of the hill spied me, when the cops started to get back into their vehicles to leave, and started to allow joggers, the homeless, and tourists back on the hill. I packed backpack, and headed to the Bathroom to urinate, and wash up. Before I left the bathroom, I put in my radio earbuds, and started my trek to the Library of Congress to drop my pack off for the day. I thought I heard something through the music, but I ignored it, but then I heard it again, so I turned around only to see to of DC's finest confronting me.
So what is the moral of this story? Take the earbuds out of your ears while in London. You don't want the coppers to say that they are sorry they killed you but they have this policy of shooting people with darker complexions wearing coats and carrying backpacks who don't stop when they are told to stop. And if your deaf, never travel into London without someone who can hear the coppers saying to stop.