I can't believe I haven't been here for so long!

But anyway, my blog has shifted.

It's finally at http://saluton.blogspot.com/.

[Source: Mac OS X Headaches: How to Fix Common (and Not So Common) Problems in a Hurry]

As we are talking about applications in OS X, and if you are discussing you Mac with other Mac users or checking out web sites, you may hear the terms cocoa, carbon, and classic thrown around. Never fear, here's what those crazy words mean.

Cocoa
A cocoa program is one that is written from scratch for OS X. The software company has used the OS X specifications to create the program specifically for the operating system. Cocoa programs generally arrive on the scene after OS X's release in brand-new programs.

Carbon
A carbon program is actually an OS 9 program that has been updated for OS X. In other words, the software company didn't throw out all of the old OS 9 code but simply updated it for OS X. Carbonized programs don't have access to all of OS X's functions as the program would if it were written as a cocoa program, but carbonization saves software companies a lot of time and money is program development. In fact, many of the programs that came bundled with OS X are actually carbonized programs, including iPhoto, Internet Explorer, and even the Finder.

Classic
Classic programs have not been updated for OS X at all. They contain the same programming that was used under OS 9. Some software companies simply do not update their existing software, or you may want to use a program from a company that is no longer in business and cannot update the software anyway. That's no problem; OS X can still run these programs for you through a simulator called Classic, although this mode is less stable than the OS X environment.

I just borrowed "Mac OS X Headaches: How to fix common (and not so common) problems in a hurry".

Suddenly I realise that Windows XP is so similar to Mac OS X. In fact, too similar, in some aspects.

First was the thing about Account Pictures. Windows XP can use a picture to represent you. This was first adapted by Microsoft in MSN 6, then in Windows, and finally in MSN Messenger.

Disconnection of USB devices: Both systems like to be told that the USB device will be stopped. Mac OS X will pop up a scary dialog(ue) box to alert you without fail. After all, better be safe than sorry. Windows will usually quietly ignore this little bloop, leaving you to your own devices (literally) when something gets corrupted in the process of disconnecting.

Mac OS X has a System Preference called CDs & DVDs. It allows us to set what happens when different types of CDs are inserted. Windows doesn't have this, except when you insert a CD, and Windows prompts. Another way is to install your latest Creative soundcard drivers. You'll probably install this program called Disc Detector. It's ugly, but it should work. Seriously, I've never and will never use it.

Setting time and date on both systems suddenly feature a mini calendar and a mini analog clockface. I believe Apple came up with this first; at most Microsoft had this crazy clock ticking away uselessly before this. Windows XP shows a world map when you set the time zone, but that's all. Mac OS X highlights the corresponding time zone on the map.

For people with accessibility problems when using the computer, both systems have adaptations for them. Mac OS X neatly classifies them under (When using the computer, I have difficulties with:) Seeing, Hearing, Keyboard, Mouse. And all this is called Universal Access. Microsoft's more complicated names and the general terms of Accessibility Options make the person feel rather small.

Okay, I'm getting bored, and you probably are too. More on this in the far future.

... I'll be shifting to Blogger (better known as Blog*Spot).

But fret not, I'll update this blog as well. The blogdrive one will remain the longest ever journal.

As in, I'll update the Blog*Spot one first, then copy and paste it here in blogdrive.

I think this is something similar to Frostwolf's idea.

If you like my MSN layout, stay here.
If you prefer a clean common look, go to the Blog*Spot one.

And please give me your comments! I'm still wondering how to "merge" the two.

>>>Coucher Du Soleil

Questions from Chocoffee, which were taken from elsewhere as well.

1: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:
- Atorvastatin. It's actually from Readers' Digest.

2: Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?
- My computer screen.

3: What is the last thing you watched on TV?
- About 10 minutes of a sucky show on Channel 8 at 7.30pm.

4: WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what the time is:
- 5.10pm.

5: Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?:
- 5.10pm. WOW!

6: With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?:
- The fan quietly whurring away.

7: When did you last step outside? What were you doing?:
- Go to school? Oh yeah I just got Lene Marlin's Another Day, since Playing My Game (debut) was out of stock.

8: Before you came to this website, what did you look at?:
- Rollay's blog. Just love the way she writes.

9: What are you wearing?:
- Stupid question. Clothes, duh?

10: Did you dream last night?:
- Surely I did. But can't remember.

11: When did you last laugh?:
- In school today. While talking to Joel and Dickson about Joel's sadisticness. (All 3FG).

12: What is on the walls of the room you are in?:
- A lamp. And a bookshelf that is stuck to the wall.

14(a): What book are you currently reading?:
- The Fourth Estate by Jeffrey Archer. Erick gave it to me coz he wasn't interested in it. But I think I'll return it to him after I appreciate it.

14(b): What is the last book you finished?:
- Probably Readers' Digest. I do consider that a book.

16: If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?:
- Apple Computers. Note that there is an 's'. I'm not buying over Apple; I'm buying Macs and Apple stuff for people I know.

17: Tell me something about you that I don't know:
- I think too much. And act too much. Nobody seems to know me.

18: If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would it be?
- I would define the {one thing} set as {one aim i would like to achieve} and therefore {eliminate all things i think are evil and bad}. Firstly, I'll remove every element of the North Korean government (as in, purge them from the face of the earth) and unify both Koreas with South Korea taking over. Then, I'll tax all Microsoft's products worldwide to make them too expensive for the world's population. I would be subsidising the use of Apple's products after they create English (UK) versions.

19: Do you like to dance?:
- No. No. No.

20: What is the last thing you ate or drank?
- Water. My lunch: 2 Old Chang Kee curry puffs.

21(a): Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?:
- Because a child is flesh and blood to both parents, I will consult the opinion of my spouse first. Creating a name now is too selfish.

21(b): Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?:
- See above.

22: Would you ever consider living abroad?:
- Maybe not.

Spammers turn to free porn to beat Hotmail registration security (and Yahoo's too)

This is so ****kingly funny!

By offering free porn, spammers are using internet surfers to bypass a security protection designed to stop bot software from automatically opening web mail accounts.

Free web mail services such as Hotmail and Yahoo! are often used by spammers to send unsolicited emails but because of the sheer quantity of email sent, spammers require thousands of accounts and employ web bots to automatically open them.

To combat this automation, web mail companies started using the Captcha test (Completely Automated Public Test to tell Humans and Computers Apart), which creates a graphically distorted representation of a simple word that can easily be read by a human but not by a machine. The word is often written in an unusual font and presented on a patterned background to further confuse the bots.

To open an email account, the applicant is asked to read the word in the Captcha graphic and type it into an application form. Because the disguised word is virtually impossible for a computer to read, spammers need a human to intervene, which ruins their automation process.

However, as first noted in the Boing Boing blog earlier this year, some spammers have found an ingenious way to bypass the Captcha protection.

First, the spammers open and advertise a website containing pornography. Visitors to the porn site are asked to enter the word contained in a Captcha graphic before they are granted access.

In the background, spammers have already used scripts to automate the web mail accounts opening process to the point where they need a human to "read" the Captcha graphics. The Captcha graphics from the web mail site are transferred to the porn site, where the porn consumers interpret the Captcha words. As soon as they enter the correct word, the script can complete its application process and the visitors are rewarded with free porn.

Simon Perry, vice president of security at Computer Associates International, said security is always a "moving target," and as soon as a company like MSN uses a new technology to secure a product or service, it is only a matter of time before it will be bypassed.

"Each little improvement makes it a little bit more difficult for the spammers. This is an exercise in continually moving up the bar," he said.

According to Perry, the only way to make a real difference is to combine technology with legislation and enforce that legislation. However, he said that even though spammers may have found a way past the Captcha, it is still slowing them down.

"Before the Captcha, those bots could open a million Hotmail accounts a day, but now, if they can attract 10,000 people to their free porn site, they can set up 10,000 accounts, which is a lot but still an order of magnitude less," Perry said.

Neither Microsoft's Hotmail nor Yahoo! would comment on the issue.

Darren's mother drove us to school today, since AHEM was resting in peace.

So when we reached Katong, I realised I've always been looking out of the window on my left, rarely on my right.

As a result, the buildings on my left are extremely familiar, while those on my right are foreign to me.

Am I that "one-sided"?

Probably. But the ability to see Microsoft "from the other side" should be good enough to remove some of my one-sidedness.

Bah. This is a boring entry compared to the one on IronPort Bonding.

Oh yes, did I mention that we won the debate? Nigel and I got this dog figurine, while Jessica and Qi Hui got a bookmark which looks like a long and flat hair clip.

PS: Nigel isn't that bad. I must have "under/over-estimated" him.

This isn't a new kind of chemical bonding. As in, this isn't related to chemistry.

This is a new technology being tried by Microsoft (MSN to be exact) to fight spam.

Doesn't seem convincing, how Bondings are related to IronPort, and how they fight spam, does it?

Wait a minute. Look at the following headlines reporting the same piece of news:

1. Microsoft to 'flag' good spam (Australian IT, Australia)
2. Microsoft to use IronPort anti-spam technology (Telecom Paper, Netherlands)
3. Microsoft unblocks anti-spam filters (CNN/Money)
4. Hotmail says spam is a-ok (The Inquirer, UK)
5. Can white lists defeat spam? (CIO)
6. Email marketers told to pay upfront to send to MSN or Hotmail (PC Pro, UK)
7. Microsoft throws its weight behind email accreditation program(me) (InternetWeek)
8. Buy your way to legitamacy (Wired News)
9. Microsoft opens spam to bulk mailers (Security Focus)

After reading my condensed version, choose your side.

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Microsoft wants spammers to pay a financial penalty for the junk cluttering up your inbox. Provided you are using MSN Hotmail. The software giant about just endorsed a plan to cut down on spam and help pave the way for legitimate email to pass through.

Both MSN and Hotmail have begun implementing the Bonded Sender programme from a private email-infrastructure company IronPort.

There are more than 170 million active users from the two Microsoft email platforms.

How does this programme work?

The original method agressively filters the content of email to identify suspect junk. However, this often results in false positives. Bonded Senders is built around the idea that Microsoft has to approve commercial email senders.

To bypass MSN's filters altogether, emailers post a sum of money, known as a Bond, to Microsoft after a validation process. Bond fees are charged according to amount of email sent.

Those who didn't post a bond will get blocked off. No questions asked. Do note that when I say blocked, the suspected junk mail isn't necessarily booted off the service. Instead, MSN Hotmail may send these junk to a Junk Mail Folder, according to users' preferences.

Sounds like a Pay-to-Spam permit.

This explains why my Google Alerts, which have arrived in my Inbox nicely for some time without me forcing Hotmail to recognise it as legitimate, suddenly arrived in the Junk Mail Folder. Same for my Apple eNews. Or is it pure prejudice?

TRUSTe screening required

To prevent spammers from buying their way into the list, no-name companies must pass a rigid screening process by TRUSTe, an independent non-profit privacy organisation. Bonds are debited if a sizable number of complaints are registered against companies on the list. If there are too many complaints, the company is kicked off the list permanently. The compaint rates are also monitored by TRUSTe.

One question: How is "no-name companies" defined?

These are surely not "no-name", since they are the pioneer service supporters: Warner Music, eBay, Major League Baseball, Motley Fool, Nasdaq, DoubleClick and CNET. (I didn't add a comma after DoubleClick because it has been acquired by CNET)

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The downside is that what users think of as spam and what marketeers think of as spam are sometimes two different things. Excluding the get-rich-quick scams and enlargement pills it's not too long before we get into areas of potential dispute. In theory, Hotmail's filters could be adapted to apply tougher rules the spam-like email that isn't certified but whether this works in practice is still open to question. We fear Hotmail users will likely end up with just as much junk mail as before - except some of it will be certified as safe.

Ironic again, isn't it?

Personally, I don't really support this. Microsoft benefits; money rolls in. I mean, it could put these bonds into some high-interest account, which any bank would gladly offer, even if it isn't a fixed deposit.

Does this really cut down on spam? In a sense it does. But overall, it doesn't.

I already had some prejudice against Mr Zou. Not just because he's from China. But just the overall feeling.

Today, he wasn't in a good mood thanks to Keng Mun. So far, only Mrs Wong and Mr Zou have found fault with him.

Today was also the day I decided to give Mr Zou a second chance.

So after doing one of the maths questions he assigned to us, I realised my answer had a + sign in front of it, because, as explained by Ms Wong, that when the square of x is equal to something, and because the power is an even number, the answer requires the + sign in front.

The answer from the textbook, in this case, didn't have that sign.

So Dickson and I asked for him to come. Many times. He was engrossed in his conversation with the Monk and his assailant.

When he came, I asked him, "How come the answer doesn't have this + sign in front?". At this point in time, my working included the sign.

He proceeded to explain in a flurry of terms, and finally gave me the example of x=+2 when the square of x is equal to 4.

I already knew that. And he further confused me by explaining in more weird terms, diving deeper and deeper into the alleys of maths.

How unfortunate that he doesn't know the way Ms Wong teaches. She is an excellent teacher, though, at her age, she is probably a student herself. (She's older than us by a few years)

A teacher has the responsibility to educate students in the best possible way. Not to confuse people.

By this time, Mr Zou could have already vaporised due to "impatience". Too bad he didn't.

So I asked again. "The answer from the textbook doesn't have the + sign."

"Haiya! The arnsers from the textboook are wlrong."
"Class, the arnsers from the textboook are wlrong. I check wifh the Hage-Old-Dee alreadee."

He wasted my time and my patience.

Student uncovers Windows Java bug

29.04.99: A California university student has posted online information about a Java bug that crashes PCs running Windows 95 and 98.

The applet can be embedded in internet sites and is activated when unsuspecting surfers click on an infected web page. The applet creates so many demands on a PC's processing power that it overwhelms the operating system kernel, crashing the PC.

Student Joseph Ashwood discovered the bug in the course of his research at the University of Southern California.

29.04.04: Matt Thompson, a 19-year-old from Aberdeen in Scotland was the latest youth to spot a bug in a Microsoft application - the company's Jet Database Engine.

But Thompson's efforts and endeavour caused controversy when the software giant rewarded him with little more than a 'thank you' - despite the fact he worked with Microsoft on fixing the bug for the best part of six months.

What Ashwood received for his efforts is unclear but you'd like to think a company as rich as Microsoft, which offers a publicity-grabbing $250,000 bounty on virus writers, could spare a few bob to reward somebody that spots flaws in its own software.

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Not again? Why is Microsoft so unwilling to pay its "supporters"?