computers

this post goes out to all my fellow mac mouse haters:

mac OS X doesn't always get along with my logitech wireless mouse. the main symptom is weirdness when trying to hover over menus or hover over the dock... basically, it doesn't. the only way to get a "hover" style action is to right click where i want to hover. which is a problem.

at first it looks like apple operating system quirkiness, but rebooting the compy won't fix it. poking the "connect" button won't fix it. if you're having the same problem as me, try unplugging the wireless receiver for a couple of seconds and plugging it back in.

it isn't enough to unplug the hub that the receiver is plugged into, most likely because my hub is powered. but unplugging the receiver kicks it in the pants and everything starts working again.

it's a trooper.

right now it's burning a DVD at 16x (from drive 1), reformatting a partition (on drive 2), copying a bunch of junk (between drive 1 and drive 2), and pushing 10+ MB/sec over FTP (from drive 1). i think it would do even better if i had a gigabit router :-)

it's been keeping up this pace for hours.

Why don't girls play with computers? I'm not saying there are no exceptions, but this is the rule. In the three years I've studied Computer Science, there have never been more than two females in any of my classes at the same time. Perhaps it's the stereotypes. Girl geeks are stereotyped as shy, introverted and socially awkward. But then so are the guys, and I'm sure we appreciate the stereotypes just as much as the females. Perhaps it actually represents a difference between the sexes. Programmers and computer geeks tend to be solitary and self-sufficient. Girls are trained from middle school to be social, popular, and interested in human interaction.

Cliff Stoll, the author of The Cukoo's Egg points out that the most common vulnerabilities are the ones that come by default on a machine. DEC's Vax computers came with three system accounts, all with a default password. The system never forced the administrator to change them. For the most part "Hunter," the hacker he chased for over a year, didn't use sophisticated tools or brute force. He tried the front door, which was usually wide open.

The modern day front door is a wireless router. Cracking wireless security has become almost trivial. There are utilities that do it automatically. But as easy as it is, it's even easier to find an unsecured network. If you want free internet, look for a network called "linksys," "default," "Wireless," "NETGEAR," "belkin54g," or "Apple Network 0273df." Those are the default network names for the most popular routers. The owner will most likely have left it wide open, with no encryption of password.

DISCLAIMER: if you're not a geek, you might not find this the least bit interesting. so you've been warned.

i was just thinking about how everything in life is so relative.

you see, my computer has historically had heat issues. for a long time it was idling around 65C. which is pretty hot for idling. i was never super worried about it because my processor's rated up to 90C.

then i installed a new video card, and temperatures went up even more. now my computer spent most of it's time around 75 degrees Celsius. under a heavy load, i saw it hit 85... too close to 90 for my taste.

who in the world needs SO MANY CAPITAL LETTERS IN A ROW that they can't just hold down the shift key for a while with their pinkie?

why do i even have this key on my keyboard? i don't know.

that prime piece of keyboard real estate could be put to much better use than a key that is rarely used by anyone older than 15.

in fact, i can't think of the last time i hit the caps lock key on purpose. usually its only function is to annoy me when i'm trying to enter a password. or mess with me when i'm typing. honestly. what a waste of a key.

my computer is dead.

dead dead.

the other day it started acting suspicious so i gave it the ol' 3 fingered salute.

only it didn't reboot. just gave me one of the most depressing sounds known to man:

beeeeeeeep...

beeeeeeeep...

beeeeeeeep...

beeeeeeeep...

no POST. no video. just an incessant beep...

a gig of dual channel kingston hyperX ram. we're talking just shy of 200 bucks to replace...

luckily kingston has a great warranty. i got an rma, sent in for a swap. should be getting more ram in a week or so.

until that time, i am reduced to listening to fm radio, stealing a moment or two on a roommate's computer to check email, doing homework in a lab on campus.