Go here: mrdoob.com/lab/javascript/harmony/. Play with Harmony. You’ll get it. It. Is. Dope! HTML5 is the media-rich future of the World Wide Web and this sort of thing is going to become more prevalent very quickly. I’m excited!

The server I was hosted on before started going belly-up, so I moved over to www.bluehost.com (as recommended by E$). So far I’m pleased with the experience: it wasn’t seamless by any means, but there’s a good support team and other than a couple Gallery2 plugins that don’t work right, I’m back in action.

I recently had a moment of clarity with regards to my historical stance on downloading software that I have not paid for. It wasn’t the sort of clarity that helps me to pass on my point of view to others, but the sort that is more or less self-defining.

A new jailbroken iPhone application has been released into the wild that allows users to install cracked versions of pay apps as if they paid for it. It’s no different than using a cracked version of Photoshop or Premier or any other pirated software, but it’s new because it’s on th iPhone! The new app is called Installous (available at www.hackulo.us) and it is a great idea.

I saw my friend using a very expensive application ($70) that he hadn’t paid for and I though, “I want to do that too!” I downloaded the app and installed a couple games that are normally pay-only. I was messing around a little more today and it dawned on me again, after many years … I don’t want to pirate software.

This was particularly poignant because I was recently speaking with someone about the importance of revisiting semi-religious decisions like this with some regularity. I don’t know that I can take a stand against the moral implications of piracy, because I’m honestly not against the concept of learning how to use an application from the cracked (i.e. pirated) versions. But I can say that I have followed-through with my conscience regarding my desires to “have” and to “be able to resist”. I have learned to do without these toys this long, and I can do without them longer if I don’t want to pay for them.

What are your thoughts on piracy? Do you feel you’re just saving money? Do you care?

(Written from my iPhone)

My computer died… all of a sudden… for no apparent reason.

My main home desktop is was Windows XP SP3.

I’ve had this weird problem while playing games for the past couple years — at some indeterminate interval (admittedly, I haven’t attempted to measure the time because I’m usually very intent on the game), while moving or shooting… basically doing anything involving my mouse, my “character” is immediately turned around. In other words, I’m running North one instant and South the next. I don’t know if it’s exactly 180deg, but I do know that I often get killed because of this issue.

I searched around with various Google searches:
“mouse error jumps OR flips 180 degrees during game”
“mouse error jumps OR flips automatically”
“mouse error jumps OR flips automatically during game”
and so on… I found one possible hit that remarks it’s a Linux-only problem… obviously not since I’m running XP SP3.

I have had this problem with World of Warcraft and Battlefield 2, though I cannot remember (and have not played recently enough) if it happens with Half-Life or HL engine games.

If anyone knows what this is, please comment here. Thanks! I’ll also update if I find a solution.

Thank you for finding my keys at the dog park and leaving them at the message board. I was wracking my brain to think if where I might have left them and I just wasn’t finding them. So you made my day and I’m grateful to you.

Sincerely,
Cyberpir8

You say Senators on CNN are arguing “all CPAN style”.

I’m almost back to DC from my trip to St Louis for the DoD Cyber Crime conference. In case you don’t already know, Jason Luttgens and I came here to finally release our visual log-analysis tool, Highlighter (www.mandiant.com/software/highlighter.htm).

We received very positive feedback and we were even able to give our presentation twice, thanks to Paul Alvarez for organizing the Birds of a Feather meeting later in the day. Check out blog.mandiant.com it the link above for more details on Highlighter.

So far I have been poorly impressed with the presentations I attended. Talking to some coworkers, it’s possible that I simply wouldn’t find good proactive speakers here even though the forensics/IR speakers were more interesting. C’est la vie, it’s all good.

I enjoyed the keynotes by Jeff Moss (of Defcon fame) and Johnny Long (No-Tech Hacking). Mandiant had me, Jason Luttgens, Nick Harbour, Kelcey Tietjen, Wendi Rafferty, Travis Reese, and David Ross as speakers presenting. That’s just how we role!

I wish you all a very happy New Years Eve celebration. Stay safe and off the roads a much as possible. May the next year bring surprises and challenges both, since complacence is a bitch.

My own year will be tough to beat. I look forward to seeing the next to its end.

Peace Love.

Composed on my iPhone.

I don’t really keep up with all the podcasts that I like, so this post is a little dated.