On the topic of privacy, it's good to see Apple holding it's ground on encryption. I noticed a lot of headlines saying "Apple won't unlock shooter's phone"but, correct me if I'm wrong, it's not that they won't, it's that they can't. Unless they have a backdoor in themselves (which goes against their stance right now), isn't it practically impossible for them to decrypt a device?

Sorry about the article, best one I could find in 10 seconds.

At 2/18/16 05:17 AM, Sam wrote: On the topic of privacy, it's good to see Apple holding it's ground on encryption.

I tried to post my opinion on this last night but NG was down :(

I noticed a lot of headlines saying "Apple won't unlock shooter's phone"but, correct me if I'm wrong, it's not that they won't, it's that they can't. Unless they have a backdoor in themselves (which goes against their stance right now), isn't it practically impossible for them to decrypt a device?

Apparently it's technically possible for Apple to do this without wiping the encryption keys (as they've run updates without wiping people's phones before) - but they say they currently don't have software that the FBI is looking for and consider it too dangerous to create.

ALSO: What the.. Actual holy fuck did I just stumble across?
https://www.augur.io/
https://www.augur.io/jobs

At 2/18/16 12:20 PM, egg82 wrote: Apparently it's technically possible for Apple to do this without wiping the encryption keys (as they've run updates without wiping people's phones before) - but they say they currently don't have software that the FBI is looking for and consider it too dangerous to create.

I've only heard bits and pieces and didn't realise it was on the 5C, if this was on a newer model, would it be completely infeasible?

"Come on guys you can trust us with the software."

At 2/18/16 03:56 PM, Sam wrote: I've only heard bits and pieces and didn't realise it was on the 5C, if this was on a newer model, would it be completely infeasible?

"Come on guys you can trust us with the software."

Does it have to do with 32 vs 64 bit architecture, or are the newer ones just more secure in some other way?

At 2/18/16 05:44 PM, MSGhero wrote: Does it have to do with 32 vs 64 bit architecture, or are the newer ones just more secure in some other way?

There's a couple articles that pull it all apart, but the main thing is the Secure Enclave which was introduced in iPhone 5. It's a tiny, entirely separate PC that sits in the iPhone. Its entire purpose it to take whatever passcode it's given and combine it with an internal, unreadable randomly-generated key and spit out a new key (hopefully the actual decryption key) from there.

It gets slower and slower at responding (up to an hour) after too many attempts. Apple can update the firmware for this micro-PC without destroying its internal key, though, as it's proven by iPhone updates in general.

The other security features are part of the iOS itself. So, yeah, that's easy to update.

If Apple didn't include an option to update that firmware, then not even they could break into an iPhone. How cool is that?

At 2/18/16 11:57 PM, Innermike wrote: and yeah I read eggs article, still feel indifferent.

You honestly don't care that right at this moment someone you don't know and have never met has more than enough information to completely ruin yours and your family's and everyone you've ever met's entire lives in a matter of hours, without your knowledge- even if it's for something as stupid as "they don't like your name and they had a bad day"?

What if that person was me? Would you feel any different if I broke into your PC or whatever else you have and managed to get enough information to drive you to bankruptcy and made sure you never got any form of income again simply because I had a bad day? What's the difference? Where's the line drawn?

So, what do you consider to be a big deal?

I'm not saying any of this will happen, but the very-real possibility that any of it could scares the hell outa me.

I always like to hear what others have to say even if I don't agree, I mean, what would be the/a "long sighted" view for example?

Thinking farther ahead when you make decisions like this.
The short-sighted view would be: "It'll help us right now. Go for it."
The "long-sighted" view would be: "This could hurt everyone and seriously cripple efforts for privacy in as little as a few years. We should hold off, even if it means hurting a few people now."

That's just my opinion, of course, but freedom of information and privacy is something I will always stand my ground for. As a person who breaks into other people's computers to discover very personal and private information for the sake of security- Trust me, there's shit on your PC you really don't want me having. Or anyone, really.

At 2/16/16 04:00 PM, HeroPower wrote:

Dell do a great 25" qhd monitor and a 4k one too now

I'm not a huge fan of Dell stuff, but if it's actually good then go for it. I prefer to search google and look at reviews before I buy, but my personal preference is buying two of the same monitor because I'm OCD as fuck. Also, monitors with different resolutions will confuse you until you fix it (trust me)

I'm aware that kind of personalization is incredibly exploitative and would get me eaten by lions in a Roman (or Greek?) debate..
BUT- This discussion is about privacy, and let's be honest: Nobody gives a shit about anyone else's privacy.

At 2/18/16 03:56 PM, Sam wrote: I've only heard bits and pieces and didn't realize it was on the 5C, if this was on a newer model, would it be completely infeasible?

my understanding of it is, apple can't break the encryption of it, but they could update the OS to remove the erase-data security feature so the FBI can brute force it, *only* because its a 5C. 6 and later does not allow for apple to do this as it looks like it moved security features over to the hardware (the "Secure Enclave").

the actual danger in the case is that if the FBI can get apple to break into a 5C for them, its a whole of a lot easier for them to force apple to let them get into *any* phones which would mean backdoors in future hardware/software

there's no reason why the FBI couldn't just remove the flash memory themselves and read it that way, the only reason they want apple to comply here is to set precedent

At 2/19/16 11:53 AM, Innermike wrote: Now zooming out from the personal cases -because obviously the topic of 'tech security' can mean entirely different things based on context- in the case of 'the man' knowing what you're up to, what exactly are you afraid of? Do people actually think the US/EU is suddenly north korea/nazi germany because the government can search your emails? Why are people ok to reap the benefits of living in a civilized society under government but so adamant about those people not knowing anything about them?

So clearly you don't agree that privacy is a human right. You believe that the government has the right to search its citizens at any point in time without probable cause. As long as it doesn't inconvenience you too much, then that's fine. I probably can't change your mind on that. Hopefully you could understand the conditions under which this amendment was written. The people who wrote it had fresh in their memories a tyrannical government. I think American history is littered with examples of having healthy distrust of government.

Again, it's not necessarily about the present moment. Unfortunately people have a very short-term memory. Our generation hasn't really lived through anything very catastrophic. The last 20-30 years have been pretty peachy, so it's probably going to stay this way forever, right ? This is what I was referring to before about the short-sightedness. Keep in mind that your data is stored forever. Do you think it's outside the realm of possibility that a government could change, and use this information against its own people retroactively ? We know it's definitely not, because there is historical precedent for governments using data to persecute its citizens. Are you just thinking that for whatever reason that this could just never happen in the US ? You have a presidential frontrunner that wants to ban an entire religious group from being able to enter the country. Would you be at all nervous right now if you were Muslim ? What does our society look like in 100-200 years when technology is even more prominent, and your government has free access to everything everyone is doing/thinking/feeling ? You don't think anyone would ever be tempted to take advantage of this for any reason ?

Why exactly do you think the government has the right to break the law ? Why do you think that just because I don't want to be spied on, that I don't deserve the benefits of living in my own country ? Could you imagine another time and place where making this same argument could result in history making you look very foolish ?

If I'm being honest, I don't give a shit about anyone else's privacy either. If you don't want it, you're more than welcome to put yourself out there, I won't judge.

I'm all for teaching people who want to protect themselves and making privacy easier, but if you won't want to then that's entirely your call and there's nothing I can (or even want to) say or do about it.

What I'm concerned about is my own privacy. I don't want my security destroyed because nobody was informed and made bad decisions on laws.

I mean, our own government has tried to outright ban encryption before, and it was only because of us few InfoSec people that it was shot down. Who's to say it won't happen again? And again? And again? Until we let our guard down a little something really terrible finally sticks.

Also, what I was trying to point out before is that the whole "they have enough information to ruin your life" shit isn't a "what if" - there are several parts of our government that actively take steps to do this, and I can bet they already use it to their advantage in coercion. Someone (or a few people) in those parts themselves have access to that information. Who's to say one of them won't have a vendetta against someone else? We're all human, it happens. My question is, what happens to that person if one of the people with information decides to take action? They'd be pretty fucked. All because they had the audacity to use Google for their searches.

At 2/19/16 03:59 PM, egg82 wrote: All because they had the audacity to use Google for their searches.

This is why I use bing.

The average user doesn't give a shit about any of this, and the average user is more likely to have their information stolen due to someone else's negligence (Target credit card hack). If I cared about someone looking at what I was doing, I would go incognito or use a different device. Or maybe stop doing it. If the NSA is specifically targeting me, I'm fucked whether I deserve it or not. So I don't worry about it. I'm far more concerned about the security of my computer and accounts than being a part of someone's big data analysis. I'll advocate for strong, varied passwords, ad blockers, and anti-exploit kits.

If we're heading toward a totalitarian regime, I'm sure some tech journo will write something ahead of time that will get retweeted into my feed. Or I'll listen to what TSwift has to say about it.

And you can't ban encryption. It's math.

although Common Core in the US is basically like banning math from primary schools

At 2/19/16 05:29 PM, Innermike wrote: stuff

No mic drop moments here, and I apologize if you felt like I came off condescending. My intention was just to guide you through my thought process on the issue. You asked to hear other opinions after all. My apologies for not realizing you were not a US citizen. I should not have assumed. I think this may be somewhat cultural as well as I think the UK and the US are pretty different places with different histories.

Anyhow. I'm getting a little too old for writing walls of opinion on forums, so we can agree to disagree on this one. I'm definitely not an expert on the subject. I'm sure you can find better literature from plenty of people who are far more articulate than I am. I'm just a software engineer with some strong opinions about my field, and the role that technology should play in my own country.

At 2/19/16 12:48 AM, egg82 wrote: I prefer to search google and look at reviews before I buy, but my personal preference is buying two of the same monitor because I'm OCD as fuck. Also, monitors with different resolutions will confuse you until you fix it (trust me)

I'm considering doing this but my current one is kinda big so another one would completely fill my desk even if it was vertical haha I may just do it though. Could always get a bigger desk in the future XD

At 2/19/16 07:14 PM, Innermike wrote: The british passivity may be part of it

Hit the nail on the head.

Back to game stuff. I'm still cranking on my rogue-like game when I have free time. I think I'm still trying to "find the fun". I've been working on adding in an inventory system as well as items that can drop and a shop to buy/sell items in. I'm hoping this creates more a real game loop even though I do want to continue to try to pursue a more "open" style of game. Game design continues to be a bit of a challenge for me, and I think I still have a lot to learn.

I'm also messing with a few ideas for the look of the game client as I've pretty much decided at this point that I don't want to keep the traditional ASCII graphics. Here are a few examples of concepts I've been messing with.

I think the topmost 3D one would be the hardest for me as I don't have very much experience in Unity or 3D game programming.

At 2/20/16 03:01 PM, PrettyMuchBryce wrote: I think the topmost 3D one would be the hardest for me as I don't have very much experience in Unity or 3D game programming.

Would that one be real 3D or isometric? I have experience with iso if you need it.

I'm wrapping up terrain generation in my roguelike thing, although literally everything is broken atm. In the tower defense minigame, I think I'm done most of the code minus any UI stuff, just waiting on art.

Seems legit.
Not that I've played WoW in years, but still.

At 2/20/16 07:30 PM, MSGhero wrote: Would that one be real 3D or isometric? I have experience with iso if you need it.

Ah cool. I might take you up to that. The screenshot there is true 3D in Unity, but there is no reason it couldn't be 2D isometric.

Got new drives in my PC, figured I'd give them some benchmark tests after being partially filled.

Tests performed with CrystalDiskMark 5.1.2
5 tries (averaged) 1GB test file size.

Seagate 1TB, loaded with Win 10.
Sequential read, Queues=32, Threads=1: 115.1 MB/s
Sequential read: 104.4 MB/s
Sequential write, Queues=32, Threads=1: 105.2 MB/s
Sequential write: 100.7 MB/s
4K random read, Queues=32, Threads=1: 1.487 MB/s
4K random read: 0.598 MB/s
4K random write, Queues=32, Threads=1: 0.772 MB/s
4K random write: 0.875 MB/s
Screenshot

WD Black 1TB, loaded with games.
Sequential read, Queues=32, Threads=1: 163.4 MB/s
Sequential read: 163.8 MB/s
Sequential write, Queues=32, Threads=1: 154.7 MB/s
Sequential write: 146.8 MB/s
4K random read, Queues=32, Threads=1: 1.701 MB/s
4K random read: 0.564 MB/s
4K random write, Queues=32, Threads=1: 1.925 MB/s
4K random write: 1.802 MB/s
Screenshot

Touro Mobile 1TB, loaded with random shit.
Sequential read, Queues=32, Threads=1: 100.2 MB/s
Sequential read: 100.0 MB/s
Sequential write, Queues=32, Threads=1: 99.30 MB/s
Sequential write: 99.82 MB/s
4K random read, Queues=32, Threads=1: 0.525 MB/s
4K random read: 0.482 MB/s
4K random write, Queues=32, Threads=1: 0.352 MB/s
4K random write: 0.347 MB/s
Screenshot

Samsung SSD 250GB, loaded with a recorded video.
Sequential read, Queues=32, Threads=1: 543.3 MB/s
Sequential read: 472.2 MB/s
Sequential write, Queues=32, Threads=1: 501.0 MB/s
Sequential write: 440.8 MB/s
4K random read, Queues=32, Threads=1: 94.46 MB/s
4K random read: 20.80 MB/s
4K random write, Queues=32, Threads=1: 92.56 MB/s
4K random write: 40.44 MB/s
Screenshot

Also, I enabled Cortana for a month on Win 10. Just enabled. I never even used it.
It used more networking then all of my online games combined.

(LoL, GW2, Blacklight FPS, Hearthstone, and various "online play" single-player games)

How the fuck?

At 2/29/16 04:37 PM, egg82 wrote: Also, I enabled Cortana for a month on Win 10. Just enabled. I never even used it.
It used more networking then all of my online games combined.

(LoL, GW2, Blacklight FPS, Hearthstone, and various "online play" single-player games)

How the fuck?

Updates/patches perhaps?

At 2/29/16 04:37 PM, egg82 wrote: How the fuck?

Unless you disabled it, Windows 10 is probably sharing your network bandwidth with other Windows 10 users, as well as sending informational data to Microsoft regarding what it is that you're doing. And/or it's just another example of Microsoft's incompetence.

At 3/1/16 12:45 PM, Diki wrote: Unless you disabled it, Windows 10 is probably sharing your network bandwidth with other Windows 10 users, as well as sending informational data to Microsoft regarding what it is that you're doing. And/or it's just another example of Microsoft's incompetence.

I'm thinking it's data mining since it doesn't happen without Cortana, but you might be right.

Also, I just got fiber today.

At 3/1/16 06:12 PM, egg82 wrote: Also, I just got fiber today.

Google Fiber is coming to San Fransisco, I'm excited.

At 3/2/16 02:13 AM, GeoKureli wrote: Google Fiber is coming to San Fransisco, I'm excited.

I honestly believe Google would do well to put fiber in Denver, but I suppose they know what's best.
Until then, CenturyLink's got us covered for a decent amount of channels and a gig up and down for $160/mo less than what we were spending on Comcast - I'll take that.

At 3/1/16 06:12 PM, egg82 wrote: Also, I just got fiber today.

How much speed does a man need? Damn, that's fast. And I thought 8Mb/s was fast.

At 3/1/16 06:12 PM, egg82 wrote: Also, I just got fiber today.

Nice speeds. Here's mine - around £45 a month. What sort of price are you paying for that? I've noticed people in the US get rinsed for mobile contracts and internet.

At 3/2/16 12:20 PM, Sam wrote: Nice speeds. Here's mine - around £45 a month. What sort of price are you paying for that? I've noticed people in the US get rinsed for mobile contracts and internet.

I use StraightTalk, which gives me 5 GB of 4G LTE, and then unlimited 2G. Also unlimited talk and text. $45/mo - best deal out here by far.

I'm not sure what we're paying now, but you're right as far as saying "way too much" - I know Google Fiber is going to be super cheap so as it starts pushing into more states we'll start seeing other companies either offering competitive prices or raising their own before it gets there.

Ya'll wanna be jelly? Check out my amazing connection speed. Yeah, you're jelly.

At 3/2/16 06:12 PM, Diki wrote: Ya'll wanna be jelly? Check out my amazing connection speed. Yeah, you're jelly.

I'm so jelly peanut butter won't hang out with me.

Dat Canadian net, doe