Hmm… I’m tempted to say how I saw it coming, but I didn’t.
According to the “hackers”, several hundred thousand LJ accounts were hijacked over the course of several months - using security holes in the JavaScript they run at LJ.
On the upside, a feature you used to have to pay for is now free because of all of this - it was required to secure the holes.
Recently, I’ve been active in discussions involving TinyMux regarding the implementation of PHP in the server. It got me thinking on other languages that would work as well, if not better, in such an environment.
First a bit of context.
For those of you who don’t know, TinyMux is a “Multi-User eXperience”, an offshoot of an old internet game called a MUD. The basic idea is not unlike that of a MMOG, except they’re typically text-based, and don’t have (usually) thousands of players attached - the most I’ve seen in my experience has been about 120 players. You move around by typing simple commands, such as “look” to look around the “room” you’re in, and can interact with the “environment” as much as the builder built into it.
Mux is an object-based system with inheritance. What this means is, you create an object with a command, and it starts out its life as a literal tabula rasa. It has no properties, no description - it’s a chunk of ephemeral existence. Einstein would argue that it’s spooky, I suppose. From there, you “describe” the object (what someone is given when they “look” at the object), give it some basic properties, and - if you know what you’re doing - program functionality into it using MUSHCode. MUSHCode is a simple programming language that can do things such as make “noises” in the room, dispense in-game “cash”, or in some extreme cases, generate a character “sheet”. The inheritance part only means that you can then create a second object, and set its “parent” as the first object. You now have a copy of the original, but you can now modify it, including the properties that were set on its “parent”. It will “inherit” anything you don’t change from the “parent”, meaning you can now have two ATM machines in your game - one for each in-character bank network.
MUSHCode is great for what it does, and it’s been a point of contention whether it needs to be improved or not - in some cases, individuals believe that if you want MUSHCode improved that badly, change the “hard code” - essentially modifying the server software that manages the Mux. For some this works - for others, it doesn’t.
The current proposal on the floor is adding a couple of new functions within MUSHCode that allow someone to execute PHP code on objects and rooms (which are essentially giant objects). This means a potential for cleaner-looking code, extremely flexible functionality, and the ability to make complex, custom functions for an object. I’ve already played around with this, and have created a simple stub that’s only missing the connecting piece to the PHP interpreter. In the process of this, I realized the difficulty in doing this with the current mux code. Brazil’s done a lot of work on the code over the - decades!? - and it’s always improved. But the server simply doesn’t have the architecture to add scripting languages within it, at the moment.
During my research into embedding PHP into software, I started looking into embedding Python into Mux. I found that LOTS of newer video games on the PC platform have already started to use Python for an internal “scripting” language. Python is a “pragmatic” language. This means that the language syntax is structured in such a way that what you tell it to do, it does. Here’s an example:
def MobAttack(target):
target.health -= MobObj.calc_damage(target)
Because everything in Python is an object, you can do all SORTS of neat things if you embedded it in a Mux, or made it the object-language.
One of the new toys shown at the CES this year is the Celstron SkyScout.
Basically, it’s a GPS-enhanced monocular. You point it at a star, press a button, and it will tell you the name of it. If you’re looking for a star, the view-finder will display directional arrows, leading you to the object(s) in question.
I wonder if they can make one that doesn’t use a GPS? After all, NASA developed star-based navigation for spacecraft some time ago.
Well, I feel bad because I only did 90% of the work I was supposed to do, but I got sick near the end of it all.
Anyways, Jalopy Journal has a new look and feel - Ryan did the design, I did the HTML and Wordpress templating.
I think it’s a kick-ass design.
It’s only a matter of time. There’s a working Python interpreter - written entirely in Python. That’s right. You have to run Python, execute this script, and you have a new Python environment, written entirely in Python.
Ow.
The point isn’t to slow down your scripts, but to create an interpreter layer that can be ported for any language.
Then there’s the (old) news that Google has pretty much publicly endorsed Python.
And the paranoid question of the day: Does anyone actually know someone that works at Google? Like, you’ve seen them since they started their job?
Recently, the University of Michigan has had a break-through in quantum computing - they’ve developed and used a reproducible method of manufacturing a quantum computer. That’s right. Non-quantum encryption? Means nothing, now. SSL certificates? Not unless you’re using quantum “encryption” to protect the connections. Otherwise, the data will simply be captured and unencrypted in a matter of seconds (in theory).
Wow. Quantum computation, in my lifetime. This was one of those things I thought I’d see as an old man, telling my grandkids, “I remember when they were just starting to talk about the possibilty of making these things. Now they make your coffee.”
So, let’s say we apply the ion-trap (see the article, below) to something really powerful by today’s standards - say an AMD Opteron, and it simply uses the single qubit for “spooky” interaction with other AMD Opteron’s with the same ion trap. That is, sync up the particles using the electrical controls, and you’ve now got a processor that can pass on its “spooky” data on to another AMD processor - and this can’t be emphasised enough - instantly.
From the article:
“There is a worldwide race to build these (chips) right now, as such an integrated chip structure shows a way to scale the quantum computer to bigger systems—just like the microfabrication of conventional chips have given us the impressive gains in conventional computing speed and power,” Monroe said.
Worldwide is right - whichever country gets it first, will likely own the world, information-wise. Who can we trust with this sort of power?
U-M develops scalable and mass- producible quantum computer chip from PhysOrg.com
Researchers at the University of Michigan have produced what is believed to be the first scalable quantum computer chip, which could mean big gains in the worldwide race to develop a quantum computer.
[...]
The Boston Globe reports that AT&T (SBC-owned, now) and other telecom companies are pushing for Congress to change the structure of the Internet to allow for a tiered system of bandwidth.
Basically, this means the telecom companies are trying to say you, and other companies, shouldn’t have as much bandwidth as they do, as it’s “unfair” to the telecom companies.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20051207-16462700-bc-us-photons.xml
Anyone here read the Ender’s Game set of books?
Ansibles are a quantum network.
I nearly got played today. Slashdot DID get played today.
Basically, Chris McEvoy took this and substituted “Frames” with AJAX. I believe Chris was trying to make a point with the article, but it’s mostly untrue.
There are several ways to get around the navigation and usability issues that CAN crop up in AJAX applications when you don’t reload the page or assign unique URLs. On his blog, Chris complains about the usability issues with Microsoft’s Windows Live AJAX project, and it’s a valid complaint.
The problem is, joke or not, this is leading people to believe there’s no way to fix those problems, when there are several ways out there.
Ahwell. If people are suckered in, I guess it’s their own fault.
http://www.glidedigital.com/
I’m skeptical, as they ask for a credit card for their /free/ service. However, a made up (and blatantly fake with all the 1234’s in it) Mastercard number apparently works.
Not like I’m buying anything with it.