Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Discovery: a bluetooth device scanner
Discovery is a simple PalmOS app that scans for nearby Bluetooth-enabled devices. It's a sample application from Palmsource. Source code can be found here.It's interesting to try Discovery in various locations and see what sort of cellphones, PDAs, laptops, etc. you can find. Some Bluetooth devices seem to have an effective range beyond the usual 10 meters or so. In fact, there are mods that can be made to a Linksys Bluetooth adapter to extend its range to a mile!
Wine critics love cat pee, but hate wet dog
It's easy to make fun of wine critic-speak. Some of it sounds bizarre but used properly it's a specific vocabulary for talking about wine flavors and aroma. This article explains how cat-pee aroma in some wines can be good, yet wet dog is bad.
"Cat pee" in wine vocabulary means a certain muskiness; a green, herbaceous aroma. It's considered a positive characteristic of Sauvignon Blancs. Whereas "wet dog" is a foul aroma caused by a spoilage yeast called Brettanomyces.
I understand the need for a vocabulary but were these the best terms they could think of? Who wants to drink a wine after being told of its "cat pee" aroma?
"Cat pee" in wine vocabulary means a certain muskiness; a green, herbaceous aroma. It's considered a positive characteristic of Sauvignon Blancs. Whereas "wet dog" is a foul aroma caused by a spoilage yeast called Brettanomyces.
I understand the need for a vocabulary but were these the best terms they could think of? Who wants to drink a wine after being told of its "cat pee" aroma?
Good eats
While eating breakfast the other day, I started to think about foods that I found appealing when I was a kid. Not just the usual candy and sweets that kids crave but the "comfort foods" of childhood. Here's my list:
The first things I thought of were related to breakfast. A slice of buttered toast wrapped around half of a banana. The combination of crisp toast, melted butter and a banana at just the right level of ripeness is so good.
Another breakfast food, especially on cold mornings, was a steaming bowl of Cream of Wheat sprinkled with sugar. It would cook on the stove into a hot gelatinous mass. We'd cool it down with cold milk poured on top. Since I was usually in a hurry, I'd eat quickly and feel the molten hot cereal slide down into my stomach just as I stepped outside into the winter air.
Other foods I recall began as favorites of my parents. My Dad's family ate incredibly bland food at home. When he joined the Navy during WWII he loved the food. It actually tasted like something. One of his favorites was chipped beef on toast (aka SOS). We didn't eat it frequently but I became a big fan as well.
One of my Mom's favorite snacks was slices of brown bread that had been spread with cream cheese. Brown Bread is an odd concoction — it's actually baked in the can. I learned to enjoy this as well.
Let's see. Another favorite was a big side of mashed potatoes eaten with biscuits. Seems a bit odd to mix starches but the end result is a bit like a potato knish. My Mom would also fry up potato patties from leftover mashed potatoes. Another favorite.
Wow, the foods on my list are all heavy in carbs. I guess that defines a comfort food.
The first things I thought of were related to breakfast. A slice of buttered toast wrapped around half of a banana. The combination of crisp toast, melted butter and a banana at just the right level of ripeness is so good.
Another breakfast food, especially on cold mornings, was a steaming bowl of Cream of Wheat sprinkled with sugar. It would cook on the stove into a hot gelatinous mass. We'd cool it down with cold milk poured on top. Since I was usually in a hurry, I'd eat quickly and feel the molten hot cereal slide down into my stomach just as I stepped outside into the winter air.
Other foods I recall began as favorites of my parents. My Dad's family ate incredibly bland food at home. When he joined the Navy during WWII he loved the food. It actually tasted like something. One of his favorites was chipped beef on toast (aka SOS). We didn't eat it frequently but I became a big fan as well.
One of my Mom's favorite snacks was slices of brown bread that had been spread with cream cheese. Brown Bread is an odd concoction — it's actually baked in the can. I learned to enjoy this as well.
Let's see. Another favorite was a big side of mashed potatoes eaten with biscuits. Seems a bit odd to mix starches but the end result is a bit like a potato knish. My Mom would also fry up potato patties from leftover mashed potatoes. Another favorite.
Wow, the foods on my list are all heavy in carbs. I guess that defines a comfort food.
Unswitch?
Tim Bray is considering switching away from his Mac PowerBook. He's pissed at Apple for its recent secrecy lawsuits. Switching away from OS X to JDS/Solaris? Yuck. He can't be serious.
Return of the Mac
Paul Graham has written an essay on the return of the Mac.
If Apple can continue to remain profitable selling iPods, iTunes, iWhatever... maybe Macs will become part of the cool mainstream rather than the cool periphery.All the best hackers I know are gradually switching to Macs.
Typecasting
Mark Simonson designs typefaces. Typecasting is an interesting post on his web site about the "Use (And Misuse) of Period Typography in Movies". Mark's eye for typefaces is amazing. I wonder if we'll ever see "Typography Consultant" in the myriad of specialists listed in film credits? Mark also created an amusing movie trailer for his post.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes Of All Time
An interesting list of the Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes Of All Time.
I remember #12, the Kremvax hoax. Wow, that was over twenty years ago.
I also vividly remember #40, the Internet Spring Cleaning hoax from 1997. Someone, who should have known better, forwarded the announcement via email to my team and asked whether they should disconnect their computers from the Internet while Spring Cleaning was underway. Geez.
I remember #12, the Kremvax hoax. Wow, that was over twenty years ago.
I also vividly remember #40, the Internet Spring Cleaning hoax from 1997. Someone, who should have known better, forwarded the announcement via email to my team and asked whether they should disconnect their computers from the Internet while Spring Cleaning was underway. Geez.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
A Coder in Courierland
A Coder in Courierland is an interesting tale on Kuro5hin about a programmer who decided to escape the cubicle world for life outside as a bicycle courier. I'm reminded of a Kevin Bacon film from the 80s called Quicksliver. Bacon plays a hotshot stockbroker who loses it all and becomes a bike messenger. Hmm, is this what we'll be doing when all the programming jobs get offshored? The salary will suck but at least I'll finally be in shape. 
Experimental Gameplay
My older son and I have been enjoying games from Experimental Gameplay. It's a project undertaken by a group of students at Carnegie Mellon University to create 50 to 100 games in one semester. Some of the games are a lot of fun. We both really liked Tower of Goo, Cytoplasm and Fireflies. My son also enjoyed the oddball humor in Gravity Head and Blow.
An interesting connection occurred while playing Tower of Goo: I really enjoyed the music that plays during the game. It sounds familiar but I couldn't remember where I might have heard it. The name of an MP3 file in the game's resources is loop_AstorPiazzola_Libertango.mp3. That made it easy to find more details. The piece is called Libertango and was written by Astor Piazzolla. According to IMDB, Piazzolla's music has been used in dozens of films. Libertango has been used at least twice, including Roman Polanski's Frantic.
An interesting connection occurred while playing Tower of Goo: I really enjoyed the music that plays during the game. It sounds familiar but I couldn't remember where I might have heard it. The name of an MP3 file in the game's resources is loop_AstorPiazzola_Libertango.mp3. That made it easy to find more details. The piece is called Libertango and was written by Astor Piazzolla. According to IMDB, Piazzolla's music has been used in dozens of films. Libertango has been used at least twice, including Roman Polanski's Frantic.
Walking forest machine
Plustech's walking forest machine is a prototype but quite impressive. Watch the machine walking along in these videos. It looks like a huge bug. In the video at the bottom of the page, the machine seems almost nimble. (Via BoingBoing)
Netdisaster
Inflict animated "damage" upon any website with Netdisaster. How about Metafilter attacked by Martians? Or BoingBoing destroyed by an errant lit cigarette? My favorite effect is spilled coffee
Friday, March 25, 2005
Leprechaun robs Laundromat
Apparently the Pot O' Gold was getting a wee bit empty so a 5-feet, 9-inch tall "Leprechaun" decided to rob a Laundromat in Butte, Montana. It's a little odd that the article refers to the thief as "the leprechaun" throughout. It was a strange disguise but the guy isn't a leprechaun. Would a thief wearing a Nixon mask be described as "former President Nixon"?
Transparent Screens
This is a clever idea. A set of photos on Flickr that make it appear that a laptop, computer monitor or cell phone screen is transparent. I tried to do something similar with my Treo 650's camera. The results look pretty good but I don't have my Pentax handy to take a picture of my transparent Treo. (Via Kottke.org)
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
A Very Long Engagement
We saw A Very Long Engagement last week. I'm finally getting around to posting a short review. It's another excellent Jean-Pierre Jeunet film. As in Jeunet's last film, Amélie, A Very Long Engagement features Audrey Tautou.
Although you might reasonably assume from Tautou's presence and the film's title that this is another light romantic film, it's not. This film is an intricate story of love, mystery and the horrors of trench warfare. The war scenes are quite graphic. Trench warfare was nasty business and Jeunet doesn't shy away from showing just how nasty. At the same time, the rest of the film is luminous and quite beautiful.
I was a bit surprised that A Very Long Engagement didn't get more attention when it came out, especially since Amélie had been so popular. But it's clear why — it's a tough film to watch at times. But definitely worthwhile.
Although you might reasonably assume from Tautou's presence and the film's title that this is another light romantic film, it's not. This film is an intricate story of love, mystery and the horrors of trench warfare. The war scenes are quite graphic. Trench warfare was nasty business and Jeunet doesn't shy away from showing just how nasty. At the same time, the rest of the film is luminous and quite beautiful.
I was a bit surprised that A Very Long Engagement didn't get more attention when it came out, especially since Amélie had been so popular. But it's clear why — it's a tough film to watch at times. But definitely worthwhile.
Flanders gene isolated
Sticking with the semi-religious theme from my last post: According to Mr. Sun, the Ned Flanders gene has been isolated.
An old dream sequence
I attended parochial school from fifth through eighth grade. The school, Our Lady of Mercy (OLM), was associated with our parish in upstate New York and was run by the Sisters of Mercy. It was more regimented than public school. Initially I had a hard time adapting. A fair percentage of my classmates had been sent there by parents hoping the strict discipline would "straighten them out". That wasn't my parents' motivation. They both had attended parochial school and felt that the schools were safer and that we'd get a better education there.
At that time Catholic nuns wore dark flowing gowns and headgear. Combine that with strict discipline and unruly classmates and you start having some odd dreams. I started having dreams about gun-toting nuns. A sort of police state with nuns as enforcers. When I saw this video about a graduation ceremony for Iranian Policewomen, the dreams came flooding back. Wow. Comic and disturbing. Almost Monty Pythonesque. (Via Memepool)
Damien Katz linked to a photo from the same ceremony and said he had a "dream like this once". Is gun-toting nun a common dream symbol?
Note: After my initial adjustment, I had a fine education at OLM. I have no complaints. And the dreams eventually went away.
At that time Catholic nuns wore dark flowing gowns and headgear. Combine that with strict discipline and unruly classmates and you start having some odd dreams. I started having dreams about gun-toting nuns. A sort of police state with nuns as enforcers. When I saw this video about a graduation ceremony for Iranian Policewomen, the dreams came flooding back. Wow. Comic and disturbing. Almost Monty Pythonesque. (Via Memepool)
Damien Katz linked to a photo from the same ceremony and said he had a "dream like this once". Is gun-toting nun a common dream symbol?
Note: After my initial adjustment, I had a fine education at OLM. I have no complaints. And the dreams eventually went away.
C-Flash: See Flash Run, Run Flash Run
Know what the world really needs? Another flash card format. Wanted or not, here it is: C-Flash. These cards are tiny: about 0.5" x 0.7". Small as they are you can be sure that someone will come out with an even smaller form factor. The good news is that C-Flash cards will have capacity up to 2048 GB — don't laugh, it'll happen but probably a few card formats after C-Flash.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Dave Delay
Dave Delay, another Iris now IBM developer has a new blog called Axis of Elvis. He explains the etymology of the name here.
On a related note, Iris had an infatuation with all things Elvis. There was an Elvis shrine in the building and a discussion forum of Elvis Sightings. I never got a good explanation of when and how this started.
Update: Dave Delay's blog is Runtime Log.
On a related note, Iris had an infatuation with all things Elvis. There was an Elvis shrine in the building and a discussion forum of Elvis Sightings. I never got a good explanation of when and how this started.
Update: Dave Delay's blog is Runtime Log.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Which cars are stolen most often in Massachusetts?
Great, I drive the car that's most often stolen in Massachusetts. But the Toyota Camry is an incredibly common car. A much more useful statistic would be the theft rate. The latest information I could find is US DOT NHTSA theft rates for 2003. The car that's listed as number one is the Dodge Stratus with a theft rate of nearly 11 per 1000 cars produced. By comparison, the Toyota Camry is 90th with a theft rate of 1.5 per 1000.
Cat Got Your Brain?
We've had housecats for a long time. When my wife became pregnant for our first child, the task of dealing with the litter box became my job alone because of concerns about Toxoplasmosis (Hmm, nearly nine years later and it's still exclusively my job. How did that happen?) Our cats are never outside so the risk of Toxoplasmosis is quite small. Nevertheless, this article made me a little queasy.
Update: it's kinda funny that the Google ads that showed up for this post are for automatic litter boxes. Gee, I could use one of those. Or else we could train the cats to use the toilet.
Update: it's kinda funny that the Google ads that showed up for this post are for automatic litter boxes. Gee, I could use one of those. Or else we could train the cats to use the toilet.
Friday, March 18, 2005
The Mac Mini Colorized
Colorized Mac minis. Cool. Let's see — the mini dimensions are 6.5" x 6.5" x 2". If I buy three minis and have them painted matte black I could stack them up and pretend I have my old NeXT cube again. But wait, the NeXT was a 12" x 12" x 12" cube. So, roughly, if I stack minis six by two by two, I'd use the same volume as the NeXT cube. Even cooler.
That would be a twenty-four node cluster of 1.42GHz G4s. The NeXT had a single 25Mhz 68040. I wonder how many NeXT cubes of processing power I'd have?
Joe Russo
Joe Russo has a blog. Who knew? Now that he's gone public with this blogging thing, I hope he picks up the pace. Only five posts in seven months. Where are your priorities, Joe? (Via Matt Flaherty)
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Canon MultiPass MP390 Multifunction
Our "work horse" printer at home has been an Epson Stylus Color 800. Even after eight years of use, it still works pretty well for most print jobs. But recently it has started to show signs of "banding" when printing photos. So we decided to buy a new printer. We also decided to try an all-in-one design (printer/scanner/copier/fax) so that we could also retire our Umax flatbed scanner.
After some research we settled on the Canon MultiPass MP390 Multifunction. It's a lousy name but an impressive device especially given the price tag — $129 at OfficeMax. We bought the MP390 a few weeks ago and are pretty happy. The print quality is excellent for both text and photos. Ink prices are reasonable. It's nice to be able to scan and copy without using the computer.
The only negative comment I read in reviews was the lack of Macintosh support. But apparently it is possible to use the printer with Mac OS X.
After some research we settled on the Canon MultiPass MP390 Multifunction. It's a lousy name but an impressive device especially given the price tag — $129 at OfficeMax. We bought the MP390 a few weeks ago and are pretty happy. The print quality is excellent for both text and photos. Ink prices are reasonable. It's nice to be able to scan and copy without using the computer.
The only negative comment I read in reviews was the lack of Macintosh support. But apparently it is possible to use the printer with Mac OS X.
Happy 1111111111 (in Unix time)
Unix time is based on the number of seconds since standard epoch of January 1, 1970. Right now (Thursday, March 17th 2005, 8:58:31 pm EST) the value is 1111111111. (Via Slashdot)
Note: Since Unix time is represented as a signed 32-bit integer, it will wrap around in January 2038 (1,036,372,537 seconds from now). This is the Unix time equivalent of the Y2K problem. We've got 33 years to update critical systems to a 64-bit version of time_t.
Time for a lame (and dated) programmer joke:
Q: Why was the programmer unconcerned about the Y2K problem?
A: He'll be retired before 2048. It'll be someone else's problem.
See, er, ah, 2K == 2048, not 2000. Happy 1111111111. Whoo Hoo!
Note: Since Unix time is represented as a signed 32-bit integer, it will wrap around in January 2038 (1,036,372,537 seconds from now). This is the Unix time equivalent of the Y2K problem. We've got 33 years to update critical systems to a 64-bit version of time_t.
Time for a lame (and dated) programmer joke:
Q: Why was the programmer unconcerned about the Y2K problem?
A: He'll be retired before 2048. It'll be someone else's problem.
See, er, ah, 2K == 2048, not 2000. Happy 1111111111. Whoo Hoo!
-2000 Lines Of Code
No matter how many times it's shown to be a faulty metric, developer productivity is still sometimes tracked in terms of the lines of code written. The funny thing is that the best programmers such as Bill Atkinson, the author of Quickdraw, sometimes produce negative lines of code as related in this Folklore.org story.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
How the iPod Ran Circles Around the Walkman
Interesting article in the New York Times on how Apple has kicked Sony's butt with the combination of iPods and the iTunes Music Store. Having both digital players and music in the same corporate family has been detrimental to Sony.
Donald Knuth on NPR
Donald Knuth was profiled on NPR yesterday. Worth a listen. To answer one of the most frequently asked questions, Volume 4 of his series The Art of Computer Programming is scheduled to come out as three subvolumes A, B and C over the next five years.
Pi Approximation Day
Yesterday was Pi Day. If you missed it, you still have a few months to prepare for Pi Approximation Day on July 22nd (aka 22/7).
Spamusement!
Spamusement! describes itself as "poorly-drawn cartoons inspired by actual spam subject lines!". (Via Drawn!)
I like these entries: Personalized Letters from Santa, No more tickets, *** Security Issues ***
I like these entries: Personalized Letters from Santa, No more tickets, *** Security Issues ***
Blog-Arggh-er
Blogger has been pretty flakey the past couple of weeks. I haven't lost any posts but sometimes it's been pretty difficult to get new posts published. If I had more free time I'd move to a self-hosted blog system. In the meantime I can only hope that Google can apply some of its magic to make Blogger healthy again.
Monday, March 14, 2005
No word for sex
Another great post on Language Log. This time debunking novelist Frank Delaney's contention that the Irish have no word for "sex". Not true. I love their advice for what to do when you hear statements like this:
Note: the "X have N different words for Y" is a reference to the oft-quoted, but incorrect, notion that Eskimos have dozens of words for snow.Whenever you hear someone starting to say something that begins with "The X have no word for Y", or "The X have N different words for Y", never listen to them, and always check your wallet to make sure it's still there.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Big fluffy snowflakes
Lots of snow today; falling in big fluffy clumps. It looks terrific as it falls. A mesmerizing sight. Like an enormous down-filled pillow was ripped open.
The visual beauty is deceiving. The temperature is above freezing so the snow is accumulating on the ground as a wet heavy mess. Driving is treacherous. We saw the results of a few accidents as we drove to an appointment this morning. Even though I was driving carefully, the anti-lock brakes kicked in a couple times. It was a day best spent at home and off the roads.
The visual beauty is deceiving. The temperature is above freezing so the snow is accumulating on the ground as a wet heavy mess. Driving is treacherous. We saw the results of a few accidents as we drove to an appointment this morning. Even though I was driving carefully, the anti-lock brakes kicked in a couple times. It was a day best spent at home and off the roads.
Friday, March 11, 2005
Treo 650 update
I've had my Treo 650 for nearly a month which means that... I have to pay for it! I got a 30 day "demo trial" via the palmOne Treo Roadshow. The 30 days are up on Tuesday. So I bought it today. There wasn't much question whether I'd keep it but it was nice to have the option. Now I'm the official owner.
For new Treo 650 owners Sprint offered $100 in free Palm software. I bought a few packages including SnapperMail. The included VersaMail client on the Treo 650 is nicely integrated but has a few glitches that were irritating. A Sprint firmware upgrade is coming soon which is suppose to include bug fixes for VersaMail. If they fixed the problems I was seeing, maybe I'll switch back.
The new firmware is supposed to make non-volatile memory usage more efficient as well. I haven't had problems with running out of memory but if the end result is more free memory that's an added bonus.
As a result of the initial concerns about memory usage on the Treo 650, palmOne provided a free 128 MB SD card. So in addition to a good price on the 650 and $100 in software, I got a free SD card. If I had sold my Treo 600 as well I would have actually made money by switching to the 650. Amazing.
For new Treo 650 owners Sprint offered $100 in free Palm software. I bought a few packages including SnapperMail. The included VersaMail client on the Treo 650 is nicely integrated but has a few glitches that were irritating. A Sprint firmware upgrade is coming soon which is suppose to include bug fixes for VersaMail. If they fixed the problems I was seeing, maybe I'll switch back.
The new firmware is supposed to make non-volatile memory usage more efficient as well. I haven't had problems with running out of memory but if the end result is more free memory that's an added bonus.
As a result of the initial concerns about memory usage on the Treo 650, palmOne provided a free 128 MB SD card. So in addition to a good price on the 650 and $100 in software, I got a free SD card. If I had sold my Treo 600 as well I would have actually made money by switching to the 650. Amazing.
Comments on the Microsoft / Groove deal
Mitch Kapor has known Ray Ozzie for a long time. He hired Ray at Lotus in 1982. He was on Groove's board until 2003 and was the company's first outside investor. He has some interesting comments on Microsoft's acquisition of Groove. He feels that if a project like Groove was started today it would most likely be started as free/open source software. I'm not sure whether the type of innovation that Groove has done would fit this model but, then again, I've never been directly involved on an open source project.
The Boston Globe article on the deal adds another twist to the story. Jeff Raikes, a Microsoft vice president, is quoted as saying "We are very excited to have a site here in Massachusetts. We plan to have it long term, and use it to help us tap into the local technology talent." Microsoft East?
The Boston Globe article on the deal adds another twist to the story. Jeff Raikes, a Microsoft vice president, is quoted as saying "We are very excited to have a site here in Massachusetts. We plan to have it long term, and use it to help us tap into the local technology talent." Microsoft East?
Spike Jonze Adidas ad
Spike Jonze, director of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, has directed a television commercial for Adidas. Pretty cool. The character's invented world reminds me of Harold and the Purple Crayon which Jonzes tried to adapt as a feature film.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
How to Start a Startup
Another interesting Paul Graham essay. This time on how to create a successful startup. Paul's startup, Viaweb, was acquired by Yahoo in 1998 so he has a track record. And in this essay he only mentions Lisp five times — probably the fewest Lisp references in any of his essays
But seriously, Paul writes well and has interesting things to say — read the essay.
But seriously, Paul writes well and has interesting things to say — read the essay.
In The Groove
Congratulations to friends at Groove Networks. As you probably heard already, Microsoft annouced today that it is buying Groove. In retrospect, the surprise isn't that Microsoft is the buyer since they're a major investor in Groove; it's that this acquisition took this long to happen.
Geek Toys
The 20Q toy is a handheld version of 20q.net. It's the game of twenty questions with answers of Yes, No, Sometimes and Unknown. The handheld version is pretty comprehensive. We tried several items that we thought would be too obscure and were surprised when it came up with correct answers.
The i-Top is a high-tech spinning top with a set of different games that you can play. A row of LEDs on the top display text and numbers. Also, the top contains sensors to count rotations and measure rotational speed. The technology is pretty impressive, especially for such an inexpensive device. The i-Top is made by Irwin Toys. Their website has a number of other interesting toys, including a "Pro" version of the i-Top.
Good Samaritan aids bank robbers
Interesting story of an elderly woman who gives a couple a ride to the bank — which they rob — and then drops them off in the next town, completely unaware that she was the "wheelman" of their getaway car.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Crumb update
At the end of Terry Zwigoff's excellent 1994 documentary on cartoonist Robert Crumb (called Crumb), Crumb and his wife Aline are preparing to leave America for France. Since then, Zwigoff has made a couple of films, Ghost World and Bad Santa. But whatever became of Robert Crumb? He's still in France. This article in The Guardian brings things up to date. Probably only of interest if you've seen Zwigoff's documentary.
King Tut's broken leg may have killed him
Egyptian researchers said Tuesday that King Tut was not murdered but had a broken leg that could have killed him. A broken leg? I guess that's one of the hazards of life when you walk like an Egyptian. BA-RUMP-BUMP! I'll be here all week folks!
Blog drought
Sorry for the dearth of posts recently. I've got some entries queued up. Just have to finish them.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Batman's Greatest... Mistake
New meanings for existing words can sometimes cause older prose to be pretty funny. For example, Batman issue 66 reads pretty differently in 2005 than it did when originally published in 1951.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Darik's Boot and Nuke
I'm recycling an old laptop and wanted to make sure that my personal data was really gone. In the past I just deleted files but that doesn't really erase the data; it just makes it inaccessible to casual users. I tried a "file eraser" utility but that only deals with deleted files; there are other places where data can lurk such as the Windows registry. Since the laptop's disk will be reimaged for the next user, I decided to wipe the hard drive using a secure utility. I found Darik's Boot and Nuke (aka DBAN). I made a bootable CD-ROM from the download and ran it. It wiped the laptop's 40GB drive in about four hours. Did it work? As far as I can tell — I'm not a computer forensics expert. Here's what the DBAN FAQ says about such concerns:
Since the laptop doesn't belong to me, melting the hard drive in a furnace isn't a viable option. I guess I'll just have to trust that it worked.If you are seriously concerned about any of these situations, then consider drilling open your hard disk, grinding down the platters, and melting all of the parts in a furnace.