Michael Witt’s Comments

• Aug 13th, 2010 @ 6:22am

  Re: Debit PINs

  on Research Claims Hackers Could Figure Out Your Smartphone Password Via Screen Smudges
  A while ago I used ING Direct as my bank. They made you use a PIN instead of a password to log in, but to keep from having people be able to keylog the password, they assigned each number a letter at random, then you had to type in the letters. A bit of a hassle, but I would bet that the number of keylogger-related stolen passwords dropped to zero.
• Aug 13th, 2010 @ 6:19am

  Re: (as Mike W)

  on Research Claims Hackers Could Figure Out Your Smartphone Password Via Screen Smudges
  I actually did that to get into my friend's phone. Most of those swipe patterns will be just 2 or 3 strokes, so they're particularly vulnerable.
• Aug 9th, 2009 @ 8:40am

  Re:

  on If Robert Johnson Died In 1938... Why Is His Music Still Covered By Copyright?
  You obviously don't read this blog very much. He's making the point that this is just another thing in a long line of what's wrong with US copyright.
• Jul 27th, 2009 @ 7:52am

  Re: If it's available for android, Apple will follow suit

  on Will Apple Allow Spotify On The iPhone?
  Are you just stupid? Apple makes its money from both selling phones and iTunes. While ITMS was made profitable by the advent of the iPod, ITMS is far more profitable than selling the phones. Remember that ITMS did multiple billions of dollars worth of sales last year, and Apple gets a non-trivial cut of that revenue, AND operating costs are fairly low.
  
  I don't know if Apple will block the app or not, seeing as Pandora made it through the certification process, but this has lots more access, and you can choose what song you want to listen to. I have to think they will block it for some BS reason.
• Jul 20th, 2009 @ 9:52am

  (untitled comment)

  on LSU Starts Fining Students For File Sharing; But Seems Quite Confused About It
  What's interesting is that they do something similar (I think) at my school, yet no one complains about it (unless they get caught). Michigan Tech assigns each student a static IP address for each MAC address they have registered. So we get nice, distinct, static IPs in our dorms (you have to renew them every semester, but who cares?). That way, if they get a DMCA request from the RIAA/MPAA, they cut off your internet access, and fine you $100. When you pay the $100, your internet access is restored. This is all through a deal with the RIAA/MPAA, in which the settlement amount is lowered to $100, with repeat offenders getting internet access cut off permanently.
  
  This isn't to say that I agree with it, but it sounds to me like LSU's plan is similar to MTU's, only LSU's policy isn't nearly as clear.
• Jul 14th, 2009 @ 6:13am

  Suicide is Painless

  on The Google Trends Suicide Watch
  Am I the only one reminded of the song "Suicide is Painless"? It's the theme song for M*A*S*H.
• Nov 11th, 2008 @ 4:02pm

  Re: this makes sense from china's perspective

  on China Says Six Hours A Day Online Makes You An Internet Addict
  I must say, I'm quite perplexed by your logic.
  
  Sure, bartenders may use salty peanuts to make someone thirstier, but alcohol is a diuretic, and will make you thirstier anyways (although I would concede that peanuts will make you thirsty faster). Yet this doesn't matter, because knowledge is not consumed as you say, it doesn't just go into the brain and into a black hole, the knowledge is stored (for a time at least), and may make someone realize that they know less than he or she thought. And even that pales in comparison to your question: "Wouldn't this need to consume more information contradict china's[sic] ability to control it's[sic] populace?" That question makes no sense whatsoever; how does information lead to an inability to control your populace?
• Jul 24th, 2007 @ 4:15pm

  Drunk and disorderly... ?

  on Blame Murphy's Law, Excessive Hubris For Blackouts In SF
  It hit digg a little while ago:
  
  http://valleywag.com/tech/breakdowns/a-drunk-employee-kills-all-of-the-websites-you-care-abo ut-282021.php
  
  In that article it says that a "shitfaced drunk" employee did the damage to 40+ racks of equipment.
  
  I dunno, but I think I'll take that article with a grain of salt for the time being.
• Jun 13th, 2006 @ 7:47am

  It is contained... (as Michael)

  on RIAA Now Reaches Denial Stage
  ... to this planet.
• Jan 17th, 2006 @ 3:47pm

  no surprises (as mike)

  on How GoDaddy Lost A Longtime Customer
  GoDaddy is awful. While yes, they are cheap, they do nothing to protect your site, once it is yours. GoDaddy sites are relatively easy to commandeer, because they seem to cut corners, and while no site is impenetrable, GoDaddy sites are crap. You can easily commandeer sites, and I almost did, before I thought about the repercussions, because some kid at school was pissing me off. Not to say that it is an easy feat, but for the knowledgeable person, a GoDaddy site is a prime target.