Security Hacking for kids
From Five hacks you can explore with your kids (Wired)
The thrill of getting a root shell using a well crafted buffer overflow is a joy few non-geeks will ever know. Security cracking is skill that requires an in depth knowledge of networking, operating systems and programming. Helping your kids build these important skills without turning into web site trashing script kiddies is every good parent’s job.
Well quite.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Updates
I'd forgotten what a time consuming, involving and generally ill thought through process updating a copy of Windows is. On the Mac you use a desktop application, on Windows a flaky looking web app. On the Mac you select things like "QuickTime Update 7.6.2" which kind of makes sense, on Windows you select "Critical Update for Windows XP (KB9832082)" which might as well be in Esperanto.
Operating system updates on the Mac are all rolled together, so if you are on 10.5.3, updating to 10.5.7 is one step (and a big download). On Windows you need to repeatedly visit Windows Update to ensure that no new updates have been unlocked by installing the last set.
After selecting your desired updates, on the Mac any further interaction is done right at the start of the process - EULA clicking, etc. On Windows the process is constantly interrupted with wizard after wizard after wizard, meaning that you can't just click "go", put the kettle on and come back half an hour later. No, you have to constantly hand hold the process like some it's some sort of attention seeking toddler.
It also offered me the option of installing something called Microsoft Genuine Windows Notifications which promised, if my copy of windows was not "Genuine", to constantly bombard me with nagging reminders to "solve" this problem.
Who in their right mind would actually choose to install such a piece of software? If your copy is legit you don't need it and if it's not, you don't want it.
It then prompted me to follow a link to a list of benefits of using "Genuine" Windows software. I didn't follow the link, but presumably it's just a picture of Steve Balmer in a bath of money.
Sorry that this post is so unashamedly pro Mac. I'd have mentioned the Linux update process as these days it's pretty painless. The update process itself is painless, I mean. The pain comes after the update when you find that half of your shit doesn't work any more.
Popularity: 9% [?]