- wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

Aging and bloated OpenSSL is purged of 2 high-severity bugs
by Peter Reutemann 03 May '16

03 May '16

"Maintainers of the OpenSSL cryptographic library have patched high-severity holes that could make it possible for attackers to decrypt login credentials or execute malicious code on Web servers. The updates were released Tuesday morning for both versions 1.0.1 and 1.0.2 of OpenSSL, which a large portion of the Internet relies on to cryptographically protect sensitive Web and e-mail traffic using the transport layer security protocol. OpenSSL advisories labeled the severity of both vulnerabilities "high," meaning the updates fixing them should be installed as soon as possible. The fixes bring the latest supported versions to 1.0.1t and 1.0.2h." -- source: http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/05/aging-and-bloated-openssl-is-purged… Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

1 0

Huge number of sites imperiled by critical image-processing vulnerability
by Peter Reutemann 03 May '16

03 May '16

"A large number of websites are vulnerable to a simple attack that allows hackers to execute malicious code hidden inside booby-trapped images. The vulnerability resides in ImageMagick, a widely used image-processing library that's supported by PHP, Ruby, NodeJS, Python, and about a dozen other languages. Many social media and blogging sites, as well as a large number of content management systems, directly or indirectly rely on ImageMagick-based processing so they can resize images uploaded by end users." -- source: http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/05/easily-exploited-bug-exposes-huge-n… Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

1 0

fast good unlimited internet
by Ian Young 03 May '16

03 May '16

As per the subject it sounds great. Alas this is New Zealand, home of the rapacious duopoly, and one cable outwards. So you won't be looking at 'Spark' (aka former monoply Telecom) or global corp Vodafone. The fast thing has got a bit better since the powers that be finally fibred up at taxayer expense at least in part. Or so I hear. Ultra fast is probably an exaggeration compared with benchmark nations. Long white cloud has some issues with population density and geography. However it sounds like there may be a local option. Tauranga is an opulent region so there must be some money in it for small providers. Until a bigger fish appears bent on acquisition.

1 0

Art Or Spam?
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 03 May '16

03 May '16

A bot has been hanging around 3D-printing site Thingiverse, generating random and bizarre/surreal remixes of objects posted to the site by others <http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/05/that-time-a-bot-invaded-thingiverse-…>. The creators of the bot recently showed some of the results at an exhibition. Is “confrontational art” just another term for “trolling”? Opinions about the bot’s contribution to the community seem mixed...

1 0

Tauranga ISPs
by Chris McClimans 03 May '16

03 May '16

Any suggestions for fast, good, unlimited broadband? Maybe with a chance for static IPs?

3 2

Ubuntu Quietly Raises Install Image Size to 2GB
by Peter Reutemann 02 May '16

02 May '16

'You can expect to see a larger Ubuntu desktop installation image by the time the Yakkety Yak yips out. Developers are currently debating the exact size limits that official flavours will adhere to, with some favouring a 2GB hard limit while others are looking to go full-DVD size at 4.7GB+. Canonical's Steven Langasek explains the plans for Ubuntu 16.10 Yakkety Yak: "I've finally gone ahead and bumped the limit on Ubuntu desktop images to 2GB for a minimally-sized USB stick; this gives us a new limit that I think we will care about, while also leaving us headroom so we're not constantly fighting it back down to the line." The Ubuntu ISO is supposed to be around the 1GB mark but has creeped past this in recent releases. The current Ubuntu 16.04 LTS desktop .iso is 1.4GB.' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/16/05/02/1035248 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

2 1

From Paintbox to PC: How London became the home of Hollywood VFX
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 01 May '16

01 May '16

Nice article about the video-effects business, from the Quantel Paintbox to present-day CGI <http://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2016/05/how-london-became-the-home-of…>, from Ars Technica UK. Betting on Moore’s Law: Framestore tried to predict when technology would allow them to charge what their clients were willing to pay, and adjust the business accordingly. It was a risky, yet incredibly shrewd plan—and it paid off. This same company went on to make “Walking With Dinosaurs”. Moving away from the legendary SGI workstations of the early 1990s, towards more commodity hardware nowadays: Today, VFX studios are powered by Intel processors, Nvidia graphics cards (all the VFX studios I spoke to used Nvidia graphics cards, citing reasons of driver stability), and Linux operating systems. These parts are just as accessible to consumers as they are to businesses: one only need look at the rise of YouTube and high-quality homemade videos to see just how far the commoditisation of VFX technology has come. But those Nvidia cards are mainly used for on-screen previews, not the final renders: Like the rest of the VFX industry, Pixar is yet to introduce GPUs into its render farms, preferring instead to use them in local or farm-based workstations for quick and dirty lighting previews. It faces the same issue as everyone else: GPUs simply don't have enough memory. Each frame in a final render requires as much 64GB of system memory, with films like Avatar pushing 128GB. The highest-end Nvidia graphics card comes equipped with just 12GB of memory. The article has a strange reluctance to use the term “renderer”. It describes Arnold as “a cutting edge lighting program” and Renderman as “a way to flesh out an existing 3D model or animation with interactive lighting and shading”. One quote I found revealing: At most VFX studios the final render is done at around 2K resolution. It doesn’t qualify this by saying this is for TV work, not for film work. So is 2K enough even for film work? And just like when they moved from TV to film, studios like MPC, Framestore, and Pixar are waiting for technology to catch up with their creative ambitions, even if they're not all convinced 4K is the answer. Meanwhile, some people are managing 4K renders <https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=blender+foundation+4k> just fine...

1 0

Re: [wlug] Intel?s Atom Chips Circling The Plughole (Lawrence D'Oliveiro)
by rowan schischka 01 May '16

01 May '16

>I wondered--still wonder--why Intel doesn?t just make ARM chips. It?s got to be more profitable than the billions it has wasted on developing Atom processors that nobody seems to want. I believe the Atom was Intel's competition to the AMD geode which is I think is still available. I wouldnt say no one wants them. Microsoft has been keen on them since Windows RT failed. Arm is an old competitor to Intel; remember Acorn computers? I dont think they would attract investors if they were buying licenses from ARM. Seems logical they are dropping the Atom in favour of their new IoT chips. Im more interested in what Samsung is doing with its Artik 12x12mm SOC, an arm you can fit in your undies! -- Rowan Schischka

3 3

Intel’s Atom Chips Circling The Plughole
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 30 Apr '16

30 Apr '16

The next, “Broxton”, generation of Intel’s Atom chips have been cancelled, along with future SoCs incorporating Atom cores <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/30/intel_atoms_cancelled/>. I can remember when the first generation of Atom chips were announced, back in 2008 or so with the debut of “netbooks”--remember them? (/me glances at an old Asus Eee 701 sitting within arm’s reach.) Intel claimed it was two years ahead of ARM at that point, and able to offer the “full Internet experience” (which was code for “can run Flash videos”). That “two years ahead” claim went quiet after a few months... I wondered--still wonder--why Intel doesn’t just make ARM chips. It’s got to be more profitable than the billions it has wasted on developing Atom processors that nobody seems to want.

1 0

Intel’s Clear Linux Is Making Waves
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 26 Apr '16

26 Apr '16

Intel has brought out “Clear Linux”, incorporating many optimizations for speed. Now the Fedora folks are looking into these speedups, with a view to making them more mainstream <http://phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Fedora-Looks-At-Clear>.

1 0