December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

(Fwd) Re: **"OuR" Project press release** (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi all, I thought I would forward this so those less connected might know of amateur space technology. With a factor of 5 increase in altitude these folks will be putting things in LEO. My guess, 3-5 years. Forwarded message: > From postmaster(a)ddg.com Tue Aug 27 23:25:59 1996 > Message-Id: <199608280351.WAA21839(a)oak.zilker.net> > Comments: Authenticated sender is <stu(a)mail.zilker.net> > From: "Stu Barrett" <stu(a)zilker.net> > Organization: Personal Business > To: hct(a)ddg.com > Reply-To: hct(a)ddg.com > Errors-To: postmaster(a)ddg.com > Precedence: bulk > X-Listserver: AutoShare 1.0.2fc14 by Mikael Hansen > X-Administrivia-To: Stu Barrett (Stu(a)Zilker.net) > X-To-Unsubscribe: autoshare(a)ddg.com, body: unsub hct > X-See-Also: http://www.DDG.com/ > Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 22:53:36 -6 > Subject: (Fwd) Re: **"OuR" Project press release** > Priority: normal > X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v2.23) > > Pulled this off of the net. The was even better than SkyeDance IV ;-) > > ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- > > Paul Robinson & Ken Mizoi wrote: > > > > To All Fellow Rocketeers: > > > > The "OuR" project was launched Friday, August 16th, 1996 at 9:05 PST. > > All available flight data is still being analyzed so any information > > presented is preliminary and is provided for the courtesy of all those > > who have supported the "OuR" team. > > > > First, the principal members of the "OuR" team are, in alphabetical > > order, Frank Kosdon, Phil Prior, Paul Robinson, and Jim Rosson. These > > dedicated souls spent two years of dedicated research and effort, not > > to mention tens of thousands of dollars, to build and fly the "OuR" > > project. > > > > The R motor is a proprietary engine design with the propellant > > provided by Frank Kosdon. It was 10.5" in diameter and contained > > almost 300 pounds of propellant, including a 21 pound, full diameter > > delay "cake" for tracking. It was calculated to burn for 10.5 > > seconds, and provide 285,000 Newtons of total impulse. Yes, in > > rocketeer terms an R27,000! > > > > The airframe was 21 feet long, with a 5 to 1 conical nose. The gross > > launch mass was about 700 pounds. On board was a ten watt video > > downlink, provided by Jon Dunbar, a Trimble GPS, video overlay and > > associated electronics, provided by Bob Rau, and various other backup > > electronics. Both main and drouge parachutes were provided by Bob > > Stroud. > > > > The rocket was launched in almost no winds, pointing a few degrees > > away from the town of Gerlach, NV for safety reasons. The rocket flew > > perfectly straight and the motor functioned flawlessly with a total > > activity time around 12 to 14 seconds. The rocket coasted for about > > 80 seconds, slightly more than calculated, into the ozone layer. The > > altitude simulations pointed to an expected altitude of just under > > 100,000 feet. With the increased activity time and increased coast > > time, the altitude most likely exceeded 100,000 feet. > > > > One highlight of this flight was the video data transmitted back to > > earth from approximately twenty miles in the sky. What was seen was a > > clear outline of the entire Black Rock Dessert and the surrounding > > terrain, the curvature of the earth, and the great blackness of the > > space. > > > > Higher altitudes are accessible by smaller rockets, but the intent of > > this project was to successfully build and fire a "large" rocket > > motor. Previously, only commercial enterprises have had success with > > motors of over four inches in diameter and the results of last year's > > BALLS launch support this presumption. Furthermore, the instruments > > carried aloft simply would not fit in say a 54mm "altitude optimized" > > motor. > > > > Unfortunately, the rocket failed to deploy its recovery systems and > > accelerated to over Mach 1 and impacted into the sand dunes several > > miles away. There was a loud sonic boom heard by all that literally > > shook the earth. In fact, instead of the nominal "hole and fin slits" > > seen in previous impacts, there was a twenty foot diameter area with > > large chunks of sheared earth as if a high energy charge had been > > detonated under the ground. The rocket was not recovered, but several > > pieces of metal, fiberglass, and burnt Nomex were found indicating the > > ejection charges did in fact fire. > > > > As more data is analyzed, and more hard facts are gathered, more > > information will follow. Furthermore, the rights to the video are in > > the negotiation stage with the various film crews present, but do > > expect a very detailed video from Earl Cagle of Point 39 Productions. > > > > Once again, the "OuR" Project members wish to express sincere thanks > > to all those who listened, donated, and gave their support who were > > not specifically named. This project would not have flown if were not > > for the "believers" and the tremendous team spirit. Only they know > > the sweat and the number of hours it takes to fly such a rocket. > > > > Members of the "OuR" Team > > ----------------- > Stu Barrett > e-mail: stu(a)zilker.net > Phone: 512-255-6052 > > "Out the transceiver, down the coax, through the router, down the > fiber, off another router, down the T1, past the firewall.....nothing > but Net." >

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SCO giving free licenses to UNIX OpenServer
by Scottauge＠aol.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hit www.sco.com Pick What's New Look for UNIX Unbound. Read, Understand, and Delight... Microsoft maybe in trouble at last. This is for single user home based UNIX systems. Was announced August 19, don't know how long this is to happen.

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Real or Not ?
by anonymous-remailer＠shell.portal.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I snagged this off a news group this AM.. comments?? A lot of people think that PGP encryption is unbreakable and that the NSA/FBI/CIA/MJ12 cannot read their mail. This is wrong, and it can be a deadly mistake. In Idaho, a left-wing activist by the name of Craig Steingold was arrested _one day_ before he and others where to stage a protest at government buildings; the police had a copy of a message sent by Steingold to another activist, a message which had been encrypted with PGP and sent through E-mail. Since version 2.1, PGP ("Pretty Good Privacy") has been rigged to allow the NSA to easily break encoded messages. Early in 1992, the author, Paul Zimmerman, was arrested by Government agents. He was told that he would be set up for trafficking narcotics unless he complied. The Government agency's demands were simple: He was to put a virtually undetectable trapdoor, designed by the NSA, into all future releases of PGP, and to tell no-one. After reading this, you may think of using an earlier version of PGP. However, any version found on an FTP site or bulletin board has been doctored. Only use copies acquired before 1992, and do NOT use a recent compiler to compile them. Virtually ALL popular compilers have been modified to insert the trapdoor (consisting of a few trivial changes) into any version of PGP prior to 2.1. Members of the boards of Novell, Microsoft, Borland, AT&T and other companies were persuaded into giving the order for the modification (each ot these companies' boards contains at least one Trilateral Commission member or Bilderberg Committee attendant). It took the agency more to modify GNU C, but eventually they did it. The Free Software Foundation was threatened with "an IRS investigation", in other words, with being forced out of business, unless they complied. The result is that all versions of GCC on the FTP sites and all versions above 2.2.3, contain code to modify PGP and insert the trapdoor. Recompiling GCC with itself will not help; the code is inserted by the compiler into itself. Recompiling with another compiler may help, as long as the compiler is older than from 1992.

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Re: Spamming (fwd)
by Vipul Ved Prakash 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: >From daemon Sun Aug 25 06:35:39 1996 Message-Id: <199605140403.EAA00545(a)fountainhead.net> Subject: Re: Spamming To: jad(a)dsddhc.com (John Deters) Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 04:03:55 +0000 (GMT) Cc: cypherpunks(a)toad.com In-Reply-To: <2.2.32.19960822220224.006a0ff0@labg30> from "John Deters" at Aug 22, 96 05:02:24 pm From: Vipul Ved Prakash <vipul(a)pobox.com> Reply-To: vipul(a)pobox.com X-Organization: Positive Ideas Content-Type: text Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com Precedence: bulk X-Status: > > At 02:55 PM 8/22/96 +0000, Vipul Ved Prakash wrote: > >> > >> At 06:09 PM 8/20/96 -0700, Rich Graves wrote: > [deleted] > >> 1. Junkmail requires the SENDER to pay for it, not the recipient. > > Internet pricing models are complicated and debatable, but you surely > > end up paying for snail-junk-mail. Not directly, but hidden in the high > > first-class mail costs. More mail, more infrastructure, higher costs. > > This could be quite true for the net also, if we consider bandwidth costs > > money. > > I beg to differ. The USPS considers "junk" mail their bread-and-butter. > Huge mailings of all manner of bulk mail (especially those that are PostNet > barcoded by the sender) pay the bills around the Post Office. Your "more > mail, more infrastructure, higher costs" argument is flawed. The post > office has many fixed costs related to maintaining their huge presence, > delivering to so many rural addresses. If we had to pay a per-letter basis > *discounting* the value provided by the infrastructure already in place > supporting the bulk-mail handling systems, we'd be paying roughly Federal > Express 2-day letter rates for each piece of mail (around $6.00, if memory > serves correctly.) Alright, I agree. Though this could very easily differ with size and reach of a PS. But on the net it means more bandwidth right? Which means more bandwidth, and more money. Hang on. This might not be a problem in US (as jim bell points out there is tons of untapped bandwith), but it is in other not so well connected countries. For example, if somebody spams an Indian Network from india, the spam goes to US and comes back to india (since our govt sayz you cant connect 2 local networks!) and eats up most of the 20 MBps bandwidth. Gov't will buy more bandwidth and will make us pay for it! - Vipul

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ALERT: Sen. Kerry, who voted FOR THE CDA, will be online tonight to chat! (8/28/96)
by Voters Telecommunications Watch 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

============================================================================ __ _________ __ \ \ / /_ _\ \ / / HELP EDUCATE SENATOR KERRY ONLINE! \ \ / / | | \ \ /\ / / AT THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION ONLINE CHAT \ V / | | \ V V / ON AUGUST 28, 1996 -- 4PM CDT/5PM EST \_/ |_| \_/\_/ SENATOR KERRY, WHO VOTED FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT, WILL BE ONLINE! PLEASE ATTEND AND EDUCATE HIM ABOUT SMART NET POLICY! DO NOT DISTRIBUTE AFTER SEPTEMBER 1, 1996 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of contents What's New Why you should join these chats Chat schedule Getting chat software ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT'S NEW Senator John Kerry, who voted in favor of the Communications Decency Act and who has been dragging his feet on the encryption issue in the Senate Commerce Committee, is on the Democratic Convention Chat schedule for this Wednesday, 4pm CDT (5pm EST). Like many Senators, John Kerry's views are a combination of his personal opinions, plus his perception of his constituencies' opinion. When he voted IN FAVOR OF THE COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT, he was not listening to his constituency very well. The high tech community of Cambridge must make him understand that bad Internet policy, like the Communications Decency Act, can kill this industry, causing us to lose our jobs and the state to lose a valuable industry. Although Sen. Kerry shouldn't be let off the hook for voting of the CDA, he needs to be shown that in hindsight, this was a terrible vote. Hostility will not change his mind though, so please don't ask questions like, "Senator, what the heck were you thinking when you voted for this stupid bill which everyone knew was unconstitutional?" Questions like these will just cause him to wrap himself in a "protecting children" speech. Instead, why not try questions like, "Senator, don't you think that enough has changed in the past several months that would suggest that parents are really the best ones to control their kids access to the net? Would you still vote for the CDA today?" "Senator, don't you agree laws such as the CDA are really a poor second to a little bit of plain old parenting? If more parents were to learn about the net, would there still be a need for the CDA?" "Senator, I surf the net with my 10-year-old. I think that's a far better cry than the CDA. What could we do to encourage more parents to take this approach, rather than passing laws that harm Massachusetts businesses and freedom of speech?" Know that the urge to flame him for his vote on the CDA will be strong. It should be, it was a terrible position for someone from such an incredibly net-savvy state. No matter how you view politics, it was a poor move. It angers both the business and public. Please do not flame him, instead try to change his mind. It is imperative that the net community come out and show him this is a very serious issue for us, and that we won't forget his position on this. Remember, the chat is at 4pm CDT, which is 5PM EST. Please show up early, as this is likely to be a very full chat. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN THESE CHATS The Democratic convention's online chat program has begun! It's crucial that Netizens make net concerns a high profile issue in the online chats this year. You can do this by showing up and simply asking the right questions. Does the candidate think the Communications Decency Act is an effective method of shielding kids from material online, or parental control? Does the candidate support the use of privacy-enhancing encryption technology? Does the candidate support program such as THOMAS, that put government info in the hands of the people? If you don't ask these questions, they'll never know we care. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAT SCHEDULE [Notably missing from this schedule are Senators Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) and Russell Feingold (D-WI) and House member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). All three have impeccable cyberspace credentials and we look forward to seeing them online.] All chats take place at http://ichat.dncc96.org:4080/ Monday 08/26/96 - 4:20pm CDT Governor Lawton Chiles 08/26/96 - 7:15pm CDT House Candidate Michela Alioto 08/26/96 - 10:30pm CDT Congressman Bill Richardson Tuesday 08/27/96 - 9:00am CDT Senate Candidate Houston Gordon 08/27/96 - 5:00pm CDT Congresswoman Nita Lowey Wednesday 08/28/96 - 9:00am CDT - Senate Candidate Houston Gordon 08/28/96 - 10:00am CDT - Governor Gaston Caperton 08/28/96 - 3:00pm CDT - Senator John D Rockefeller IV ----> 08/28/96 - 4:00pm CDT - Senator John Kerry 08/28/96 - 4:30pm CDT - Senator Harry Reid 08/28/96 - 9:30pm CDT - Representative Corrine Brown Thursday 08/29/96 - 10:30am CDT - Senate Candidate Houston Gordon 08/29/96 - 2:30pm CDT - Senator Kent Conrad 08/29/96 - 3:30pm CDT - Representative Eliot Engel 08/29/96 - 6:00pm CDT - Representative Barney Frank 08/29/96 - 7:00pm CDT - Senators Boxer & Murray Don't miss this opportunity to question the newsmakers on net issues such as free speech and privacy! We have to ensure that they feel appreciated for standing up for Net issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GETTING CHAT SOFTWARE The Democratic Convention has chosen iChat's chat software for their interface. To obtain a copy, simply follow the links from the main convention homepage at http://www.dncc96.org/ to the software section. ### ============================================================================

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Re: AFDA Web Site
by David K. Merriman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- To: cypherpunks(a)toad.com Date: Wed Aug 28 09:08:59 1996 > MEMORANDUM > > SUBJECT: AFDA Web site, located at: http://www.afda.org > > In September, the Web site for the Association of Federal Defense > Attorneys > (AFDA) will become password-protected for members only. Those of you > who > have paid your membership dues for 1996 will be receiving an email > message > containing a User ID and Password, which will be good through December > 31, > 1997 -- almost a year and a half of unlimited usage for the small > membership Okay, so are they going to encrypt the email, or should I go ahead and make arrangements to steal a message :-) Dave Merriman - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- PGP Email welcome, encouraged, and PREFERRED. Visit my web site at http://www.shellback.com/p/merriman for my PGP key and fingerprint "What is the sound of one hand clapping in a forest with no one there to hear it?" I use Pronto Secure (tm) PGP-fluent Email software for Windows -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMiOcLsVrTvyYOzAZAQG4XAQAnNHZtuU5rB9cttuP4xIJ16N/XO3Ds6+L k4sS0w0I8+Rm+0Py9kYf3en3I9oPrP8fuQxXefBtlTO9FltWrApSR5otgO1LJtX6 EzYtDcXnXwD7nRZ74efLFktn5DXG4xODIFT0fRWbohZOkukh6ePheWWnOiPc+nFr e8hXmqO7KWk= =IfoC -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Crypto-related (sort of) Dilbert
by David K. Merriman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- To: cypherpunks(a)toad.com Date: Wed Aug 28 09:17:30 1996 For those that haven't seen it - the Dilbert page has a kind-of crypto-related comic at http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/ Dave Merriman - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- PGP Email welcome, encouraged, and PREFERRED. Visit my web site at http://www.shellback.com/p/merriman for my PGP key and fingerprint "What is the sound of one hand clapping in a forest with no one there to hear it?" I use Pronto Secure (tm) PGP-fluent Email software for Windows -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMiOeL8VrTvyYOzAZAQEEIwQAms06+S3+2NGhh18vgC2sHQ7/tOsry5i1 BPAPVo2guBfHMNhtCaof0mie/wsv6mKoESz8HwtRdSZTOLUtGntsS4TQxfEgdkFA bDJxdC1bathMcgSw2He/pU+KldModPh3BGGzoQjAlkQPyE/15boDJUrZyW2rKphI wLWekKCd+1w= =J/2x -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: Scoring Politicians on Digital Liberty Issues (Re: Net Politics)
by jseiger＠cdt.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 9:38 PM 8/27/96, Timothy C. May wrote: >(I have no idea where the virtual nexus of this debate is taking place... [the 'virtual nexus' of this debate is actually on fight-censorship <http://www.eff.org/~declan/fight-censorship/>. Somehow it got cross posted to c'punks. Though I know it is annoying, I am cc'ing this to c'punks but I will keep all further replies to fight-censorship] >I think it laudable that CDT has chosen to remain in D.C. to "work within >the system." Personally, I could never stomach doing this. Thanks. Sometimes I need to throw back a few bottles of Pepto (or something a little harder), but working in DC is sometimes rewarding and always exciting. <...> >On the specific issue of whether Sen. Leahy is or is not a "friend of the >Net," to use him as an example here, I suggest a different approach. >Instead of classifying Leahy as a friend or an enemy, or Burns as a friend >or an enemy, etc., why not a *ratings system*? A very solid suggestion. I think this is a good idea for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that it would help define our issues for the Congress, the Administration, the press, and the rest of the country. Partly because it's true and partly because we are not as well organized as we could be, the perception of the net.community on Capitol Hill is of a less-than-unified body politic. This idea could help to change that attitude if it is done right. <...> >The issues for a scorecard might be accumulated on the Net, with inputs >from CDT, VTW, EFF, Cypherpunks, and other interested groups. It could be >messy, but perhaps not. Even a *simple* set of principles, picked by almost >any of these organizations, would likely be enough to get a reasonable >scoring system...it's not as if we all don't know that Leahy's support for >the Digital Telephony Bill was a major downcheck--whatever the realpolitik >issues were--and that his support of Pro-Code is a major upcheck. The value >of scoring is that it takes out the often-painful issues of classifying >politicians as "friends" or "enemies." I remember 2 years ago (I think?) VTW did something like this. As I recall, the only issue was Digital Telephony, and every member of Congress (save 2 or 3) got an F. IMHO, this was not as effective as it could have been, but it was a good start. Our issues are much more front-and-center than they were in 94, so this time around perhaps such and effort will have more impact. As far as I know, VTW is gearing up to do this again, though I haven't spoken to Shabbir about his plans. If he or anyone else is seriously considering doing this, I am certainly happy to contribute some time and a few ideas to the effort. Jonah ** THE FIGHT FOR FREE SPEECH ONLINE CONTINUES TO THE SUPREME COURT ** It's not too late to be a part of history -- Join the Lawsuit <http://www.cdt.org/ciec> -- <ciec-info(a)cdt.org> -- Jonah Seiger, Policy Analyst Center for Democracy and Technology <jseiger(a)cdt.org> 1634 Eye Street NW, Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20006 PGP Key via finger (v) +1.202.637.9800 http://www.cdt.org/ (f) +1.202.637.0968 http://www.cdt.org/homes/jseiger/

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Re: Today's Dilbert
by stewarts＠ix.netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 12:12 AM 8/22/96 -0400, you wrote: >I can't believe nobody mentioned wednesday's dilbert cartoon.. Because we missed it in the papers and were waiting for it to show up on the web site? http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert960821-9577.gif # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart, +1-415-442-2215 stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # <A HREF="http://idiom.com/~wcs"> Reassign Authority!

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Re: SCO giving free licenses to UNIX OpenServer
by Charley Sparks 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

When SCO is as good as Linux with all the free support I'll waste the bandwidth or the $15 for the CD

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