How Windows Handles Pathnames
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
A Google engineer has published a detailed exposé on how Microsoft
Windows handles file and directory pathnames (as opposed to how it is
documented to handle them)
<http://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-definitive-guide-on-win...>
(found from
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/03/01/windows_path_hacks/>). Most of
it, it could be argued, makes some sort of sense from a
backward-compatibility rationale. Except for the reserved device names
(PRN, NUL, CON etc):
Now if just specifying these paths explicitly was all that this
process handled it would be annoying but not the end of the world.
However it’s much worse. The conversion process actively tries to
convert any path with the device name last, even if the path is a
Drive Absolute path. To make matters even worse the device name can
have arbitrary trailing characters as long the trailing characters
are separated from the device by a dot or a colon. The name can
then also have trailing spaces.
...
Why it does the check is beyond me as it seems to serve no actual
purpose. Also note the removal of trailing suffixes, which can come
in handy if something is actively trying to guard against this
behavior. For example, if an application was mindful and was
checking for a filename that matched one of the reserved names you
can just bypass that check by appending an arbitrary suffix.
3 years, 8 months
Re: [wlug] Intel?s Atom Chips Circling The Plughole (Lawrence D'Oliveiro)
by rowan schischka
>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
4 years, 1 month
Intel’s Atom Chips Circling The Plughole
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro
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.
4 years, 1 month
Mozilla Seeks New Home For Email Client Thunderbird
by Peter Reutemann
"In a report commissioned by Mozilla to explore the next home for
Thunderbird, two potential new hosts have been offered: the Software
Freedom Conservancy (host to git, boost, QEMU, and a host of other
projects) and The Document Foundation (home of LibreOffice). At the
same time, the report discusses completely uncoupling Thunderbird from
the rest of the Mozilla codebase and bringing in a dedicated technical
architect to chart the software's roadmap.
Given that the two named organizations are already on board with
taking Thunderbird under their wing, is this a new lease on life for
the email program Mozilla put out to pasture four years ago?"
-- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/16/04/25/1949239
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/
4 years, 1 month
Still On For Tonight?
by Chris McClimans
I noted that we seem to be scheduled, even though it is a public
holiday today. I was planning to attend, but wanted to make sure it
was still on.
I have some fun org-babel-async stuff I use that might be fun to
share. (vim users might enjoy looking at spacemacs.org as well)
Cheers,
-chris
4 years, 1 month
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Available To Download; Mozilla To Offer 0-Day Firefox Releases Via Snaps
by Peter Reutemann
"The latest, and hopefully, the greatest version of Ubuntu is now
available to download. On the sidelines, Mozilla today announced the
availability of future releases of its popular Firefox web browser in
the snap package format for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. Earlier today, Canonical
unleashed the final release of the highly anticipated Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
(Xenial Xerus) operating system, bringing users a great set of new
features and improvements. Also today, it looks like Canonical has
renewed its partnership with Mozilla to offer Firefox as the default
web browser on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and upcoming releases of the Linux
kernel-based operating systems. As part of the new partnership,
Mozilla is committed to distributing future versions of Firefox as a
snap package. Having Firefox distributed in the snap format means that
you'll have 0-day releases in Ubuntu 16.04. Yes, just like Windows and
Mac OS X, users are enjoying their 0-day releases of Mozilla Firefox
and don't have to wait for package maintainers of a particular
GNU/Linux distribution to update the software in the main
repositories. For Mozilla, having Firefox as a snap package means that
they'll be able to continually optimize it for Ubuntu."
-- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/16/04/21/1940213
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/
4 years, 1 month
meeting next Monday
by Ian Young
If there is time available I could talk about a distro called LXLE I
have been looking at lately. ~ Ian Y
4 years, 1 month
