Extracting emails from files is probably something that most users will never even think of doing. It can however be interesting for some users who have them stored in a database with all kinds of information and want to extract all emails to mail every user in that database. It can be used for spamming users as well but I’m not advocating this falling victim to lots of spam emails each day.
The scan itself does not take longer than a few seconds normally. I did test it on one of my mailbox files in Thunderbird and it did extract more than 6000 emails from that which means it works practically with all files that contain text. Doubt it will be highly successful crawling binary files.
Emails that have been found can be exported into a text document for further processing. They can be sorted by username or mails server before doing so.
Oh Yeah? Fork You!
by Shark on Friday, May 16, 2008 8:00am
In Where Are All The Open Source Billionaires? I used this chart as an illustration:
Because open source code is freely distributable, anyone can take that code and create their own unique mutant mashup version of it any time they feel like it. Whether anyone else in the world will care about their crazy new version of the code is not at all clear, but that's not the point. If someone wants it bad enough, they can create it -- or pay someone else to create it for them. This is known as "forking". It's the very embodiment of freedom zero, and it's an essential part of every open source license.
But there are forks, and there are forks:
What is different about a fork is intent. In a fork, the person(s) creating the fork intend for the fork to replace or compete with the original project they are forking.
That's exactly what happened to the Pidgin project recently.
In their 2.4 release they changed the GUI action of the text field where the user types their IM from a manually re-sizable window, to a fixed size window that auto-re-sizes based on the amount of text typed. On the surface, this sounds like a minor change, but it triggered a massive user revolt! Why?
This is what they're up in arms about:
The developers, for whatever reason, dug in their heels on this one and refused to budge. You can read through some of the commentary on the bug ticket to get an idea, but the general tenor was combatative bordering on hostile. The bug was eventually closed as "won't fix".
The community's response was swift: Oh yeah? Fork you!
Funpidgin is a fork of the popular open source client Pidgin which allows instant messaging with over twenty different protocols.
What makes us different from the official client is that we work for you. Unlike the Pidgin developers, we believe the user should have the final say in what goes into the program.
So far five new features have been added to Funpidgin upon requests from users, and all of them are optional. It is these options that make the use of Funpidgin enjoyable to a diverse range of people.
Funpidgin is a fork in the truest sense; the developers intend to replace pidgin. But will it? Who knows. There are four possible outcomes from any fork:
- The fork diesFunpidgin languishes due to lack of attention from developers and users. Funpidgin eventually dies.
- The fork mergesFunpidgin and pidgin reach a consensus. The funpidgin changes are folded back into pidgin.
- The original diesFunpidgin becomes so popular that it draws developers and users away from pidgin. Pidgin eventually dies.
- Both project and fork surviveFunpidgin and pidgin both succeed on their own terms, perhaps by attracting different audiences or meeting different user needs.
You can find examples of all four outcomes peppered throughout the history of open source software. You might think that the adoption of open source software licenses would lead to dozens if not hundreds of incompatible, slightly-different versions of the same stuff -- bewildering users and developers alike. I'm not so sure. There's a tremendous amount of inertia around the open source projects that survive long enough to become popular. Consider the challenges the newly forked funpidgin project now faces:
- A divided community of users and developers.
- Siphoning enough energy and attention away from an established project to remain viable.
- Differentiating themselves enough from pidgin so that they aren't viewed as useless or irrelevant.
- The original pidgin project is free to take whatever parts of the funpidgin open source code they deem appropriate and fold that into pidgin.
Forking is incredibly difficult to pull off. It is a painful, but necessary part of the evolution of open source software. Just as in real evolution, I suspect that most forks die in vast, nameless numbers, before they become strong enough to engender any forked progeny of their own. Forking is the absolute bedrock of open source software -- but it is also not a path to be chosen lightly.
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Microsoft Security Updates May 2008
by Shark on Friday, May 16, 2008 6:00amMicrosoft released four security updates for various applications and operating systems that they produce. Three of the four updates are regarded as critical while one has a moderate risk level. To break it up further: Two patches are updating Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, Office 2003 and Office 2007, one Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 and the last one applications that use the Microsoft Malware Protection Engine which includes Windows Live Care and Windows Defender.
Use the following links to open the Security Bulletins directly: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Word Could Allow Remote Code Execution [link], Vulnerability in Microsoft Publisher Could Allow Remote Code Execution [link], Vulnerability in Microsoft Jet Database Engine Could Allow Remote Code Execution [link] and Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Malware Protection Engine Could Allow Denial of Service [link].
It is as always advised to update the system as soon as possible. The first two patches have to be applied to users of Microsoft Office, the third by almost everyone and the fourth by users who use Microsoft Malware protection applications.
Tags: microsoft, microsoft-office, security vulnerabilities, windows patch, windows-xp
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Cubeecraft Papercraft Toys
by Shark on Friday, May 16, 2008 6:00amFeels like Geek-day today. After the virtual girlfriend article I present you another article that falls into the geeky but cute category. This time it’s Papercraft Toys by Cubeecraft, a website that is offering free papercraft model downloads that can bring a smile on the old and young.
Now this would not be that geeky if you would not be able to download models like Stormtroopers, the Master Chief, Kirby, NIN - Ghosts I-IV (!) or Mario. Each model is designed to fit on a standard piece of A4 letter paper and nothing is keeping you from creating your own army of Stormtroopers, Iron Mans or Batmans.
“Each toy features interlocking tabs for construction - eliminating the need for tape, glue or other messy adhesives. To download click on the model you would like then save the template image.”
Cutting the pieces correctly seems to be the biggest task in creating the Papercraft Toys. I think it’s a great idea that guarantees lots of fun. But, where’s Darth Vader and Boba Fett ?
Tags: cubecraft, geeks, models, origami, papercraft, toys
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Alt.Binz Usenet Client
by Shark on Friday, May 16, 2008 4:00amI’m very fond of the Usenet client Newsbin which I have been using for many years. It’s not a free software and I made the purchase because at that time it was definitely the best client available. I’m sometimes getting asked if there are free alternatives to Newsbin and I always have to say that I have not tested any of them. But John Tash send me an email a while ago asking about my opinion about the news client Alt.Binz and I finally found some time to check it out.
Alt.Binz is a free Usenet client that supports several of the most important features a news client should have. These features are multiple connections and SSL and NZB Support. Let me explain why I think that those three are essential. Multiple connections is a no brainer, Giganews (the best Usenet Provider) provides access to ten connections to their servers and a client should support that to maximize the speed from the server.
SSL is important for security. You don’t want your ISP or someone else snooping on your traffic finding out what you are downloading, right ? And NZBs are a a standard that makes it a lot easier to download from the Usenet. NZB files contain information about multiple files and their location on the Usenet. Instead of clicking on hundreds of files to download them you can simply load one NZB.
Alt.Binz looks like a great client. I had no troubles adding the Giganews server information to the client and support for the Giganews Accelerator was given as well.
The major difference is the approach. Newsbin provides direct access to Usenet groups while Alt.Binz does not, at least not in the way I have been using it for years. Alt.Binz has some Usenet search engines directly integrated into the program interface that provide access to NZBs. That’s a great feature and I hope the guys at Newsbin will implement it soon.
Supported are respected sites like Newzleech, Binsearch and several others. A full server wide search is supported as well. Now with Newsbin I usually visit the website of those search engines and download the NZB from those websites. This step is no longer required in Alt.Binz.
Alt.Binz is a great free Usenet client which I will definitely keep an eye on even though I have paid for Newsbin. The interface is intuitive and fast and it does provide access to several features that are definitely missing in Newsbin. Oh, and yes it seems to work under Wine in Linux.
Tags: alt.binz, free usenet client, giganews, newsbin, newsgroups, usenet, usenet client, usenet search
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