10079254
submission
kidcharles writes:
I'm working on a project that requires writing bits to a magnetic hard drive platter in a completely controlled fashion. I'd like to be able to control exactly where 1's and 0's will appear physically on a platter. Normally when data is written to a drive the actual bits that get written are determined by the file system being used and also what kind of error handling the drive itself is using (e.g. Reed-Solomon). All of the modern innovations in file systems and error handling are great for reliable and efficient data storage, but they are making my particular task quite daunting. My question for you Slashdotters is how you might approach this problem. Is there a way to get down to the "bare metal" so-to-speak and write these bits? Any good utilities out there to do this? Obviously a free and open source solution would be preferable but I'm open to anything at this point.
297847
submission
kidcharles writes:
Newsweek reports that a secretive lobbying campaign has been launched by telecommunications companies who are seeking retroactive immunity from private lawsuits over their cooperation with the NSA in the so-called "terrorist surveillance program." Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell has claimed that lawsuits could "bankrupt these companies." The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a lawsuit against AT&T over their cooperation in the domestic spying program. EFF legal director Cindy Cohen said of the lobbying campaign, "They are trying to completely immunize this [the surveillance program] from any kind of judicial review. I find it a little shocking that Congress would participate in the covering up of what has been going on."
131775
submission
kidcharles writes:
The Washington Post reports that in the midst of an investigation by the U.S. Congress into the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys by the Department of Justice, numerous White House e-mails have been lost. Among them are communications from presidential adviser Karl Rove. Parallels are being drawn with the infamous "18 minutes" missing from the Nixon Watergate tapes. Also at issue is the use of Republican National Committee e-mail domains (such as gwb43.com and georgewbush.com) rather than the official White House domain. This is a violation of the Presidential Records Act.
