links for 2009-05-03

Looks like a neat system.

And another one on the same thing.

The absolute basics on storing passwords.

"Finally, we learned that if we want to store passwords securely we have three reasonable options: PHK’s MD5 scheme, Provos-Maziere’s Bcrypt scheme, and SRP. We learned that the correct choice is Bcrypt." The correct way to store passwords in a database.

"But there's a dirty little secret. 37signals stores passwords in plain text in their database (or, as commentators have pointed out, they could be storing the password encrypted using a key available to their application server; either way the password can be recovered by a hacker who gains access to their server). I found this out today when cancelling my Highrise account. I'd forgotten the password and so I went through password recovery. It instantly emailed me my password."

"But if the best that organizations like the National Organization for Marriage can do is a find momentum from a beauty pageant contestant who answered a question like a nervous spelling bee competitor, then marriage equality may happen a whole hell of a lot sooner than most folks think." Hehe.

"Esoteric programming languages don't really serve any purpose other than providing a bit of fun or proving a proof of concept. But boy, do they provide a chuckle for the rest of us!"

"Flickr, for its part, should open up the "no copyright restrictions" option to the rest of us. As it stands, it appears that is only open to specific institutions." Agreed.

"Firefox 3.5 introduces a number of new features, as well as additional and improved support for a wide variety of web standards. This article offers an extensive list, with links to articles covering the major improvements." Awesome news for web developers.

"According to Colorado Springs School District 11 officials, a church grouptried to lure a seventh-grader into a church van after school, and the girl went home and told her parents. The incident was reported to the Colorado Springs Police Department, but spokesman Lt. David Whitlock said he hadn't been able to track down a report to confirm details." That's pretty low for anybody.

"You see, Apple has apparently rejected an update to Nine Inch Nails’ iPhone app because it found the contents of The Downward Spiral to be “objectionable,” according to Nine Inch Nails’ frontman Trent Reznor." Stupid Apple.

"baby, cats, wife, there are officially too many things that require love and attention in this house now. 1 has to go. Sorry @betsyphd" So funny.

"The book, an edited collection of official documents, diaries, internal memos and more, contends that Roosevelt hatched a scheme in 1938 to rally the world’s democracies and relocate millions of European Jews to undeveloped areas in Latin America and Africa." Interesting new look at Roosevelt and Europe's Jews.

"Botox and other similar antiwrinkle drugs must now carry the most stringent kind of warning label, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. The F.D.A. said such drugs must carry warning labels explaining that the material has the potential to spread from the injection site to distant parts of the body — with the risk of serious difficulties, like problems with swallowing or breathing." Wow.