Sneaky Bastard

I just upgraded to the latest version of Little Snitch: version 2.0.3 from version 1.2.3. In this case, the increment of the major version number is justified. The UI is completely new. There is a Growl-like information display and a menubar icon that shows exactly which applications want to make outbound connections and all sorts of information about what kind of data they’re leaking sending.

I learned about the new version from i use this while building up a fresh install of Leopard. On the Little Snitch page, there are a whole bunch of comments about how annoying the program is because it announces each outbound connection by default. What a bunch of ‘tards. That’s pretty much the whole point of the utility. All of the superfluous information display can be disabled quite easily, so I don’t understand what they’re whining about, except maybe that they could log into {insert popular online game reference here} after school.

I took the survey at A List Apart yesterday. It didn’t change my life in any meaningful way. However, I did find it interesting to choose between the answers that fit my status last week, versus the answers that would be appropriate for my career next week.

Last week I joined the Free Software Foundation. It seems like the Right Thing To Do™. They do a lot of work besides keeping software free. I don’t share their passion against DRM or the iPhone, but I am a believer in software licensing that benefits everyone.

On a somewhat related note, I’ve been reading about licensing using Creative Commons. I need to start identifying the license on the screencasts that I do. It’s not that I’m worried about someone violating my copyright; it’s that I want anybody to know that they can pass it around freely. Of course, that assumes that someone would want to do that. :P