Web Excursions 2021-08-31
Receiving FLEXlm Error -88,309: System Clock Has Been Set Back - Community
[The page is a KB article of FlexNet Publisher, is a software license manager from Flexera Software which implements license management and is intended to be used in corporate environments to provide floating licenses to multiple end users of computer software.
The question reads “When attempting to checkout a license, the following FLEXlm Error is received: -88,309: System clock has been set back. How do can this be resolved?”
The answer starts with a “note” that “for security reasons, the following information is not to be shared with Enduser customers,” possibly because doing so would defeat the purpose of the software, which is to enforce the valid period of licenses issued.
The answer then reads “The way our method works is to examine file dates in certain directories, and if dates are found > 24 hours in the future, then to deny usage. This is to prevent system clock tampering to allow extended usage of licenses. You will need to change all the files with dates in the future back to the current date.”]
Receiving FLEXlm Error -88,309: System Clock Has Been Set Back (2020) | Hacker News
phire:
In the windows 9x days, software had direct access to hardware without needing any permission.
They could get very creative about where the trial end date could be hidden.
They could write it to random blocks of the fat32 partition marked as "free".
They could even find unallocated blocks outside of the partition table and write it there.
Or you could write it to the contents of a file without going though the regular file APIs, so it's modification date wouldn't change.
As long as just one copy of the trial end date stays intact, it can simply take the latest one.
The open calendar, task and note space is a mess
The last few weeks I’ve been looking into the open calendar, tasks and notes space with the goal of finding or building a privacy-conscious and still practical system.
What I want
I control the source of truth
view and edit the data on all my machines
Use standard protocols
Preference for FOSS
multiple calendar and task sets
subtask support
hook into task lifecycle events so I can execute my own logic when tasks are created or finished.
Notes in markdown format
ideal solution would be
an open source CalDAV/WebDAV server storing data, and
a cross-platform client that works on all desktop/mobile platforms.
What I found
CalDAV and iCalendar are the established standard protocols for synchronizing calendars and tasks but these protocols have some issues:
very old
lack of libraries
no fully cross-platform clients
Things like subtasks are not originally in the RFC
CalDAV has good support for synchronizing resources and limiting sync to only objects that have changed by using etags metadata and sync tokens.
WebDAV is a good standard for synchronizing files and since most note apps are just markdown editors with sync capabilities notes are not as problematic.
Owncloud/Nextcloud
Written in old PHP and there is work underway to do a complete rewrite in Golang
GUI subtask implementation is not recognized by some other clients
Radicale
a Python project that implements CalDAV storage for calendars and tasks.
No WebDAV support
Does not handle authentication by default
Sabre
CalDAV server written in PHP
requires PHP 5.4
No WebDAV support
Owncloud or Radicale + an external WebDav server seems to fit best.
Clients
Web: Owncloud GUI
Linux: KOrganizer
relies on KDE
Windows: EssentialPIM
iOS & MacOS: 2DO
own implementation for subtasks which is not recognized by most of the other clients
iOS & MacOS: Native Calendar and Reminder apps
Cross platform notes: Joplin
desktop apps are electron-based
Conclusion
The open calendar, task and notes space is very fragmented due to old protocols, wildly varying implementations and a lack of cross-platform support libraries.
So for now, I will probably
start by setting up WebDAV+Joplin for notes, and
keep using Google Calendar and Todoist for calendars and tasks until I figure out a complete solution.
Apple acquires classical music streaming service Primephonic
Apple today announced it has acquired Primephonic, the renowned classical music streaming service that
offers an outstanding listening experience
with search and browse functionality optimized for classical,
premium-quality audio,
handpicked expert recommendations, and
extensive contextual details on repertoire and recordings.
With the addition of Primephonic, Apple Music subscribers will get a significantly improved classical music experience
beginning with Primephonic playlists and exclusive audio content.
In the coming months, Apple Music Classical fans will get a dedicated experience with the best features of Primephonic, including
better browsing and search capabilities by composer and by repertoire,
detailed displays of classical music metadata, plus
new features and benefits.
Primephonic Classical Streaming
Primephonic service will be taken offline starting September 7.
You may continue to use it at no charge until then.
Please check your email for more details about your 6 month free trial on Apple Music, your refund and more.
Apple Music plans to launch a dedicated classical music app next year combining Primephonic’s classical user interface that fans have grown to love with more added features.
Apple acquires classical music streaming service Primephonic | Hacker News
buro9:
Classical music is one of the hardest genres to surface through existing music apps.
Where an app may have an "artist" field,
classical music will have "composer" and then for the performers it will have "orchestra", "conductor", "principal soloists".
For an opera all of those are primary fields that could be considered "artist".
The variations of the data is huge: Tchaikovsky -> Pyotr (Petr) Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Tchaïkovski)
wcerfgba:
I find jazz has a similar problem:
there may be a band leader but usually each instrumentalist is of note, and
there is no way I am aware of to track each performer in an ID3 or APE tag.