Re: Identifying and editing a variable in memory

From: Peter T. Breuer (ptb_at_oboe.it.uc3m.es)
Date: 08/14/05 

Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 09:52:29 +0200

Chris F.A. Johnson <cfajohnson@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 2005-08-13, Peter T. Breuer wrote:
> > Chris F.A. Johnson <cfajohnson@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> On 2005-08-13, Peter T. Breuer wrote:
> >> > Chris F.A. Johnson <cfajohnson@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> On 2005-08-13, Peter T. Breuer wrote:
> >> >> > Chris F.A. Johnson <cfajohnson@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> >> > My IP address doesn't give a unique identity to the rest of the world.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> Nor to your LAN, if you are setting it with DHCP.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Sorry - but your IP address is ALWAYS unique in whatever LAN you are
> >> >> > on.
> >> >>
> >> >> It is unique, but it is not invariable.
> >> >
> >> > NOTHING on a pc is invariant. Not the disk, not the processor, not the
> >> > operating system, not the motherboard, not the ethernet card. Etc.
> >> >
> >> > So what is your point?
> >> >
> >> >> > Now quit this silliness, please, folks.
> >> >>
> >> >> Please do.
> >> >
> >> > The only silliness I see is "out there". Please get it - PCs don't have
> >> > invariant identifiers on them. The best you can do is use something
> >> > that is unique.
> >>
> >> Who said, earlier in this thread:
> >>
> >> >>>> Everything on a PC can change - except its IP address,
> >
> > That's correct - it's the only thing that allows it to talk to the
> > outside world. It's what "identifies" it to the world. Change your IP
> > address and the world and its data packets doesn't know you.
>
> You are contradicting yourself. You also said "nothing is
> invariant".

Nothing is invariant, but you lose the "identity" that identifies you
to the world when you change this one thing, therefore license programs
tend to use it and peple running licenses obtained that way tend not to
change it.

The sun machines actually had a real invariant number returned by
"mach" (as I recall). Not PCs. See if you can find an implementation of
"mach" for PC and see what it returns!

Peter