Anyone know of a random data generator?

[Steven W. Orr]

On Thursday, Jul 29th 2004 at 14:48 -0400, quoth Dan Coutu:

=>For some tests I'm running it would be really useful to have a random (or even
=>semi-random)
=>data source that can be used for making really big files of arbitrary size. It
=>turns out to be
=>trickier than I had expected. So for example I thought I'd be able to write
=>data to a tape
=>all the way to the end like this:
=>
=>cat /dev/random | tar cf /dev/st1 -
=>
=>Which I expected to use the endless stream of random data generated by
=>/dev/random as
=>input to the tar command which would write to tape until it errored out at the
=>end of the tape.
=>
=>The reality is that it did nothing at all. Not one single byte of data.
=>
=>So, any other bright ideas?
=>
=>Dan

I just have to throw in my indeterminate number of cents here.

There was talk recently about a guy who created a truly random number 
generator by hooking up a video camera with the lans cap on to a serial 
port. The exciter doohickyc caused random pixels to flash.

Remember Knuth in TAOCP V1: "Never select a random number generator at 
random."

-- 
Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like a banana. Stranger things have  .0.
happened but none stranger than this. Does your driver's license say Organ ..0
Donor?Black holes are where God divided by zero. Listen to me! We are all- 000
individuals! What if this weren't a hypothetical question?
steveo at syslang.net