It's an attack that can reveal one bit of the key per iteration, based on detecting which implementation of large integer multiplication GnuPG is using in its main decryption loop. Since the loop runs for 2048 iterations, the different code paths produce different load on the power regulator, which produces a different audible signal.

There's an if test in GnuPG's modulus implementation that is based on the size of the cypher text verses the size of the private key. So if you control the cypher text, you can cause one of two different outcomes from this comparison based on the next unknown bit of the private key.

In a loop with 2048 iterations, a decision is made from this intermediate value. Causing one of two different multiplication methods to be used for every iteration of this loop.

From listening to (probably) the noise of a capacitor in the CPU's power regulator you can hear the difference between these two code paths and extract one bit of the private key.

I've thought that a fork of the bitcoin protocol could be useful as a gift card system. Keep the same transaction process and cryptographic ownership, shift the block chain creation onto central servers, allow a "bank" entity to create new coins of arbitrary value, put the value of outstanding coins on their financial balance sheet and audit the company to ensure they have the capital to back them. Allow anyone to download the block chain and verify it.

Say that Amazon switches to a system like this, where they can sell digital gift coins to consumers, denominated in USD. And will accept them as payment for items, again denominated in USD. This would give you an actual digital currency, as the gift card digital coins can always be spent at the issuing store, backed by their balance sheet and reputation. Which gives you a way to measure their value and convert them to traditional currencies without being impacted by rampant speculation.

It's a stream cipher, the tcp sequence number tells you the byte offset in the session's psudo-random bit stream to xor against. Remember that TCP packets could arrive in any order, and multiple small packets might be aggregated when they are retransmitted.

The setting they used to have by default was essentially a "break lots of websites" checkbox. People would toggle it, then complain that firefox "didn't work". If you want the control, and you know what you're doing, use one of the extensions.

That $29 has a whole bunch of assumptions...

So after the decade is up, we'll be stuck with the nodes and no clear way to upgrade everyone to FTTH. For an additional 20% now we could have a network that can deliver all of our demands for bandwidth for the next century. If you're going to spend billions, do it right.

I've only managed to stick my head into a much smaller quiet space for a few seconds. The silence hits you like the chiming of Old Tom at Unseen University.

Or so I've heard...

Unlocking the bootloader is a direct path to getting an su binary. But android's history is littered with linux exploits that have been automated to give you elevated privileges and install su. Without unlocking the bootloader first, or installing a different ROM.

And all through the 1930's things were getting better. Until the next crash that is, when things were suddenly worse than ever. But don't worry everything is getting better now...

Though we are buying more plastic bin liners...

In South Australia, you can't get a thin plastic bag at the checkout at all. But you can buy a much tougher plastic bag for 20c or a canvas(-ish) bag for $1.00.

It took a while to remember to take our reusable bags with us when we go shopping, but we've got so many of them now it just seems normal. Every time I travel interstate, I'm surprised by the stores handing out those nasty thin fragile bags.

Curved LED displays are possible. There's a few demo mockup's of watch form factor displays out there. It's still going to be tricky to build a lens system to project the image as if it is further away.

Add an impossible captcha?

Bitcoins aren't exactly like dollar notes though. Each transaction can combine any number of coins, or split them up into tiny pieces. Sure you can trace the path of all of those pieces as they are combined and split. But would you taint 100 coins because it was combined with 0.5 that was tainted from some other source?