mlauzon - Slashdot User

Submission + - VeraCrypt a Worthy TrueCrypt Alternative (esecurityplanet.com)

Submitted by mlauzon on Tuesday October 14, 2014 @12:54PM

mlauzon writes: The following is taken from the article "VeraCrypt a Worthy TrueCrypt Alternative" and interviews the creator of VeraCrypt, now to be honest, it's not an in-depth interview or review, but at least it's a start and shows where VeraCrypt is headed:

A fork of TrueCrypt's code, VeraCrypt strengthens the open source encryption software's transformation process and addresses other weaknesses.

If you're reluctant to continue using TrueCrypt now that the open source encryption project has been abandoned, and you don't want to wait for the CipherShed fork to mature, one alternative that's well worth investigating is VeraCrypt.

VeraCrypt is also a fork of the original TrueCrypt code, and it was launched in June 2013. IT security consultant Mounir Idrassi, who is based in France, runs the project and is its main contributor.

Idrassi's motivation for developing VeraCrypt stems back to 2012 when he was asked to integrate TrueCrypt with a client's product. Before doing this he carried out a security audit of the code and discovered some issues. "There were no big problems, no backdoors or anything like that. But there were some small things, so we decided to start VeraCrypt," he said.

Submission + - DC Universe Online Goes F2P (dcuniverseonline.com)

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Monday September 19, 2011 @04:05PM

mlauzon writes: "Seems a lot of companies are seeing the light and turning their subscription based games into the F2P model, or freemium as it's now being called:

For those of us who lack Batman's financial resources, maintaining several monthly MMO subscriptions can be a challenge. Sony Online Entertainment recognizes this, and as a result, the company has just announced that DC Universe Online will be officially joining the freemium revolution toward the end of October.
"

Submission + - LulzSec members revealed by "LulzSec Exposed"? (blogspot.com)

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Saturday June 18, 2011 @11:51PM

mlauzon writes: "The antics by LulzSec over the past few weeks may have attracted a bit too much attention, at least for those involved in the group. Their veil of anonymity and fearlessness may be finally crumbling. Some unidentified individuals are taking matters into their own hands, feeding LulzSec a taste of their own medicine — revealing the identities of (suspected) LulzSec members to the world.

A new blog, LulzSec Exposed, began its first day on Blogspot with a mountain of IRC chat logs and personal information for a handful of LulzSec members: Kayla, BarretBrown, Joepie, Nakomis, and Topiary. Of these persons, Topiary admitted to being part of LulzSec via their official Twitter page. Three of these persons are from the United States, while one is from Sweden and one from the Netherlands. Mr. Brown has also contributed to various publications, including the Huffington Post and The Guardian.

Amongst the blog posts, there is also evidence that suggests some of the LulzSec members used to be part of Anonymous, based on similar IRC nicknames they use.

LulzSec has, not surprisingly, mocked the accuracy of the posted information. Despite that, the confident public face they put on while revealing their exploits on their site and in explaining their antics may be one giant facade, as members are being extra cautious thanks to the extra scrutiny they now face from the general public and authorities alike."

Submission + - Arnold Schwarzenegger's "The Governator" trailer (ew.com)

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Tuesday April 05, 2011 @10:40AM

mlauzon writes: "EW.com is reporting about a team up between Stan Lee & Arnold Schwarzenegger in a new cartoon to premier next year:

This week’s EW cover story is an exclusive interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger talking about his plan to return to movies and unleash an animated superhero TV series: The Governator. Below is a full three-minute trailer from the project, which teams Ah-nold with comic legend Stan Lee:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw6J9OGSXpg"

Submission + - Google Introduces Gmail Motion (google.com)

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Friday April 01, 2011 @09:27AM

mlauzon writes: "Google is launching a new way to interact with their web based mail app called Motion, it's very innovative and will free you from the constraints of the mouse & keyboard. From the info page:

The mouse and keyboard were invented before the Internet even existed. Since then, countless technological advancements have allowed for much more efficient human computer interaction. Why then do we continue to use outdated technology? Introducing Gmail Motion — now you can control Gmail with your body."

Submission + - The Pirate Bay Acquires eBay (torrentfreak.com) 1

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Thursday March 31, 2011 @07:08PM

mlauzon writes: "TorrentFreak is reporting that The Pirate Bay has purchased eBay. From the article:

Here’s an announcement we don’t read every day. As of today The Pirate Bay is the proud owner of eBay. The torrent site plans to use eBay technology to code a better rating system for torrents. How much was paid for the auction site is still a mystery.

TorrentFreak talked to one of The Pirate Bay crew members who told us that they had to find a legitimate investment for the billions of dollars they’ve made from annoying pop-under ads, and this appeared to be a decent option."

Submission + - King of Pop Michael Jackson is dead: official (yahoo.com)

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Thursday June 25, 2009 @08:57PM

mlauzon writes: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Michael Jackson, the child star turned King of Pop who set the world dancing but whose musical genius was overshadowed by a bizarre lifestyle and sex scandals, died on Thursday. He was 50.

Jackson was pronounced dead after arriving at a Los Angeles hospital in full cardiac arrest, Los Angeles coroner Fred Corral said. The cause of death was not known and an autopsy would likely take place on Friday, he said.

Jackson's sudden death had been reported earlier by U.S. media including the Los Angeles Times and the TMZ entertainment website, which said he was taken ill at his home and rushed to the hospital by paramedics who found him not breathing when they arrived.

Known as the "King of Pop," for hits that included "Thriller" and "Billie Jean," Jackson's dramatic, one-gloved stage presence and innovative dance moves were imitated by legions of fans around the world.

His lifetime record sales tally is believed to be around 750 million, which, added to the 13 Grammy Awards he received, made him one of the most successful entertainers of all time.

But Jackson's belief that "I am Peter Pan in my heart", his preference for the company of children, his friendship with a chimp, his high-pitched voice and numerous plastic surgeries also earned him critics and the nickname "Wacko Jacko."

Jackson, who had lived as a virtual recluse since his acquittal in 2005 on charges of child molestation, had been scheduled to launch a comeback tour from London next month.

Quincy Jones, who helped arrange the music on the album "Thriller" and produced the "Off the Wall" album, told MSNBC: "I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news."

"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."

PARAMEDICS UNABLE TO REVIVE SINGER

TMZ said on its website that Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest on Thursday afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. "We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back," the site said.

The Los Angeles Times said paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the singer's home before taking him to the UCLA Medical Center hospital.

Jackson had been due to start a series of concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months.

The shows for the 50 London concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale in March.

There were concerns about Jackson's health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors.

Outside the hospital in Los Angeles about 200 fans and reporters gathered on Thursday, waiting for confirmation of Jackson's death or condition.

Some fans were crying and hugging each other, and others were climbing atop fences to get a better look at a microphone stand where a news conference was supposed to take place.

"I hope he's gone to God, and I hope that he's free of all the troubles he's been plagued with," Tonya Blazer, 50, who said she had been a fan going back more than four decades to his days as a child star.

"I just feel like I'm paying tribute to him," said Dawn Burgess, 42, a fan who said she had posters of Michael pinned to her bedroom wall when she was a child.

CHILD STAR TO MEGASTAR

Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children. Five Jackson boys — Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael — first performed together at a talent show when Michael was 6. They walked off with first prize and went on to become a best-selling band, The Jackson Five, and then The Jackson 5.

Jackson made his first solo album in 1972, and released "Thriller" in 1982, which became a smash hit that yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million worldwide.

The next year, he unveiled his signature "moonwalk" dance move while performing "Billie Jean" during an NBC special.

In 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley's only child, Lisa Marie, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Jackson married Debbie Rowe the same year and had two children, before splitting in 1999. The couple never lived together.

Jackson has three children named Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II, known for his brief public appearance when his father held him over the railing of a hotel balcony, causing widespread criticism.

New Yorkers and tourists in the city's Times Square were shocked at the news of Jackson's death.

"I don't know what to say. It's sad, it's really, really sad," said Nicole Smith, an 18-year-old student from Brooklyn, New York, in Times Square. "My mother was a fan. I listened to his music."

"I'm shocked. I thought someone was lying to me when I first heard it. I was a fan from when he was a little boy and then he got weird," said Sue Sheider, 51, a teacher from Long Island."

Submission + - Panda Offering Free, Cloud-Based AV

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Wednesday April 29, 2009 @12:46PM

mlauzon writes: "After nearly three years of development, Panda Security today released the public beta of its Panda Cloud Antivirus, which the company claims is the first free cloud-based antivirus thin-client. By taking AV duties to the cloud and combining it with local detection technologies, Panda says it can do a better job at protecting your PC than a traditional virus scanner. "Thanks to Panda Security's Collective Intelligence malware and goodware online database, Panda Cloud Antivirus detects more malware than traditional signature-based solutions which take longer to detect the most recent, and therefore most dangerous, variants," Pedro Bustamanta, Panda Senior Research Advisor, wrote in a blog entry. The local portion of the program takes up roughly 50MB of hard drive space while consuming about 17MB of RAM, according to a Cnet report. By the time Panda Cloud Antivirus exits the beta stage, Bustamante hopes to have the RAM consumption down to 12MB. One potential downside to relying on the cloud for antivirus protection is that your PC would be left vulnerable without an internet connection. But not to worry, says Bustamante, who clarified that a local cache copy of Collective Intelligence is kept on the PC for just such scenarios. http://www.cloudantivirus.com/"

Submission + - Duke Nukem Forever Reaches Development Milestone 1

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Thursday April 16, 2009 @07:16AM

mlauzon writes: "If you told your spouse that the two of you would be together until Duke Nukem Forever hit shelves in an attempt to be absolutely precious, it might be time to start sweating. According to a tweet by 3D Realms man George Broussard, Duke Nukem Forever's unending development cycle may soon be leaving the death-and-taxes consistency club.

"Closing out a milestone this week. 71 more tasks to do and we started with probably 800-900. Been a good push. Next one starts Monday," he tweeted.

After some rudimentary math, we've determined that — assuming development continues at a nice clip — Duke will be back in business sometime next year. Guess the Mayans were a little off with their apocalypse calculations.

Maximum PC"

Submission + - Happy Birthday Windows (neowin.net)

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Thursday November 20, 2008 @08:09AM

mlauzon writes: "Windows 1.0, the original 16-bit operating system, was released on 20 November 1985 and today marks its 23rd Birthday. 55 programmers developed the system in a year, making the 1st edition a break from the norm in terms of usability. It enabled users to use a mouse to navigate the system and use its various functions and applications that were included. Applications included were a set of desktop applications (MS-DOS File Management Program), a calendar, card file, notepad, calculator, clock and telecommunications programs allowing users to manage their day-to-day activites much like a PDA does today. It also allowed users to switch between programs without needing to quit and restart them. The OS itself had 256 colours ability, re sizable windows, a reserved area of minimized programs (the original concept of the task bar) and the ability to customize the appearance of windows. Microsoft began to include what we now call a "Control Panel" in its first version of Windows (1.x). It came with a lot of interface controls that are still seen in versions of Windows today such as text boxes, radio buttons, scrolling bars and menu items. In the interface of Windows 1.0, windows can be maximized, minimized or tiled. The active windows cannot be overlapped instead of tiled. There is no option to cascade windows, so it is inconvenient to show more windows at the same time. Microsoft announced the idea of windows in spring 1983. But the first version of Windows, Windows 1.0 was not released until November 1985. Windows 1.x is based on MS-DOS 2.0. Due to the hardware and software limitations of MS-DOS 2.0, it was not successful compared to later versions of Windows such as Windows 3.1. However, Microsoft did have a good chance to market the operating system at fast developing IBM compatible computers. Speaking of marketing, Microsoft's screaming CEO, Steve Ballmer, got behind a camera and recorded a hilarious advert for Windows 1.0. Shouting on the video, Ballmer gets excited about Windows Write, Windows Paint, Notepad and a clock feature! Thankfully even Paint has been updated these days with the introduction of the ribbon user interface in Windows 7. Checkout Ballmer's advert below. Also worthy of a special mention is Rafael Rivera, the author of Within Windows. Rafael is famous for creating UX theme patches for Vista and XP and recently unlocked the superbar in Windows 7. Rafael was born on the exact same day as Windows 1.0 was released. Happy Birthday Rafael & Windows!

Source: Neowin.net"

Submission + - Where Can I Find Free or Semi-Free Web Design Help

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Tuesday February 12, 2008 @12:47PM

mlauzon writes: "Now I don't have a lot of money to spare, my friend who works as a Web Designer was helping me with a site, but he's up and disappeared. What I want to know, is where I can find free or semi-free web design help...as I need this site finished asap!"

Submission + - YouTube's HD Plans: Cancelled! (alleyinsider.com)

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Friday November 16, 2007 @08:04PM

mlauzon writes: "Yesterday we explained why YouTube's HD plans wouldn't amount to much. Time to ratchet those expectations down even more: YouTube doesn't have any HD plans — for now, at least.

Yesterday's post was based on a discussion between YouTube co-founder Steve Chen and NewTeeVee's Om Malik and Liz Gannes, as reported by TechCrunch's Duncan Riley. But Liz tells us that Duncan got it wrong: YouTube's Chen never mentioned "high definition," or HD video, during the interview. Instead, she says, YouTube is merely testing higher quality video.

Gannes:

What I got out of [Chen's] comments was that YouTube's first priority is making sure everyone, everywhere, on any device, could view every video on the site. Steve actually said himself, as the commenters above are saying, that HD really doesn't make sense for the short, silly clips that are YouTube's bread and butter.

YouTube will likely eventually support HD. But it's good to see that Steve Chen is skeptical about its utility in the present tense. For video to play in HD, it must first be shot in HD, edited in HD, and uploaded in HD. And barely anything on YouTube meets those criteria now.

Meanwhile, IAC/Connected Ventures' Jakob Lodwick — whose Vimeo already supports HD video — used yesterday's non-news as an opportunity to rip YouTube's copyright policy. Worth a read."

Submission + - High-quality YouTube videos coming soon (webware.com)

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Friday November 16, 2007 @10:07AM

mlauzon writes: "YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, speaking at the NewTeeVee Live conference today, confirmed that high-quality YouTube video streams are coming soon. Although YouTube's goal, he said, is to make the site's vast library of content available to everyone, and that requires a fairly low-bitrate stream, the service is testing a player that detects the speed of the viewer's Net connection and serves up higher-quality video if viewers want it.

Why wouldn't they? Because the need to buffer the video before it starts playing will change the experience. Hence the experiment, rather than just a rapid rollout of this technology. On stage, he said the current resolution of YouTube videos has been "good enough" for the site untill now.

Chen told me he expects that high-quality YouTube videos will be available to everyone within three months.

Chen also confirmed that in YouTube's internal archive, all video is stored at the native resolution in which it was sent. However, he said, a large portion of YouTube videos are pretty poor quality to begin with — 320x240. Streaming them in high-quality mode isn't going to help much."

Submission + - Boost Windows XP with Flash Memory (eboostr.com)

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Wednesday November 14, 2007 @12:00PM

mlauzon writes: "MDO Ltd. announces the release of eBoostr, a complete replacement for Microsoft ReadyBoost technology for Windows XP.

Upgrade the performance of your PC without upgrading its components. Get ReadyBoost-like technology in Windows XP. Overcome ReadyBoost limitations and use up to four inexpensive flash devices to speed up your system. Add more speed to your PC without upgrading!

If you could improve the performance of your computer by upgrading just one item, that would be memory. Adding more RAM speeds up Windows and applications, allowing the system to access the hard disk less often. This is especially true for older PCs with 256 or 512 MB of RAM, and laptop computers with slow hard drives.

Upgrading computer components can be costly, and is not always possible. Buying and plugging a USB flash memory stick, on the other hand, is neither expensive nor complicated. That is why Microsoft developed a new technology called ReadyBoost. ReadyBoost uses flash memory plugged into a computer to enhance operating system responsiveness, decrease loading time, and improve computer performance.

Unfortunately, Microsoft ReadyBoost is only available in Windows Vista. Since the day Microsoft announced its ReadyBoost technology for Windows Vista, the company made it clear that no ReadyBoost upgrade will be released to support Windows XP and older operating systems.

eBoostr is a third-party implementation of speed-enhancing technology based on using flash memory to enhance the responsiveness and performance of a Windows XP computer. eBoostr works similar to Microsoft ReadyBoost, providing many of the same benefits to the end user.

Improved Performance with No Costly Hardware Upgrades

eBoostr improves the performance of any PC without having to upgrade its components or the operating system. Using flash memory allows Windows XP to access hard drives less frequently, which results in improved performance and responsiveness of Windows XP and all applications.

No ReadyBoost Limitations

ReadyBoost is a great technology, but it has its limitations. Its current incarnation does not support more than one flash memory stick or card at a time. ReadyBoost requires using fast flash memory that can be more expensive than the typical flash drive found on everyone's desk. Finally, ReadyBoost helps the most to those with little amount of RAM installed, and provides slim benefits to PCs with a gigabyte or more of RAM.

eBoostr overcomes these limitations. While it works great with ReadyBoost Certified devices, eBoostr also supports slower, less expensive flash memory sticks and cards, allowing for a really inexpensive way to improve your computer performance. eBoostr is not limited to a single stick or card, and supports up to four flash units simultaneously. Finally, unlike ReadyBoost, eBoostr provides noticeable performance benefits even to PCs that are stuffed with RAM sticks to the max.

Laptop Friendly

Laptop computers benefit from reduced hard drive activities even more than their desktop siblings. Notebook hard drives are slower than desktop disks, and system responsiveness rises to the new level with the use of flash memory and eBoostr. Less hard drive access results in reduced power consumption, which leads to improved battery life. Work faster and longer on your Windows XP laptop with eBoostr!

About MDO

MDO (Moscow Development Office) was founded in 1994 and since then through creative work of its team of developers has gained a stable position in the field of software and internet development, as well as high acclaim from users all over the world for its digital photography product line, FirmTools. Its new product, eBoostrTM, was developed by the company division organized specially for this project. For more information about the company and products, visit http://www.eBoostr.com/."

Submission + - CoFundos.org - Sponsoring Open Source Development (killerstartups.com)

Submitted by

mlauzon

on Wednesday November 14, 2007 @11:17AM

mlauzon writes: "Confundos is a discussion platform for the exchange and development of ideas. It's based on open source and open knowledge — all ideas on the site must be licensed under a Creative Commons license. The site relies on transparency and accountability to foster enriching discussions. Here's a basic rundown of how it functions: someone needs an open source software or plugin; he/she proceeds to describe on the site; from there, the description is enhanced by community input and comments; next, users who need such a project bid for its completion; specialists capable of accomplishing the project pitch their services after which competitive bids are received once the project runs beyond original bid; offers are then accepted and the project is completed.

"Cofundos helps to realize bright ideas, by providing a platform for their discussion & enrichment and by establishing a process for organizing the contributions and interests of different stakeholders in the idea."

"Cofundos helps to realize bright ideas, by providing a platform for their discussion & enrichment and by establishing a process for organizing the contributions and interests of different stakeholders in the idea."

How well will this work out? Are people willing to bid sufficient funds for project development?"

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