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Desktops (Apple)

Flashback Trojan Hits 600,000 Macs and Counting 429

Posted by timothy
from the first-they-came-for-the-windows-machines dept.
twoheadedboy writes "A Flashback variant dubbed Backdoor.Flashback.39 has infected over 600,000 Macs, according to Russian security firm Dr Web. The virulent Flashback trojan infecting Apple machines sparked interest earlier this week after it was seen exploiting a Java vulnerability, although it was actually first discovered back in September last year. The Trojan has a global reach after Dr Web found infected Macs in most countries. More than half of the Macs infected are in the US (56.6 percent), while another 19.8 percent are in Canada. The UK has 12.8 percent of infected Macs."

Comment: Re:I Don't Agree with You or Jaffe (Score 1) 313

by Grax (#39032755) Attached to: <em>Twisted Metal</em> Designer Rails Against Storytelling Games
I agree with Johnny Chung Lee, who pointed out in his blog, http://procrastineering.blogspot.com/2011/11/technology-as-story.html that everything is a story. In the case of movies, you consume the stories but in other cases you are actually a part of the story. I believe this applies to business software, games of all types, hardware and software.

The trick is understanding the story and what to do with it. The games I enjoy are escapist first person action where I am the center of the story. As such, I don't really care about cut scenes or any of what I consider fluff.

Comment: Re:Might as well ban drivers if people are stupid (Score 2) 1003

by Grax (#38397022) Attached to: Why the NTSB Is Wrong About Cellphones
Two "professional" drivers were very responsible for the deaths in this situation. Any driver, and especially a professional one, should be able to respond to things that happen in front of them in a way that avoids contact, and if that is impossible, in a way that minimizes damages to people or property. It is even possible the 19-year-old that caused the initial crash would still be alive if not crushed by a school bus driven by a professional driver.
Censorship

Obama To Veto Anti-Net-Neutrality Legislation 355

Posted by Soulskill
from the you-can't-not-stop-that dept.
An anonymous reader writes "In a statement of policy on Tuesday, the White House announced that President Obama will veto upcoming legislation that would undermine the FCC's net neutrality rules. According to the statement (PDF), the rules 'reflected a constructive effort to build a consensus around what safeguards and protections were reasonable and necessary to ensure that the Internet continues to attract investment and to spur innovation.' The statement continued, 'It would be ill-advised to threaten the very foundations of innovation in the Internet economy and the democratic spirit that has made the Internet a force for social progress around the world.'"

Comment: Intermediate Layers (Score 5, Funny) 711

by Grax (#31807424) Attached to: Steve Jobs Weighs In On iPhone Programming Language Mandate
I don't understand why they keep sticking those damn intermediate layers in there. Real programmers write write in assembly language. If you want real performance that is what you need to be doing instead of using foofy object-oriented programming tools and junk like that. In my experience those other things just add more bugs and no real value. If you want information an old-fashioned text-only display can provide it. Remove all the layers please.

Comment: Re:I Actually Side with Dick's Estate (Score 1) 506

by Grax (#30682200) Attached to: Nexus One Name Irks Philip K. Dick's Estate
I don't see how Dick's estate can claim anything here. The word "android" was created in the 1700s. The word "nexus" was created in the 1600s. Although the referenced story creates an interesting nexus between the two words, I don't see how that connection can be significant enough to create some type of claim on the combination of the two words, even if they were used together. Perhaps LG should have to pay Patrick Skene Catling for using his intellectual property when they named their product "Chocolate Touch".

Comment: Re:Modern-Day Galileo (Score 1) 1747

by Grax (#30427374) Attached to: The Science Credibility Bubble

This post presumes that fact that "creation scientists" have nothing to add to the debate. This is exactly the type of thing I am talking about.

To discount an entire argument because the person have been pre-labeled as not agreeing with you is to defy the entire scientific process.

It is rare that two opposing viewpoints are actually completely opposite. A true creation scientist will be open-minded enough to debate and discuss various thoughts and viewpoints and a rational discussion/debate may lead to some enlightenment on both sides.

A close-minded creation scientist is just as dangerous as any other close-minded other scientist. "Closed-minded" and "scientist" are not words that belong together.

I am not suggesting scientists just sit around and debate all day. But they owe it to the scientific community and the populace in general to be scientific about how they approach things (duh).

Comment: Re:Modern-Day Galileo (Score 5, Insightful) 1747

by Grax (#30392088) Attached to: The Science Credibility Bubble

My logic tells me that true science is more about questions than answers. I believe that we continually need to move forward but with enough doubt about how far we have come to be able to freely discuss "facts" that we have already established.

In the fable of the Blind Men and the Elephant ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Men_and_an_Elephant ), various people correctly observe things and make differing conclusions about them. While there are definitely times to apply Occam's Razor and accept certain facts and move on, that does not mean there is not more to the story that can be observed later from a different angle.

Any "scientist" who works to "shut up" the opposition, has ceased to be a scientist and has turned into a political creature. Science is not about manipulation but about free and open discussions based upon the merits of the arguments.

Never raise your hand to your children -- it leaves your midsection unprotected. -- Robert Orben

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