Comment Whoa! All of a sudden... (Score 1) 377
Hmmm... I thought I didn't have a much of a social life, after reading this turns out I do!
Comment James Bond's teenage fantasy come true (Score 2) 289
This seems like a scheme James Bond would have a wet dream abut at night! The fact that the MPAA went through all this trouble to get these people seems a slight bit more than over zealous one would say. How is it that the MPAA can bring their own investigators and then invite the police along later after they made a complaint... and then to top it off when the authorities decide that their little investigation didnt pass the "sniff" test, they then convince the U.S. authorities to go after the guy who wrote some code for the site. Seems to me the MPAA is acting as their own department of justice and then just asking the goverment to go along and help when they cant get justice another way..shady as hell is an understatment
Submission + - Ford Tests DIY Firmware Updates (securityweek.com) 2
wiredmikey writes: This month, Ford is borrowing something from the software industry: updates. With a fleet of new cars using the sophisticated infotainment system they developed with Microsoft called SYNC, Ford has the need to update those vehicles—for both features and security reasons. But how do you update the software in thousands of cars?
Traditionally, the automotive industry has resorted to automotive recalls. But now, Ford will be releasing thirty thousand USB sticks to Ford owners with the new SYNC infotainment system, although the update will also be available for online download.
In preparing to update your car, Ford encourages users to have a unique USB for each Ford they own, and to have the USB drive empty and not password protected.
In the future, updating our gadgets, large and small, will become routine. But for now, it’s going to be really cumbersome and a little weird. “Honey, I’m updating the car’s firmware right now.”
Play this forward a bit. Image taking Patch Tuesday to a logical extreme, where you walk around your house or office apply all the patches to all the gadgets you own.
Traditionally, the automotive industry has resorted to automotive recalls. But now, Ford will be releasing thirty thousand USB sticks to Ford owners with the new SYNC infotainment system, although the update will also be available for online download.
In preparing to update your car, Ford encourages users to have a unique USB for each Ford they own, and to have the USB drive empty and not password protected.
In the future, updating our gadgets, large and small, will become routine. But for now, it’s going to be really cumbersome and a little weird. “Honey, I’m updating the car’s firmware right now.”
Play this forward a bit. Image taking Patch Tuesday to a logical extreme, where you walk around your house or office apply all the patches to all the gadgets you own.
Submission + - Insiders Call HP's WebOS Software Fatally Flawed
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "The TouchPad tablet from Hewlett-Packard turned out to be the year’s biggest flop but now the NY Times reports that some of the people involved in creating WebOS, the tablet’s core software, now say the product never had a fighting chance because it relied on WebKit, an open-source software engine used by browsers to display Web pages, that just didn't have the horsepower to run fast enough to be on par with the iPhone. “Palm was ahead of its time in trying to build a phone software platform using Web technology, and we just weren’t able to execute such an ambitious and breakthrough design,” says Paul Mercer, who oversaw the interface design of WebOS and recruited crucial members of the team. “Perhaps it never could have been executed because the technology wasn’t there yet.” Another problem was the difficulty in finding programmers who had a keen understanding of WebKit as Apple and Google snatched up most of the top talent including Matias Duarte, vice president of human interface and user experience for WebOS, who left for Google a month after HP's acquisition of Palm. “When he left, the vacuum was just palpable. What you’re seeing is frankly a bunch of fourth- and fifth-stringers jumping onto WebOS in the wake of Duarte’s leaving.” CEO Meg Whitman has announced that HP will release the WebOS code for anyone to use, similar to Google’s open-source strategy with Android but some say WebKit will still leave WebOS underpowered relative to Apple’s software. “If the bar is to build Cupertino-class software in terms of responsiveness and beauty,” says Mercer, “WebKit remains not ready for prime time, because the Web cannot deliver yet.”"
Submission + - Gigabyte Board Sets Intel X79 Overclocking Record (hothardware.com)
MojoKid writes: "Renowned overclocker "Hicoookie" achieved a new high clock speed on the Intel Core i7 3930K processor by cranking the chip past 5.6GHz using a Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 motherboard, the first mobo in the world to achieve a mulitplier of 57x. There was a bit of a scandal with Gigabyte recently when a YouTube video showed one of its X79 boards going up in smoke. Gigabyte released a BIOS update for several of its X79 boards to prevent such incidents from happening, and there were outcries that the new F7 BIOS would essentially gimp overclocking performance Hicookie's achievement should erase those concerns."
Submission + - Auction of Copyright Troll Righthaven's website do (vegasinc.com)
Tootech writes: The online auction of the righthaven.com website domain name got under way Monday, with bidders having until Jan. 6 to submit offers.
A judge has authorized a receiver to auction the intellectual property of Las Vegas-based Righthaven LLC, the newspaper copyright infringement lawsuit filer.
The auction is aimed at raising money to cover part of Righthaven’s $63,720 debt to a man who defeated Righthaven in court.
The man, Wayne Hoehn, and his attorneys defeated Righthaven when a judge threw out Righthaven’s lawsuit against him over Hoehn’s unauthorized post on a sports betting website message board of a Las Vegas Review-Journal column by columnist and former Publisher Sherman Frederick.
Hoehn was a defendant in one of Righthaven’s 275 lawsuits filed since March 2010.
A judge has authorized a receiver to auction the intellectual property of Las Vegas-based Righthaven LLC, the newspaper copyright infringement lawsuit filer.
The auction is aimed at raising money to cover part of Righthaven’s $63,720 debt to a man who defeated Righthaven in court.
The man, Wayne Hoehn, and his attorneys defeated Righthaven when a judge threw out Righthaven’s lawsuit against him over Hoehn’s unauthorized post on a sports betting website message board of a Las Vegas Review-Journal column by columnist and former Publisher Sherman Frederick.
Hoehn was a defendant in one of Righthaven’s 275 lawsuits filed since March 2010.
Submission + - How does the CIA keep its IT staff honest? (techworld.com.au) 1
Tootech writes: Ever wonder what it's like to work for the IT department of the CIA? Be prepared to go through a lot of scrutiny if you want to work in the Central Intelligence Agency's IT department, says chief information officer Al Tarasiuk.
And it doesn't stop after you get your top secret clearance. "Once you're in, there are frequent reinvestigations, but it's just part of process here," says Tarasiuk, who also gets polygraphed regularly, though he won't be more specific.
For those senior IT managers who are the "privileged users," meaning system administrators, "there is certainly more scrutiny on you," Tarasiuk says. "It's interesting: there's so much scrutiny that a normal person might not want to put up with that. But it's part of the mission."
And it doesn't stop after you get your top secret clearance. "Once you're in, there are frequent reinvestigations, but it's just part of process here," says Tarasiuk, who also gets polygraphed regularly, though he won't be more specific.
For those senior IT managers who are the "privileged users," meaning system administrators, "there is certainly more scrutiny on you," Tarasiuk says. "It's interesting: there's so much scrutiny that a normal person might not want to put up with that. But it's part of the mission."
Comment Re:Idiotic Summary (Score 1) 611
So why balme the Player? Blame the maker of the software for the slot machine and the casino's IT staff for not keeping their machines up to snuff.
Comment Coming Soon to Comcast Metered internet usage! (Score 1) 434
Well this fits quite well with Comcasts complaints of people hogging bandwidth.... all part of their plan. Coming next will be there application to apply Bandwidth Metering. Everyone knows the Cable and Telcos would love to be able to bill their customers with Metered internet usage..Cha-Ching!
Submission + - Sheriff's online database leaks info on Informants (npr.org)
Tootech writes: A Colorado sheriff's online database mistakenly revealed the identities of confidential drug informants and listed phone numbers, addresses and Social Security numbers of suspects, victims and others interviewed during criminal investigations, authorities said.
The breach potentially affects some 200,000 people, and Mesa County sheriff's deputies have been sifting through the database to determine who, if anyone, is in jeopardy.
"That in itself is probably the biggest concern we have, because we're talking about people's personal safety," Sheriff Stan Hilkey said.
The FBI and Google Inc. are trying to determine who accessed the database, the sheriff said. Their concern: That someone may have copied it and could post it, WikiLeaks-style, on the Internet.
"The truth is, once it's been out there and on the Internet and copied, you're never going to regain total control," Hilkey said.
Thousands of pages of confidential information were vulnerable from April until Nov. 24, when someone notified authorities after finding their name on the Internet. Officials said the database was accessed from within the United States, as well as outside the country, before it was removed from the server.
The breach potentially affects some 200,000 people, and Mesa County sheriff's deputies have been sifting through the database to determine who, if anyone, is in jeopardy.
"That in itself is probably the biggest concern we have, because we're talking about people's personal safety," Sheriff Stan Hilkey said.
The FBI and Google Inc. are trying to determine who accessed the database, the sheriff said. Their concern: That someone may have copied it and could post it, WikiLeaks-style, on the Internet.
"The truth is, once it's been out there and on the Internet and copied, you're never going to regain total control," Hilkey said.
Thousands of pages of confidential information were vulnerable from April until Nov. 24, when someone notified authorities after finding their name on the Internet. Officials said the database was accessed from within the United States, as well as outside the country, before it was removed from the server.
Submission + - Ukraine to Open Chernobyl Area to Tourists (washingtonpost.com)
Pickens writes: "The Washington Post reports that Ukraine plans to open up the sealed zone around the Chernobyl reactor to visitors who wish to learn more about the tragedy that occurred nearly a quarter of a century ago. Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Yulia Yershova says experts are developing travel routes that will be both medically safe and informative.. "There are things to see there if one follows the official route and doesn't stray away from the group," says Yershova. "Though it is a very sad story." The ministry also says it hopes to finish building a new safer shell for the exploded reactor by 2015 that will cover the original iron-and-concrete structure hastily built over the reactor that has been leaking radiation, cracking and threatening to collapse. About 2,500 employees maintain the remains of the now-closed nuclear plant, working in shifts to minimize their exposure to radiation and several hundred evacuees have returned to their villages in the area despite a government ban."
Submission + - IBM to build 3 petaflop supercomputer (goodgearguide.com.au)
angry tapir writes: "The global race for supercomputing power continues unabated: Germany's Bavarian Academy of Science has announced that it has contracted IBM to build a supercomputer that, when completed in 2012, will be able to execute up to 3 petaflops, potentially making it the world's most powerful supercomputer. To be called SuperMUC, the computer, which will be run by the Academy's Leibniz Supercomputing Centre in Garching, Germany, will be available for European researchers to use to probe the frontiers of medicine, astrophysics and other scientific disciplines."
Comment Re:Good for him. (Score 1) 1155
Yes thanks I am aware of it. Did not turning it over do him any good?
So instead he went to court and was sentanced to jail for not turning it over and had it reported in the media that he was a suspect in a Child Expoltation case.
Reading postings like that can make "freedom of speech" sound like a weak and foolish defense.
This is not a fetish property, it's criminal.
Comment Re:Good for him. (Score 1) 1155
Good for him? Your kidding me right??? You know this guy is a suspect in Child explotation case right?
Submission + - Torrent Only Movies Denied IMDB Listing (torrentfreak.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A film set to be released for free via BitTorrent has been denied a listing in the Internet Movie Database. The Tunnel is currently in production and despite pleas from the makers, IMDb won’t allow it on their site. The creators of this horror movie believe that because they have shunned an official distributor and chosen a BitTorrent model instead, this has put them at a disadvantage with the Amazon-owned site.
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It isn't easy being the parent of a six-year-old. However, it's a pretty small price to pay for having somebody around the house who understands computers.
