This deal is actually better than free, you will actually make $4.01 after the rebate. Just another awesome deal Amazon has somehow managed to swing. View the deal HERE.

The New York Times reports:

An extraordinary behind-the-scenes struggle is taking place between computer security groups around the world and the brazen author of a malicious software program called Conficker.

The program grabbed global attention when it began spreading late last year and quickly infected millions of computers with software code that is intended to lash together the infected machines it controls into a powerful computer known as a botnet.

Since then, the program’s author has repeatedly updated its software in a cat-and-mouse game being fought with an informal international alliance of computer security firms and a network governance group known as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Members refer to the alliance as the Conficker Cabal.

Apparently this has gained wide attention among leaders in the technology field, as Microsoft even issued a $250,000 award for information leading the author of the worm.

No one has yet been able to find out whether the Conficker C is being developed by one programmer or a group. Nor is there solid evidence on what the goal of the software is. However there is a suspesion that the worm will be used to take over computers then use them for other malicious activities such as mass spam or malware distribution. Code has been found in the worm that would allow an infected computer to be controlled remotely.

The Author(s) are on top of their game:

Several people who have analyzed various versions of the program said Conficker’s authors were obviously monitoring the efforts to restrict the malicious program and had repeatedly demonstrated that their skills were at the leading edge of computer technology.

For example, the Conficker worm already had been through several versions when the alliance of computer security experts seized control of 250 Internet domain names the system was planning to use to forward instructions to millions of infected computers.

Shortly thereafter, in the first week of March, the fourth known version of the program, Conficker C, expanded the number of the sites it could use to 50,000. That step made it virtually impossible to stop the Conficker authors from communicating with their botnet.

The researchers, noting that the Conficker authors were using the most advanced computer security techniques, said the original version of the program contained a recent security feature developed by an M.I.T. computer scientist, Ron Rivest, that had been made public only weeks before. And when a revision was issued by Dr. Rivest’s group to correct a flaw, the Conficker authors revised their program to add the correction.

Not your run of the mill virus, this example of extreme tech has some serious potential threat:

“Perhaps the most obvious frightening aspect of Conficker C is its clear potential to do harm,” said Phillip Porras, a research director at SRI International and one of the authors of the report. “Perhaps in the best case, Conficker may be used as a sustained and profitable platform for massive Internet fraud and theft.”

“In the worst case,” Mr. Porras said, “Conficker could be turned into a powerful offensive weapon for performing concerted information warfare attacks that could disrupt not just countries, but the Internet itself.”

Don DeBolt told CNN:

CA said it recently found a piece of code in Conficker C that says the worm will become active on April 1. Previous versions of the malicious software launched on specific dates noted in the program code, so the April Fool’s Day launch date is not likely to be a trick…

I find this both a little scary, and pretty interesting. It’s amazing the talent and skill that some people have, but choose to use for malicious acts. It’ll be interesting to see how this unfolds. Skynet anyone?

One glance at the picture and you can see that there is something different about the Antec Skeleton Case. I actually think even calling this thing a case is false advertisement. Apparently someone was thinking outside of the box ..haha get it? Outside of the box… Okay not funny, but the fact that Antec obviously believes there will be a large market for this case is.

Debris Launcher 5000

This “case” is not really an enclosure at all. This hardware is just a glorified rack to show off all of your computer’s internal components for the world to see. That sounds like it might be a pretty good idea until you remember how many keyboards you’ve fried with Mountain Dew. Your expensive internal components are out on display alright, but also completely exposed to the elements, such as dust and Doritos. I’d imagine the giant fan on top will only make things worse by sucking in any falling debris and hurtling it at your components like an asteroid.
No worries though, if you want storage for more than two hard drives, this case has you covered. Antec’s idea of extra hard drive capacity consists of literally “hanging” your extra drives on the outside of the case. I don’t think I need to say that might be a bad idea leaving your precious data with no defense against feet and chair casters.

I realize I am being harsh and there may be a niche market out there for this case such as very careful and clean people looking for something different or users who change out their hardware very often. However, the hazards seem to outweigh the benefits for a typical user. I really don’t think the case is bad looking so long as it doesn’t have anything installed in it. Once you’ve got all your guts, complete with dangling drives, installed it looks like one big techno mess. Not so graceful, which sort of defeats the purpose in the first place I believe.

If for some reason all these features appealed to you, the case can be picked up for around 140 bucks on Newegg. But if it were me, I’d probably just go with this guy’s idea.

But if you did like the Antec Skeleton more, here’s the feature list from Antec:

• 4 Drive Bays
  • External 2 x 5.25¨
  • Internal 2 x 3.5¨
  • Optional 4 x 3.5¨ side panel mounted drive trays
• Layered tray design for greater system integration flexibility
• 8 Expansion Slots with room for 11¨ graphics cards and multiple graphic card solutions, including NVIDIA 3-way SLI®
• Cooling System:
  • 1 top 250mm TriCool 3-speed multi color customizable LED Fan
  • 1 front 92mm HD cooling fan
• Motherboard: Supports StandardATX, MicroATX and Mini-ITX motherboards
• Front ports: 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x FireWire (IEEE1394), 1 x eSATA, Audio (AC97′ and HDA compatible) In and Out
• Rack mount quality side rails for greater durability
• 0.8mm cold rolled steel component tray and high density ABS frame reinforced with with 0.8mm cold rolled steel for durability
• No Power Supply included: To optimize performance of your Skeleton, your choice of power supply is crucial. Antec strongly recommends choosing from Signature or TruePower series.
• Unit Dimensions:
  • 13″(H) x 14.8″(W) x 16.5″(D)
  • 33 cm(H) x 37.6 cm(W) x 41.9 cm(D)
• Packaging Dimensions:
  • 15.74″(H) x 18.11″(W) x 18.89″(D)
  • 40 cm(H) x 46 cm(W) x 48 cm(D)
• Net Weight: 15.5 lb / 7.02 kg
• Gross Weight: 21.4 lb / 9.7 kg

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Fishbots Love AIM too!

So today while I was browsing the interwebs, I got a strange instant message from someone I didn’t know with a screen name of “ValidCoho” asking why I stole his hat. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice the message until the user had already logged off, but refusing to let a mystery get the better of me and far too impatient to wait till they logged back on, I did a search in Google for “ValidCoho”. The results were surprising.

Turns out ValidCoho is one of many in an entire school of AIM Fishbots that grab user screen names from popular social networking sites. Okay, so we’ve all seen bots that can use AIM, big deal right? Yes actually. Turns out these fishbots are part of Project Upstream and all have a name of <something>Salmon, <something>Trout, or <something>Coho.

Project Upstream's Bare Bones Website

The good news is these bots are apparently harmless and their purpose is simply connecting AIM users to each other. What? You ask. That’s right, these bots will message you something random, but at the same time they have also messaged someone else something random and then connected you two together. So when you say “I didn’t steal your hat” or “who are you?”, it seems to them that you messaged them out of the blue with something random and are now asking who the hell they are or carrying on about a stolen hat.

I think the whole idea is pretty neat but of course there are those who are pissed. However, Project Upstream seems unapologetic, simply stating on their website:

Project Upstream is an organization dedicated to promoting social ideals through the use of exciting new technology. Our most well-known service is our swarm of robotic fish, which connects AIM users to each other.

Robotic fish connections occur spontaneously, and also by request. If you would like to partake in the robotic fish experience, you are encouraged to enter your AIM name below. Your request will be filled as soon as possible.

And that is all they are stating. In fact that seems to be the only thing on their entire site, aside from a space to enter your AIM name and request a fish.

I think this is a great idea, but you can opt out by sending $optout to any of the fishbots.

For more information, you should check out Nixie Pixel’s blog, which also has a list of known fish names.

Now that we all know, I think I will request a fish for all of my buddies     ….over and over again. <evil grin>

The Super Star Destroyer of Cruise Ships

At 220,000 tons, Oasis of the Seas is one big ass ship and a great example of extreme tech. This monstrosity includes space for 6300 passengers, 400 TONS of soil and plants, 500 tons of water for the swimming pool, and 20 foot tall propellers to make the whole thing “cruise”.

Oasis of the Sea is projected hit the ocean in late 2009, and construction of its sister ship, Allure of the Seas, is due to begin soon.

Royal Caribbean is already selling rooms for 7 days Caribbean cruises and rates range from $1,000 - $3,000, slightly more around holidays.

Apparently there is something thrilling about doing everything you’d normally do …but on water. This fat bastard of a boat even includes a full-fledged park, because when I get the urge to go for a stroll, I’d like to pay a few grand for the privilege.

A three grand walk in the park..

Some of the other features from their site:

ONBOARD PUBLIC VENUES:

-Central Park Neighborhood

-Johnny Rockets

BARS:

-Boardwalk Bar

At least there are a plethora of locales to drink away your sorrows on how much money you spent to do all the same things you could do in pretty much any city.

Certainly an engineering marvel, and there is evidently a market for it, but I guess I don’t get it. However this still deserves its place in a tech blog. Check out more pics below:

Normally 99 dollars, Amazon has the Logitech G9 Laser Mouse for 49.95 with free shipping. Check it out with the link below.

Logitech G9 Laser Mouse

Upcoming Gamer has some sweet info on id Software’s new IP. Check it out here.

It has been 20 years since Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal were defeated in the events of Diablo II. However, the Worldstone, which was the world shield from the forces of Heaven and Hell, has been destroyed and evil is again at work in Tristram.

In the upcoming release from Blizzard, who are bringing you World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King in two days, comes Diablo 3. Players will take up arms as one of five character classes, such as barbarian, witch doctor, or wizard, each equipped with an array of spells and abilities to explore Santuary and battle legions of demons in order to save the world. New customization options will provide for an even greater level of character specialization than the previous Diablo games, allowing the player to create unique characters brimming with power.

Blizzard describes the details:

Diablo III will benefit from Battle.net upgrades that will provide some exciting new features for players. Cooperative online play remains a primary focus, with multiple enhancements being planned to make connecting with your friends easier and cooperative play even more fun.

With regard to the multiplayer component of Diablo III, the emphasis will be on cooperative play, but we will also include support for competitive play. What form that support will take is still being discussed, but we are being careful to avoid features that can easily lead to griefing, such as the ability to go hostile at will.

Players will return to Tristram and certain other locations from the previous games and they’ll also be exploring new areas of Sanctuary. Players will also encounter several new characters as well as a number of characters from the previous games including Deckard Cain.

Our plans for the story and quest mechanics are still under wraps. We’ll go into detail on those elements of the game at a later date. We can say, however, that we expect to have class-based quests in addition to the main story-line quests.

Diablo III is powered by a new graphics engine that can display characters and hordes of monsters in lush, fully 3D environments. Powerful special-effects systems and Havok-powered physics allow for realistic object dynamics and cloth simulation, and enable players to lay waste to the minions of the Burning Hells in spectacular ways.

The release date is still unannounced, but this will be one to look forward to. I hope there is a cow level!

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Amazon is currently offering the Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player for only 222.97. That’s a great price, making it a Hot Deal and one of the best you will likely see this Christmas season. CNET gave this player a “very good” rating. Best Buy is currently offering the same player at 299.99 and a house brand Blue-Ray player for 199.99, but at an extra 23 dollars, I believe it’s worth going for the Sony at Amazon. Here’s your chance to get that Blu-Ray player you’ve ben eyeing for awhile at a great price without having to stand in those day after Thanksgiving lines. You can check it out below:

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