TECHSUAL

UC Berkley Goes With Google

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:15:00 +0000

UC Berkley recently decided on moving their students emails and calendars to the ever growing in popularity "Cloud" based solution so many businesses are raving about these days and in doing so created a bit of a buzz by detailing the reason behind their choice...Google. You can read the whole report here, but basically it shows reason for reason why Google was a better choice than the alternative, Microsoft's Office 365.

Google's Cloud solution is to basically put everything on their servers and let people access using whatever device can run a Google app or connect to the internet. Which elminates the need for building an entire infastructure and installing special software on thousands of computers in order to use it. All of their services and pretty much all their apps are free, the only thing the school has to pay for is the server cost of storing an accessing all that information. That's not to Google's cloud covers 100% of the schools needs easily, some things like calendar control and the security issue still come up. As an added bonus Google promised to make the move over in less than 2 months with is a huge plus for the school, especially seeing as the University of Nebraska is still working on integrating Office 365 and they were the first to sign up early this past summer. That seems to be the deal breaker for Berkley.

Microsoft's approach to the whole Cloud deal is to install software on the machines that interface with Office 365's Cloud, that means anyone wanting to use Microsoft's solution will have to invest in software (which also means updating and upgrading it every time they push out a new version) on every single device a student might use to connect to their email accounts or calendars, thats a pretty big investment both on the school and students parts. There are some benefits to Microsoft's Cloud solution One of the biggest being the ability to create a more secure connection between the two by controlling more of the process. There are ways to connect to Microsoft's cloud without the apps, just by logging into a Microsoft account. Doing so however only provides limited access and defeats the whole purpose of the super-secure chain Microsoft builds by linking the software on both ends.

Links N' Things:

Berkley: Email / Calendar Solution: Assessment Matrix
Wired: Berkeley Explains Why Google Trumps Microsoft
Redmond Channel Partner: Microsoft Loses UC Berkeley Cloud Contract to Google
TechCrunch: UC Berkeley Picks Google Over Microsoft In Battle Over Campus Cloud Services

Facebook Releases New "Timeline" Feature Today

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:57:00 +0000

Facebook released it's latest update called "Timeline" to all users today. The feature has been in development behind the scenes over the past few months. Unlike many of Facebooks other features which got rushed to the Internets whilst still in beta form, Timeline was fleshed out more before being unleashed.

So what is Timeline? Simply put it allows users to aggregate their pictures, posts, videos and other shared data into a 'Week in the life' sorta deal where people can see everything you've been up to in a given period. Facebook is taking a cue from it's previous privacy foibles and allowing users some time to edit what shows up in the timeline before it goes entirely public.

There is also an added "Life Event" button next to the normal status, Photo, Place buttons that allows you to mark certain life events such as; Changing a job, buying a new car, or announcing a move. So you now have a new way to compare your seemingly crappy life to other people "Highlights" enjoy.

As an added tidbit, The Verge is reporting that Android users are the first to get the updated profiles, so for once Android users can lord their 'better ' versions of Facebook over their iPhone using friends.

Links:

Mercury News: One of Facebook's biggest changes yet, 'Timeline', arrives today

Check out Timeline for your own profile

The Verge: Facebook Timeline available on Android and mobile

Facebook Is Making Us Miserable

Google+ Deleting Accounts, Offering No Explanation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:07:00 +0000

By: Syeed

According to the internets Google has gone on an account banning frenzy, apparently blocking users’ Google accounts to varying degrees.

The deletions started on the 22nd and to the best of my knowledge are still going on unfixed. Some people lost access to everything they had related to Google. Their Gmail, Google Voice, Google Docs etc.. While others just lost access to their + accounts which refused their updates. Apparently Google is banning people due to their violating Google’s terms of service and or their improper names. The problem is that the system for checking names and TOS violations is automated and there for prone to massive insanely random hiccups apparently.

They have thus far offered no reason or any excuse at all leaving a lot of users understandably upset and quite a few others seeing it as good reason to stop using any Google services all together. ZDnet reports that some high profile accounts such as Limor Fried AKA Lady Ada have been restored which means Google is aware of the problem and can fix it.

Former Google Employee Kirrily “Skud” Robert said in a blog post outlining the pain in the ass verification Google is making him suffer through:

“It then asks me for my name (uh, don’t you know that already?), email (ditto), link to my profile (ditto), and asks me to provide documentation. I can either give them a scan of my photo ID (obscuring “personal information”, whatever that means), or links to places on the web that demonstrate that this is my name. “

“They suggest using Facebook (the site that allows Google founder Sergey Brin to go under a pseudonym, and whose own founder has a page for his dog) as evidence. I have something better, though, because I expected this to happen and I had already collated my evidence. I linked to that page and submitted the form.”

I understand that this is a beta and it is opt-in, I also know that for the most part the people in this beta are fairly tech-savvy and probably avid Google users, but that’s no excuse to not at least offer an explanation as to what’s going on and what your doing to fix it, Google seems to think that people can’t get along without them, like they’re the only email/search/social network around.

People seem fairly split on this issue. Some are taking a hard stance and outright getting ready to delete themselves from Google like I mentioned above, while others are more understanding of the Software’s beta state and just kind of hoping it all gets sorted out. Whatever your decision I find it a little funny that a multi-billion dollar company with teams of engineers and craploads of money at their disposal can’t seem to get a social network to run as well as a college kid struggling to find funding. I wish the best for them and I hope Google+ becomes a viable alternative to Facebook, but it would seem they have a lot of PR and coding work to do before it’s polished enough to get to that level.

Source: ZDnet

Goldeneye 007 To Re-Re-Release On Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 22:54:00 +0000

By: Kareem

First there was Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64, it was fun we all had a blast shooting our friends and most importantly it brought a decent FPS to a home console and introduced many a gamer to their first taste of 4-player home gaming madness. That’s something no other console could do at the time out of the box, without the need for any extra peripherals (besides the controllers of course).

Then, GoldenEye got re-released on the Wii in 2010 and…nobody cared. It went mostly unnoticed and ignored, those that did have a chance to play it like it but there just wasn’t enough. The Wii’s lack of real HD quality left the re-release with a kind of bad facelift vibe though, sure it looked better but you felt like Activision could’ve done better.

Which leads us to this news. Activision is planning to re-re-release GoldenEye 007 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. They haven’t announced an official release date exactly but say be prepared for a fall release. The new version of Goldeneye will obviously be in full 720-1080p HD resolution and offer support for the PlayStation move including the sharp shooter peripheral that goes along with it. Unfortunately for Xbox 360 owners there will be no Kinect functionality. That’s not all however, the game will also feature an improved version of the classic 4-player split screen as well as 16 player online multiplayer.

According to Activision the game is being built on an entirely new engine so it should be pretty damned awesome. As long as the gameplay holds up and everything is nicely polished this should definitely be a game worth checking out this fall. If for no other reason than sheer nostalgia.

Related Stuffs:

Source: PC World
Official: Goldeneye Game Site

Goldeneye 007 Reboot Trailer:

Hackers Planning Their Own Social Network?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:58:00 +0000

By: Kareem

Some cats either from or supporters of anonymous have decided that enough is enough with what they view as BS social networks and decided to start their own.

The site is called anonplus is already up, although all it contains right now is a single page outlining their plans along with the names of some of the key devs, and a developers forum where people can contribute ideas and skills. According to the anonplus website the plan is to create a social network free from forced accounts, information mining and censorship.

There’s no official announcement from anonymous as of this writing, so no one really knows if they’re members or just some developers sympathetic to anonymous’ cause. So you can make of it what you will. According to the rumors the idea for the site came after a number of anonymous members were censored on other social networking sites.

I’m fairly neutral when it comes to social networking. Most of the time social networking sites seem to dissolve into madness with people having 3000+ “friends” and no one really using the sites to do any real networking or socializing. It seems to me that most people use Facebook as a personal cloud scrapbook storage app, or to make money. There are a lot of ‘jobs’ out there for people who have massive Facebook and Twitter followings regardless of how many of their ‘friends’ are total hack accounts or how many of their followers are ‘marketing experts’.

I wish these guys the best of luck and hope they succeed if for no other reason than just to see what /b/ version 3.0 will look like. We can’t be certain this isn’t a prank or that it will go anywhere, but still it’s some pretty interesting news nonetheless.

Related stuffs:

Source: Information Week

Team at Cornell Mucks With Space-Time

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:27:00 +0000

By: Kareem

A team of science-types over at that fancy Cornell University have successfully created a device that allows them to create an “event cloak” something that has been theorized for quite some time now.

So what exactly is an “event cloak”? Basically it’s a point in space-time where a gap has been created in order to allow a photon to travel in between, pretty much making it entirely invisible. The idea is that you use time-lenses, which are special lenses designed to compress and decompress light in time. The lenses are able to do this by using something known as an electro-optic modulator. The modulators are used in tandem to slow down (compress) and speed up (decompress) incoming photons. So you shine a light through one side, the photons slow down, you crank the other side and the photons speed up again creating a gap in-between which allows photons to sneak through.

Like a chicken crossing the highway:

Although the team can only trap light for 110 nanoseconds and their best hope is 120 nanoseconds this is still a pretty damned amazing leap for physics. Not only because it can and will make people completely optically invisible, but also because if it’s given enough power the device can ‘disappear’ entire events.

Lets just hope our ass-backwards childish stupid couldn’t-even-pass-a-2nd-grade-science-class military leaders don’t get there hands on it…what they already have? FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!

Related stuffs:

Source: Popular Science
Article: Metamaterial 'Space-Time Cloak' Conceals Not Just Objects, But Entire Events

Next Gen Xbox to Offer ‘Avatar Quality’ Graphics?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:04:00 +0000

By: Kareem

There’s a rumor going around the interwebs lately about AMD letting it slip to OXM (Official Xbox Magazine) that the next generation of Xbox consoles, the so-called Xbox 720 will feature Avatar style graphics capabilities.

Neither Microsoft nor AMD have actually admitted the Xbox 720 is in development, however that’s not stopping the latter’s expectations of the next generation of consoles. However since AMD is the current Xbox’s GPU manufacturer it would seem to me they have somewhat of an inside heads-up. There’s also no mention that AMD is making the 720’s GPU, but again it does make sense given their history.

According to the OXM article the Xbox 720’s new chipset and board should also allow for a much higher A.I capable of individualizing each NPC in a game like Grand Theft Auto to the point that they have their own personalities and react rather than just running pre-rendered scripts (at least that’s how I understood it).

Personally I think that’s just insanity. If they can pull it off without resorting to wizardry I’ll be amazed. I understand companies have to hype their next projects but promises like this are almost certain to leave quite a few people disappointed. I’ve been a gamer long enough to know that gaming companies tend to make huge exaggerations when it comes to what their capable of and this would seem to fall right into that category nicely. I remember pretty much these same claims of super-smart A.I when the first Xbox released and then with the 360, needless to say the level of A.I they were pitching came nowhere close to the level of A.I that actually made it into games.

Just as a quick sidebar check out this video of what to expect from the Unreal 3 engine:

Unless they’ve seriously amped up their Processor (I’m taking 6 cores or higher at at least 3.2GHz), GPU, Motherboard and (this might be a little important) upgrade to at least 4 gig’s of DDR3 RAM I don’t see the Xbox 720 pulling off Avatar style graphics while at the same time providing this genius A.I AMD is claiming. It takes A LOT to pull off a playable Avatar, and although I don’t think it’s impossible by any means I do think that this is just hype getting people prepped for next years E3, We should hear a lot more during the Windows 8 details release in a couple of months, when Microsoft is expected to announce the details on how they plan to bring Windows 8 to the Phone, PC, Tablet, and consoles, doing something not even the almighty Apple has…bringing one OS to every device. That should be very very interesting.

Either way you slice it you have to take this rumor with a grain of salt. Especially since there really isn’t anything to base it in reality, it never hurts to hope though.

Related Stuffs:

Source: Dvice
Business Insider: Xbox 720 to Feature Avatar Quality Graphics, says AMD

Nintendo 3DS Get Netflix

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:52:00 +0000

By: Syeed

Netflix is now available for 3DS users on the systems eShop. Kind of a slap in the face to Android users (after all these years no decent integration yet far as I know). Nonetheless a cool addition to the DS’ repertoire of fancy things.

People who download the app will be able to connect to their Netflix accounts and view their instant queues, watch a movie, or continue watching a move they started on another device. All things I wish I could do on my damned Evo Shift but whatever…I’m not bitter. According to Alexis M over at gaming bits, the interface is “sharp and colorful” and the top screen has a slight 3D effect” on the box art when browsing. The controls for playback all reside where you would expect them, on the bottom screen. Although there isn’t any 3D streaming content on Netflix yet. Nintendo is assuring people that folks will soon have accesses to an additional library of select movies viewable in 3D without the need for glasses. That’s pretty damn sweet in my opinion.

Related Stuffs:

Source: Gaming Bits

Pentagon Planning New Cybersecurity Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:47:00 +0000

By: Kareem

The pentagon is reportedly set to release a new strategy for protecting it’s computer systems today. The new strategy will apparently make more use of sensors, software and recent data collecting done by U.S intelligence.

The pentagon is saying they don’t want to come off as too aggressive in their new strategy saying that they’re not looking to militarize cyberspace but rather to deny other militaries access and dissuade them from attempting an attack.

In drafts of a speech set to be given today by Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III,

“Although it is certainly possible that a destructive or disruptive cyber attack could have an impact analogous to physical hostilities and therefore constitute an act of war, the vast majority of malicious cyber activity today would not cross this threshold, or justify a military response,”

It’s always wise to be wary of the military moving into any domain, be it physical or ‘cyber’ so take their words with a grain of salt and make sure you read between the lines. More on this to come.

Related Stuffs:

Source: The Washington Post

New PlayStation 3’s Will Not Support Component Blu-Ray Output

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:02:00 +0000

By: Kareem

The latest news about the web is Sony’s announcement that they will no longer support Blu Ray playback on their next generation PS3’s (version K). Apparently the restriction is to enforce copy-protected playback on the console.

What that means is that if your T.V or receiver dosen’t support HDMI, or if you already have all your HDMI ports occupied and you buy a version K PS3 your pretty much boned if you planned on using it to watch Blu Ray’s. If you can fandangle PS3 version A-J however, you’ll be fine going through component. To make matters $5-$10 worse they’re not even including the HDMI cable with the console. Just the standard A/V cables that come with it (which do include the component cables, so at least you can game and stream movies in HD).

It’s not really too big a deal since most HDTV’s have HDMI inputs so eh really much else to report on that. If your curious however, read on and we shall find out the who, what, where’s and why’s.

So why is Sony doing this? According to them it’s to enforce AACS standards…if your like me you have no idea what the hell AACS is so lets learn together. This is from good old Wikipedia:

The Advanced Access Content System (AACS) is a standard for content distribution and digital rights management, intended to restrict access to and copying of the "next generation" of optical discs and DVDs. The specification was publicly released in April 2005 and the standard has been adopted as the access restriction scheme for HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc (BD). It is developed by AACS Licensing Administrator, LLC (AACS LA), a consortium that includes Disney, Intel, Microsoft, Panasonic, Warner Bros., IBM, Toshiba and Sony. AACS has been operating under an "interim agreement" since the final specification (including provisions for Managed Copy) has not yet been finalized.

Since appearing in devices in 2006, several AACS decryption keys have been extracted from weakly protected software players and published on the Internet, allowing decryption by other unlicensed software.

…still with me?

Ok so AACS is pretty much just a way for Blu-Ray publishers and distributers to protect their content. I’m not exactly pro IP or hardcore anti IP I’m kind of in the middle there. I think there’s room for both closed and open formats in todays world. They both have pros and cons, to each his own I say. More options=more freedom…somewhat. Anyway this got me thinking, why is it AACS depends on HDMI and can’t use component.

So why is AACS dependent on HDMI? Well after a little research I dug up this, again from Wikipedia:

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a form of digital copy protection developed by Intel Corporation to prevent copying of digital audio and video content as it travels across connections. These connections include popular ones like DisplayPort (DP), Digital Visual Interface (DVI), and High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), as well as non-popular or now defunct connections like Gigabit Video Interface (GVIF), and Unified Display Interface (UDI). It is commonly, though incorrectly, referred to as High-definition Copyright Protection.

HDCP does not allow copying permitted by fair use laws. The system is meant to stop HDCP-encrypted content from being played on devices that do not support HDCP or which have been modified to copy HDCP content. Before sending data, a transmitting device checks that the receiver is authorized to receive it. If so, the transmitter encrypts the data to prevent eavesdropping as it flows to the receiver.

Manufacturers who want to make a device that supports HDCP must obtain a license from Intel subsidiary Digital Content Protection LLC, pay an annual fee, and submit to various conditions. For example, devices cannot be designed to copy content; devices must "frustrate attempts to defeat the content protection requirements"; high-definition digital video sources must not transmit protected content to non-HDCP receivers; and DVD-Audio content can only be played at CD-audio quality by non-HDCP digital audio outputs (analog audio outputs have no quality limits).

Cryptanalysis researchers demonstrated flaws in HDCP as early as 2001. In September 2010, an HDCP master key that allows for the generation of valid device keys - rendering the key revocation feature of HDCP useless - was released to the public.Intel has confirmed that the crack is real, and believes the master key was reverse engineered rather than leaked. In practical terms, the impact of the crack has been described as "the digital equivalent of pointing a video camera at the TV", and of limited importance for pirates because the encryption of high-definition discs has been attacked directly, without the loss of interactive features like menus.Intel threatened to sue anyone producing an unlicensed device.

The highlighted section is what I believe is the reason. The speed of HDMI makes it very hard for people to eavesdrop on the line and steal the encryption key in transit.

What makes this all the more odd is that according this the AACS encryption key has already been cracked and the whole thing might be pretty well useless.

So there you have it. Probably more than you wanted to know about AACS and this whole nonsense.

Related Stuffs:

Source: Ars Technica
Article: New PS3 Model Requires HDMI for HD Blu-ray Playback, But Not HD Gaming

Windows 8 Bringing Xbox360 Games To PC?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:46:00 +0000

By: Kareem

Yes you read that right, according to the rumors on the web this morning Microsoft is planning to bring Xbox360 games and the Xbox marketplace to Windows 8. The details are scarce, and although Microsoft hasn’t announced anything officially yet, this would be a huge move in a great direction for Ballmer and co.

Here’s the nitti gritty on what I could find.

First off the integration; if the rumors are to be believed then the entire Xbox360 dashboard you get on your console will be available on Windows 8 PC’s as well. Not only that, but Windows 8 will be including drivers that allow DVD drives to read Xbox360 games. There’s nothing about cross-platform playability (i.e. will PC users be able to game with Xbox360 users?) But I would have to wager that it’s technically possible, and most likely going to happen. I mean it’s basically like shoving an Xbox360 emulator into Windows 8 so it should work the same allowing access for all.

There’s no mention on how pricing is going to work, it’s pretty much expected new subscribers will have to pay the $50 a year to get access. What isn’t expected/known is whether or not Microsoft plans to add an extra $10-$20 a year for the added PC use. I hope not but I don’t see why they wouldn’t try to squeeze every last dime out of their customers. So expect it.

Lastly my opinion on the whole thing: I think the idea of moving the Xbox360 to the PC via Windows 8 is on of the best ideas Microsoft has had in a while. If it turns out to be true it could have huge implications for big M, and be a sign of some bigger things Microsoft is planning.

Related Stuffs:

Source: MetroWNY
Article: Xbox Live Will Be Built In Into Windows 8
Article: Play Xbox360 Games on PC – Windows 8

Law Enforcement Getting Desperate In The Hunt For LulzSec

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 02:17:00 +0000

Anyone who's been on the web recently surely knows all about LulzSec and their exploits shutting down gaming companies websites, hacking into FBI and CIA servers and posting a false Tupac story on the PBS website. Your also most defiantly privy to Lulz and Anonymous joining forces. Well it would seem law enforcement in the U.S and U.K have the internet and are actively searching for the group(s).

I can't go any further without pointing out the irony here. Remember when the U.S invaded Afghanistan about 9 years ago? Y'know looking for the douchebags responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Do you also remember how Osama Bin Laden was apparently so good at hide and go seek that the combined forces of the U.S and it's allies could not find him? I do. I also remember how since they couldn't find Bin Laden they just went ahead and hunted down the loudest terrorist/dictator they could find, Saddam Huessein. I see some pretty glaring similarities (not in groups involved naturally, but definitely in the course of action.

It's no secret that Anonymous is a group every major government would love to see exposed. It's also no secret that the governments and security experts have failed miserably in this task (much like they did looking for Bin Laden the first go around) so it would seem they're looking for another target that's more structured and easier to hunt down, enter LulzSec. The law enforcers of the U.K and U.S are feverishly hunting down LulzSec. According to reports going around recently, LulzSec does have an hierarchy and they are being very loud about all their exploits. Since Lulzsec is pretty new it might be only a matter of time before they make a mistake and get caught up, kinda like Huessein. That would give the law enforcers the boost in moral they need right now in order to continue the fight against anonymous.

Now here's where it gets sad/funny/interesting. Just recently (yesterday) the British police arrested a 19 year old kid named Ryan Cleary. The arrest is really a sad attempt at getting closer to LulzSec, Cleary did not have anything to do with the attacks as far as all knowns are known. He merely hosted some of their chats, of course the British police are charging him with some other crimes and claiming he's responsible for DDoS'ing some porn sites as well as SOCA (Serious Organized Crime Agency) which handles the U.K's um, serious crime's or something. Anywho they're still holding the poor kid and probably asking him questions like who do you hang out with? and what movies do these LulzSec characters go to? In other words wasting theirs and his time.

Oh and that's not all, according to some unnamed source the U.S, not to be outdone in stupidity and harassment by the Brits, (we wouldn't want anyone looking worse than us would we?) went ahead and raided a data center run by a company called Digital One over in Arizona in order to get some intel on LulzSec. Not only is this raid kinda pointless, it also shut down 10's of users servers according to Sergej Ostroumow, the companies owner. Although the number of people affected by the shutdowns isn't large, it's still a slap in the face of someone who most likely has nothing to do with or supports the actions of LulzSec. Great way to waste a day F.B.I, what did all the celebrities finally learn not to take, send or store naked pictures of themselves online? You guys got no more bloggers to hunt down for practicing their first amendment rights? Is that why your going after the Lulz?

All i have to say is that when your tactics are this desperate and you cant even narrow your suspects search down to even a country, your probably doing something wrong and should re-evaluate your tactics. I would suggest that you stop going after the people doing this for Lulz and to release information the public might want to see and maybe go after people who might be planning some nasty cyber attacks, there's also the little fact that catching and arresting the people smart enough to secure your servers, will not make them safer. Maybe you should ask some of your 'security experts' to go ahead and shore up your defenses a little. I'm just saying is all.

Source: Information Week

New Camera Company, Lytro Offers After shot Focus

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 22:53:00 +0000

A new camera company by the name of Lytro is offering up a new camera and technology that allows photographers to adjust a pictures focus after it's been shot. Check out the sample below.

Lytro hopes it's new cameras will change photography in a drastic way. According to them (and tons of other photographers it would seem), it's damned hard to take a decent in-focus picture, especially when your target is moving. What they're offering is a new kind of camera coupled with an innovative new software package that allows the user to adjust the focus of the picture after it's been taken.

Lytro is also saying that their new tech can allow for 3d imaging and that it will permit new innovations on camera lenses, controls and designs. Since it relies on software rather than a physical shutter, the company says it's new cameras will also take much better low-light and action shots as well.

The software that Lytro is using on their new cameras is called 'light field,' it captures all the light in all directions, in a given frame, unlike traditional cameras which catch all the light in a frame and count it as one source.

Lytro has a website up now that allows users to play with some images taken by the new system, you can check it out in the links below.

Related Stuffs:

The 'Search Bubble' And How It's Affecting Your Internet Usage

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 20:58:00 +0000

At the risk of sounding like a sidewalk preacher in a bad early 90's movie...PEOPLE YOU NEED TO WAKE UP YOU ARE LIVING IN A SEARCH BUBBLE!! Hopefully that got your attention (all caps usually does) so let's get into what this search bubble is and how you can avoid it.

It's a pretty simple concept really if you use the major search engines, Google, Bing, or Yahoo (Facebook does this too but their not a true search engine) you are being tracked on a number of levels. They make note of what operating system you use, your browser, and a few other key vectors including what you click on the most. That's not so unusual, most websites use cookies to track these fairly common things, it really isn't a big deal and doesn't truly invade your privacy or do any harm. Mostly all it does is provide an easy way for web developers to track what is going on in their sites and adjust accordingly. We can tell things such as if your coming from a cell phone, desktop, laptop or tablet and load scripts that allow us to format the pages for your particular device. It's pretty handy.
What does invade the hell out of your privacy as well as do what I consider some pretty nasty harm however is what those sites (Facebook and Google in particular) are doing with that information.

So what is it that they're doing exactly? The major search engines (and Facebook) take that data and then use it to filter your search results. They pretty much tailor make the results by running them through algorithms that decide what gets loaded on your first page results. Pretty much like a mathematical gate-keeper. Most people on the web don't even know they're being filtered because they can't see any alternative.

So why is this a bad thing? For starters, it spits in the face of a neutral web where all sites and information is on the same level, accessible by everyone (who's government allows them) and delivered at the same speed. There have been a few times in the past where ISP's tried to make the web a pay per site thing like cable is. Where users would pay for certain sites and only get access to those. There have also been attempts by various interests to 'throttle' the internet making websites that pay a fee load faster than ones that don't. Luckily they've all failed in this endeavor, however is Google and the other search providers trying to do the same? Not exactly. What you have to remember here is that these sites are businesses and they are trying to make a profit first and foremost.
Most of the time this isn't such a horrible thing. Profit forces companies to make better products to draw in more users (most of the time at least) and usually means that we get some pretty sweet products, think about this. The iPad isn't so successful because it sucks, it's successful because it whomps the competition in many many ways. Other companies are going to have to make something better if they want to muscle in on Apple's profits. Being profit driven isn't always a bad thing.

However, in this case being profit driven isn't a good thing. It's the reason your search results are being targeted. What the major search engines are hoping to do is filter out results you might not click on so that they can get better click through rates (how many people click on an ad) and make more money off of selling ad space. If they can guarantee high CTR's than they can up the price on their search result ad space. So what their doing is preventing users from viewing all the possible results in order to drive up ad prices, not cool in my opinion. Sure you might get more 'relevant' results but your missing out on a lot of other results that you might be interested in, not the least of which are alternative viewpoints.

I feel that it's important people know this and I have found a pretty good workaround. Check out this search engine www.duckduckgo.com. I've been using it myself for a little while now and it's a pretty sweet search engine. It also doesn't track you in any way shape or form that I've been able to find. It might be a little hard at first to switch from your favorite search provider to the new one but it's well worth it if you don't want your results featured.

Here's a video that explains it pretty well:

So let me know what you think in the comments if you have a second, I'd really like to get other peoples opinions on this.

Do you think search engines should provide an opt-out option so that users have a choice? Would you rather not be opted-in at all, or do you like having your results filtered? (I can understand if you do some people might like that feature)

LulzSec and Anonymous Join Forces To Target Government And Big Business

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:07:00 +0000

The hacker group LulzSec who have been responsible for a lot of recent high profile attacks is joining forces with Anonymous and declaring all out war on the "freedom-snatching moderators of 2011". There calling the new op operation anti-security.

So who are these freedom-snatching moderators of which they speak? Well rather than try and explain it myself here's their call to action posted on pastebin:

Salutations Lulz Lizards,
As we're aware, the government and whitehat security terrorists across the world continue to dominate and control our Internet ocean. Sitting pretty on cargo bays full of corrupt booty, they think it's acceptable to condition and enslave all vessels in sight. Our Lulz Lizard battle fleet is now declaring immediate and unremitting war on the freedom-snatching moderators of 2011.
Welcome to Operation Anti-Security (#AntiSec) - we encourage any vessel, large or small, to open fire on any government or agency that crosses their path. We fully endorse the flaunting of the word "AntiSec" on any government website defacement or physical graffiti art. We encourage you to spread the word of AntiSec far and wide, for it will be remembered. To increase efforts, we are now teaming up with the Anonymous collective and all affiliated battleships.
Whether you're sailing with us or against us, whether you hold past grudges or a burning desire to sink our lone ship, we invite you to join the rebellion. Together we can defend ourselves so that our privacy is not overrun by profiteering gluttons. Your hat can be white, gray or black, your skin and race are not important. If you're aware of the corruption, expose it now, in the name of Anti-Security.
Top priority is to steal and leak any classified government information, including email spools and documentation. Prime targets are banks and other high-ranking establishments. If they try to censor our progress, we will obliterate the censor with cannonfire anointed with lizard blood.
It's now or never. Come aboard, we're expecting you...
History begins today.
Lulz Security,
http://LulzSecurity.com/
Support: http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/manifesto.html
Support: http://www.youtube.com/user/thejuicemedia
Support: http://wikileaks.ch/

So what's my opinion on all this? I think it's a damn good idea and they make some damn good points. The internet used to be a place where every click you made wasn't counted on some Google server so that they could target your search results. It used to be place where no site was seriously censored or shut down due to it's content. The internet used to be a place where a site like WikiLeaks could exist without someone having to spend months and possibly years in prison because they give away information the government thinks your too 'sensitive' to see or hear. And then has the audacity to say it endangers lives.

I think that making the main goal getting sensitive government and high profile targets information is doing a service to most people who don't have any real support for their anti-government claims. If you can get the information from the source, the source can't deny it's validity.

I wish op antisec the best of luck, I hope your Lulzboat sets sail and docks with all target servers to release a bunch of guy fawkes and invade.

Related Stuffs:

Source: PCMag
Article: Notorious Hacker Groups Vow to Join Forces Against World Governments
Article: LulzSec, Anonymous declare war against governments, corporations
Pastebin file

New York Post Puts Up Stupid Paywall For iPad, And How To Get Around It

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:51:00 +0000

By: Kareem

The New York Post (NYP) put up a paywall yesterday for users wanting to access the site through the iPad’s opera browser. Instead of giving users access to the site it shoves an ad in their face and tells them their going to have to pony up if they want to read their news. There’s already a way around it (for now at least) making it probably the dumbest move by a company in a few weeks.

This is just outright stupid, The NYP expects users to pay $1.99 for the app and the $6.99 a month for the subscription, which still makes it less than the print version which comes in at $14.99 a month. Nonetheless neither price include the other’s service and there is no mention of an in-between price for both, which most paywall blocked magazines provide. So you can pay about $21.98 a month to get both, opt for one or the other, or do what I assume most people will be doing which is find another source for the news. Honestly that’s pretty ridiculous pricing considering how many other sources of free news there are on the web.

The good news is that the paywall only affects iPad users who visit the site via Safari. Which is a pretty odd group for them to target, but I’m sure they have their reasons. There’s no Android NYP app and it’s still unblocked on every other browser and OS.

The thing that’s wild to me is how stupid the print industry seems to be when it comes to putting their information on the web. It seems like the don’t understand that this is an entirely different format with entirely different monetization options. There is money to be made by those with the skill to provide proper content. But you have to understand that the money to be made online is rarely in the form of direct subscription services, imagine if Google started charging users a monthly fee to run searches. How many people do you think would switch over to Bing or Yahoo? The money to be made online is from free content that’s ad supported. I’m sure it would be pretty easy for a site as large as the NYP to sell ad space, yet there are hardly any on their site. I’m not saying stuff it with pre-rolls and pop-ups but a few more couldn’t hurt much. I’m also sure they could hire someone to come in and really get them some well targeted ads. People pay for every click on one of those ads you know and in volume those numbers get pretty high. I’m sure not as high as your subscription service in print gets, but if you have good content and you think people are willing to pay monthly to access it, don’t you think you could attract more people by giving away the content and hoping they click on some ads. If one of your articles gets 100,000 views every few hours (which I’m sure they do) and 1% click on an ad that could be some good money depending that’s $1,000 at $0.01 a click. Not bad for a few hours right? Not to mention you wouldn’t be slapping your iPad customers in the face. You might get some people who don’t like the ads and you might lose a few regular readers but it would pale in comparison to the amount you will lose if you keep putting up paywalls.

How To Get Around The Stupid Stupid New York Post Paywall.

Since the NYP was gracious enough to only block the Safari browser, the default iOS browser most people use because they don’t want to be troubled with downloading anything else (and really who could blame ‘em? There’s nothing wrong with Safari). All you have to do to get around their little paywall is download a different browser. There are a couple of decent free ones in the App Store you can download my favorite one Opera here or in the links below. After it’s installed just start it up and go on over to nypost.com and you will no longer be blocked by some stupid f’ing paywall.

There it is and that’s that.

Related stuffs:

Opera Mini For iPad
Source: PCMag
Article: The New York Post Erects Most Egregious Paywall Yet
Article: NY Post Blockades Safari on iPad, Pushes App

Sega Gets Hacked LulzSec Offers Help

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:45:00 +0000

By: Syeed

Sega had one of their databases broken into recently and lost about 1.3 million users information. LulzSec has decided their going to help out this time, apparently they really love the Dreamcast.

So first off here’s the details on the breach. According to an email sent out by Sega to it’s Sega Pass users on Friday, the breach occurred on June 15th and on June 16th they shut down the Sega Pass system for safety reasons. The email goes on to say that Sega identified some of their users email addresses, dates of birth and encrypted passwords were stolen. Sega says they took immediate action, isolated the problem, closed off the system and reset all the passwords. They recommend that users who night use the same email/password combination for other sites should go and change those ASAP, and to be cautious of all emails you receive as the information could be used for spear phishing.

The real kicker here (for Sony at least) is that no payment information was stolen because Sega is either not financially capable of, or not stupid enough to take payment information on their own. All users payments go through external payment providers which is a good thing, a very very good thing.

That’s not all either. In an odd twist the biggest suspect is actually offering to help Sega catch the people who did this, LulzSec. The mentioned in a tweet yesterday aimed at Sega that they want to help them destroy the hackers that attacked them. Their reason, they love the Dreamcast. It’s still tough to say if their honestly offering their services (I would wager they are) or if LulzSec is just pulling an O.J and trying to make themselves look more innocent by going after “the real killers”. Either way that’s one hell of a twist.

Related stuffs:

Source: CBS
Article: Sega Pass Database Hacked, Account Information Compromised
Article: Reports: Sega Customer Database Hacked

U.S Government Building Fake Internet To Practice It’s Skills

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 06:00:00 +0000

By: Kareem

So apparently the U.S government is getting sick of losing so many battles to hackers. They’re building a fake internet to model the real internet so they can practice defending against attacks from hackers. All while hackers are busy on the real internet finding real vulnerabilities to exploit.

I don’t blame the government, I’d be a little concerned too if people kept hacking my servers and users. However I really don’t see this doing much in the way of helping defend against cyber attacks. First off the government seems to think that defending all of our electric grids and sensitive information is only worth $500 million. A drop in the bucket compared to how much is spent on other security issues. That amount will buy you a whole lot of college-educated ‘security experts’ and probably 0 hackers. What the government dosen’t seem to understand is that hackers for the most part are not bad people. That’s why we have the term cybercriminal. Hackers are defiantly poking around on systems all over the world, but very few want to do more than just take a peek or earn bragging rights. If the government considers this a ‘war’ than they better start learning their enemy and stop going after the people who might have the skill and be willing to help. Secondly, this is a control environment, their whole test web can be reset and wiped at any time… not a very good thing when there are people on the real internet taking advantage of the fact it can not be shutdown, using zero-day exploits and other various means that are fairly difficult to reproduce. Hackers tend to be the type that look for a way around, over, under or through whatever obstacle is preventing them from getting access. Well I can see the benefits of a controlled environment to test on, I really don’t think they have the know-how to take advantage, they are, after all the ones who left the vulnerabilities there in the first place.

My biggest beef by far coming out of all this is the fact the U.S government wants to treat hacking as an act of war. This is just plain stupid. Hackers are not ‘warriors’ they are smart, curious people. Treating them like warriors and forcing them into a situation where it’s us vs them is a terrible thing for any government to do. Attacking your own citizens for pointing out your stupidity and oversight is not the way to win over anyone or stop any hacker. What they should do is extend an olive branch. Allow hackers to stay anonymous and put them to work defending against foreign attacks. Tap the resource that is their minds, the same minds that spend countless hours learning the ins-and-outs of computer systems in order to get around barriers. These are the only people that are skilled enough and willing enough to spend all day and night hacking and sending you the information you need to defend your servers. Unfortunately this will not happen. The U.S government will turn hackers who were just curious before into their greatest enemy. An enemy with no face, no country, nothing to lose and that if pushed too hard (see Sony) will own your systems with no remorse or regret, no matter how many ‘fake’ internets you create or how many 9-5ers you hire.

So let this stand as a caution to the U.S government. If you go down this route there is no turning back, if you decide to try and catch hackers you will get a pretty nasty surprise. You should just sit back ignore them and let them do their thing. Go ahead and hunt down the ones who are criminal, no one will fault you for that. But leave the lulz (and I don’t mean LulzSec) alone. Thank your god that they haven’t had good reason to show their teeth and don’t start wars you know you can’t win. It’s like Canada trying to invade America by building a small ‘America’ in their county and working on different invasion tactics. You will have the same success they would if they were dumb enough to try.

Related Stuffs:

Source: BBC

New Trojan Target’s Bitcoins

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 04:56:00 +0000

By: Kareem

The security company Symantec is warning user’s of the somewhat popular Bitcoin virtual currency that their ‘virtual wallets’ might be under attack.

For those of you who might not know, bit coin is a Peer to Peer virtual currency that’s supposed to be more secure than making a ‘traditional’ online purchase using a credit card or checking account. Users are given what’s known as digital wallets where they store all their virtual money. Users can buy as many Bitcoins as they want and then use them for various transactions amongst others who have opted in to the service.

It would seem however, that the service isn’t entirely secure (and honestly is anything on the internet?) as hackers have already compromised some users accounts using a Trojan virus. The Trojan is called infoseaker.Coinbit and according to reports, locates your Bitcoin wallet, steals all the necessary data, and then dumps the file via FTP to the hackers servers. The reports say that there has already been a theft of 25,000 Bitcoins. The Bitcoins are valued at $23.50 which makes the theft worth about $500,000. Not exactly peanuts.

So if you use Bitcoins make sure you encrypt your wallet and that you make a very very difficult password as the attack is using brute-force to guess the passwords. If yours is too difficult there is a good chance whoever is doing this will not want to waste the time and move on to another, easier target.

Related Stuffs:

Source: International Business Times

Virtual Navigator: A Real “Virtual Currency” Emerges: Could BitCoins Threaten “Real” Currencies?

Quick Hit: New Social Network On The Block, MyCube

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 23:39:00 +0000

A new social networking site recently went into beta. It’s called MyCube and aims to be the new king on the block.

According to the people over at MyCube. Their new social network is being built from the ground up to give users complete control over their privacy. I guess their hoping to get the few Facebook users who deem that site unsecure due to all the changes they tend to make to your privacy settings without asking you first.

Not unlike most social networks, the site will allow users to find each other based on common interests. Unlike most other social networking sites however, MyCube offers users a virtual currency that they can use to buy and sell more ‘valuable’ content.

The layout of the site isn’t too bad, good color scheme and very very simple navigation. I’ll have more to say once I’ve played with it a bit longer.

If you feel the urge to go get your cube on hit up the MyCube private beta in the source link and use the code “blog” (without the quotations) to get in.

Related Stuffs:

Check out the beta: MyCube private beta

Quick Hit: No DVD or Blu-Ray For Wii U

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 20:43:00 +0000

By: Syeed

Nintendo made mention during a question and answer session with analyst at last weeks E3 that the Wii U will not support Blu-Ray or DVD playback when it releases.

This shouldn’t really be too surprising, I can’t think of one Nintendo console that does support DVD playback let alone the newer Blu-Ray format. Nintendo is saying that it’s due to the pain in the ass amount off effort it takes in order to get all the licensing in order and that so many people own other devices that play Blu-Ray’s and DVD’s the cost and effort isn’t worth it. Apparently that process is both time consuming and expensive…unless of course your Sony.

There’s also the fact that less and less people are actually going out and buying any kind of physical media anymore. The Wii U will support Netflix and nowadays that seems to be enough to please most people.

I don’t think the lack of Blu-Ray/DVD is going to be a deal breaker for anyone looking to buy a Wii U. It seems like a good move by Nintendo, it should help keep he cost down despite the new features and tablet controller.

Related Stuffs:

Source: CNet

Google’s Best Two New Search Features

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:25:00 +0000

By: Kareem

Google held a press conference yesterday in which they announced their newest innovations in search. Including adding voice search support for desktops as well as a new feature that instantly loads pages.

The new features will be exclusive to the Chrome browser at first, but Google did mention they have plans to open up the software so Microsoft, Mozilla and Apple can get in on the action.

The new voice search feature will allow users to speak a search query into their desktop’s microphone saving you the trouble of having to type at all. A pretty handy feature if you have trouble typing or if your keyboard breaks.

Instant page loading is what seems to be the most innovative new innovation by Google. The feature works a little bit like the suggested search, just a whole lot sweeter. What it does is attempts to guess which page a user might click on before they click on it. It then preps the pages it guesses so that when a user clicks on the link, the page loads instantly. Not in .05 seconds not even in .00005 seconds, when I say instant I mean instant. The feature will be rolling out to all Chrome users in the next couple of weeks.

Related Stuffs:

Source: Mercury News
ABC: Google Expands Spoken Search to Desktops
Media Post: Is Google's Obsession With Speed Good For Brands?

Lulzsec Strikes Again Releases Tons Of Email/Passwords For Adult Site

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:42:00 +0000

By: Syeed

You may remember Lulzsec/Lulzboat as the group that recently hacked PBS and Sony. Well it would appear they’re in full stride still.

Recently the group released the login information of over 25,000 members of the hardcore porn site pron as well as the credentials of 55 administrators of other adult sites. Not only did they steal the login credentials, they also posted a link on their twitter account telling their followers people were probably using the same emails/passwords for their Facebook accounts and that they should login as them and send out messages and posts linking their friends and family to their pron accounts. Facebook reacted by immediately running a check for the compromised accounts on their servers and changing the passwords, saving many many many people from sure embarrassment.

Among the accounts found were numerous .mil and .gov accounts which means some government types are very likely to be getting a stern talking to at the very least. I find it kind of funny that someone would be stupid enough to link their .mil or .gov email account to a porn site, however there isn’t much funny about what Lulzsec did seeing as I’m an adult now and not allowed to get my Lulz from embarrassing innocent people (ah the good ‘ol days) it would be ‘immature’ of me to say that these people deserve this because there too stupid or lazy to differentiate their email accounts by personal, business, and other. It would be extremely childish of me to say that these hackers are just having fun and in reality not causing any significant harm, and I would be an outright fool if I said I agree with what they did and laughed when I first read the news. So I won’t say those things I um just said. Instead I’ll leave you with a more cliché and ‘PC’ response:

What these hackers did is wrong and criminal and blah blah no ones allowed to have fun or laugh at other peoples misfortunes etc etc and they should be caught wonka wonka and their just kids with nothing better to do wah wah…There I hope that pleases those of you with a-holes so tight you haven’t had a good shit in years.

Related Stuffs:

Source: MSNBC

Apple Gets iSued over iCloud

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:26:00 +0000

By: Kareem

Last week a company by the name of…you guessed it, iCloud filed a lawsuit last week against Apple for copyright infringement.

It would seem that Apple is pretty bad at doing their homework, the company that’s suing them, iCloud has been around for 6 years and apparently Apple had no clue they existed yet went through the trouble of purchasing a U.S Trademark registration for the name iCloud from a Swedish consulting company. Kind of an odd thing.

I would think that if Apple new the U.S iCloud existed they would have purchased the rights to the name from them, and although I do think it’s entirely possible they missed it in researching the name, that’s a little hard to believe since they bought it off the Swedes. I think the more likely possibility is that iCloud Communications (the company suing them) does not own the copyright to the name iCloud but rather that they own the name iCloud Communications and are trying to gain some publicity and maybe a little settlement money from Apple by doing this.

I would like to assume that Apple, being as well off as they are, has good enough lawyers to where they’re on top of it. However they do have a history of acting before thinking. As a matter of fact when the iPhone first came out Apple was sued by Cisco because of the latter’s claim to the name for one of their VoIP devices. That ended with Apple settling, however the details of the settlement were never disclosed.

So I guess it’s not entirely wrong to assume that Apple is getting ahead of itself in the name game again, no one will really know for sure until either Apple starts talking (which they won’t) or the case goes to court and we get to feast on all the juicy details of who owns what.

Related Stuffs:

Source: Venture Beat

Microsoft E3 Tons Of Goodies Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 20:01:00 +0000

By: Syeed

So Microsoft recently held their Keynote at E3 and they’ve got quite a few interesting new plans for Xbox 360 and Live.

First off, live T.V and YouTube will finally be coming to Xbox 360. From what I understand it’s rolling out in Australia and France, but I haven’t been able to track down any specific details on a US release. This is a pretty big addition and might allow for future software that could make your Xbox into a DVR. The new T.V service will also have full Kinect support as well as make use of Bin voice search to help users find content.

As far as games go, it was sequel-a-plenty time there’s Halo 4, which will be the first in a new Halo trilogy, a remake of the original Halo…but in HD and with online co-op, Kinect Star Was was announced…pretty much any decent selling Xbox 360 ever is getting a sequel it seems. My favorite and one I’ve been waiting awhile for is Mass Effect 3, I love that game and can’t wait to finish it out.

There were some other cool things for Kinect announced such as support that will allow players to scan their faces and whatnot, I guess if your going to be shooting your friends in the face online, it might as well look like ‘em right? There’s also tell of a Kinect-enabled version of Mincraft releasing next year, and Kinect Fun Labs, an addition to the Xbox 360’s dashboard that’s pretty much just a goof-around tool for Kinect.

Related Stuffs:

Geek O System: Microsoft’s E3 2011 Keynote Recap
International Business Times: E3 Day 1: Microsoft Launches Streaming TV for Xbox Live
The Kansas City Star: 'Mass Effect 3' moves beyond dirty dozen, to a warring galaxy