Category Archives: General

Congratulations, Longhorn Windows Vista! The birth of your first virus!

And so it begins.

According to Info World, an Austrian hacker whose aliases include “Second Part To Hell” and “Mario” wrote viruses designed to take advantage of a new command shell in Windows Vista, code-named Monad. Published on July 21 in a virus-writing tutorial for the underground hacker group called the Ready Ranger Liberation Front, the viruses are considered to be proof-of-concept, and appear to be the first for the new OS, whose beta was released mere days before.

I don’t know about any of you, but I’m still trying to figure out what/where the First Part To Hell is.

Soon, all of the rock climbers I know are going to thank the kite flyers. A group of Squids (Squid Labs in Emeryville, CA) decided to put some sensors on their four string kite one day. The load sensors led to more sensors and a wire core in the rope. This is when they realized that rope isn’t just used to fly kites, and this technology could be used in a ton of different applications. The rope is smart, and tells you before it breaks, that it will break.

Hopefully with nano technology we’ll get this incorporated into fishing line. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve hooked the big one, and broke my line. If only my PDA alerted me right before that “snap”, I would know to let up and allow free Willie do his thing before I start reeling him in again.

If you’re Continental Airlines, providing your customers with free wireless internet access at Boston’s Logan airport could apparently “pose an unacceptable potential risk” to communications gear used by security personnel. This story got some long legs yesterday when the Associated Press, among others, wrote about Logan’s attempt to terminate Continental’s free WiFi node, which is in direct competition to the airport’s $7.95/day service.

According to the AP, Continental’s lounge at Logan has been wireless-ready since June 2004, but it took Logan officials more than 12 months to notify the airline in writing that the antenna for said service “violated the terms of its lease.” Conveniently enough, Massport, the agency responsible for the airport’s operation, then apparently told the airline it could route its wireless signals over Logan’s own WiFi signal. This, of course, could be done at a “very reasonable rate structure.” The FCC is unlikely to rule on the matter before Aug. 29, the deadline for accepting public comments on Continental’s complaint.

At least the article goes on to quote someone willing to call Massport’s bluff. “It’s hard to imagine how this is a security threat,” an industry consultant says. “They clearly don’t want the competition.”

Really?

So apparently last week’s Christian Game Developers Conference was noteworthy enough for Wired’s John Gartner to write not one but two articles on game publishers striving to, according to one CEO, “…shake up the industry in a positive way.” Given Rockstar’s recent avalanche of bad press surrounding GTA: San Andreas, I suppose the timing of such articles couldn’t be better.

Perhaps it’s just me, but one of the games Gartner writes about, Timothy and Titus, from Australia’s White Knight Games, really perplexes me. The simple fact that a company has designed a role-playing game emphasizing increasing love, hope and faith points instead of health or weapon skills kinda leaves me dumbfounded. As an educated, fair-minded and tolerant person I’m not passing judgement on the validity of such concepts in video games, but perhaps because I was raised on car racing, Goomba bashing, ID’s gory shooters or the wonderful work of Sid Meier, Maxis and Blizzard, my mind is not equipped to even process the existence of a game where you can pray for foes or use the “finger of God” to convert them. That’s right…YOU CAN USE THE FINGER OF GOD TO CONVERT THEM. Am I the only one who’s really hoping this topic becomes the subject of a Penny Arcade comic sometime in the near future? If so, just go ahead and use the damn finger of God on me already. I guess I deserve to be purged of my inner heathen.

UPDATE (7:42 am PST 8/5/05): Check the comments for a clarification on Gartner’s article. I guess my inner heathen might be safe after all!

Dearest Vanessa,

I am not in the market for office software, not even at “bottom prices”. I do believe you when you say your software is 2-10 times cheaper than your competitors, but I have all the software I need right now. I also agree that $89.95 is a great deal for Windows XP Professional + Office XP Professional, thanks. I am not sure if I’ll make it to your Web site anytime soon, although your Web address is quite memorable, “http://oeuujgrftcavou98mx.digreceam.info” just flows right off the tongue.

Seriously though, I’ve done the math, I get it, I know spam works. But can’t you let me opt out of the stuff which simply does not apply? I am not in need of a mortgage, a university diploma, larger breasts, viaggra (or viaagra, or even vi-AGRA), and I really don’t have the time to become a secret shopper.

I’ve read a few reports recently which talk about spam emails finally showing signs of decline. I guess it’s possible. All I can tell is two things:
1) I get tons of spam, to just about every email address I have.
2) I no longer have any confidence that when I send an email to someone they actually get it, because their spam filter may have decided I am risky, simply because I attached a picture to the email!

I heard about the Russian spammer who was killed for spamming. This is not a good thing. But maybe it will make Vanessa J Smith and her Windows software, Lonnie Nieves and his replica Rolex watches, and Laurelle Spangler’s pharmacy think twice before adding another million names to their lists.

I hate [giggle] to be labeled as the scoffer of LIVEdigitally, but I told you this would happen months ago. Gizmondo has decided that it’s just not a heavy enough hitter to play with the big boys. The GPS, messaging, gaming device didn’t have a chance. Considering that the PSP and Nintendo DS just came out, and have been breaking tons of ground with different mods and hacks, this overweight, under featured cop off just wasn’t going to cut the butter.

If Kotaku and Gizmodo say it’s so, and of the time they’re not wrong. I have no questions about it. Farewell Gizmondo, you can join the dodo bird and the dinosaurs. But don’t be jealous of them, since they actually existed at one point.

Seeing information about CraftRobo, the printer with the built in cutting head capable of spitting out pre-cut patterns that can then be folded into 3d objects reminded me of this incredibly cool section of Yamaha’s web site (who knew?). Apparently motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, industrial robots, unmanned helicopters and pool technology just weren’t enough.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, thanks to the good folks at Yamaha Motor Co., those of us lucky enough to possess an internet-enabled computer and a printer (color, preferably) can make our very own “Paper Crafts.” From the YZR-M1 motorcycle to the sumatran orang-utan or even the little spotted kiwi (how cute!), the site has a wealth of patterns, each as pdfs that also include assembly directions. Forget the excitement over hauling long-thought-extinct coelacanths up from the bowels of the ocean – I have one right on my desk!

Get to work, people! I want to see five animals and two machines on my desk by the end of the day!

Today I spent some time following this forum over at Ars Technica. It’s a very interesting commentary about what appears to be an emerging aspect of the console gaming industry, specifically based on Sony Computer Entertainment CEO/Prez Ken Kutaragi’s comments on how expensive the PS3 is going to be:

“I’m aware that with all these technologies, the PS3 can’t be offered at a price that’s targeted towards households. [as opposed to..?] I think everyone can still buy it if they wanted to…I’m not going to reveal its price today. I’m only going to say that it’ll be expensive.”
[courtesy Ars Technica and CNET]

The entire thread is interesting because of the simple fact that the purported pricing schemes (a ≥$399 PS3!) in home gaming consoles stands diametrically opposed to, say, pricing in the pc industry. The article does point out, to its credit, the fact that all of this talk may just be that…talk. Get people to expect something to sell for over $400 and deliver a system for a good bit less, and they eagerly snap it up. I don’t how much weight can be placed in that theory, but then again, I don’t pretend to be an expert on the gaming industry. Add Kutaragi’s comments about the PS3’s apparent 10 year life cycle to the mix, and it’s more than the fanboys who are left with stuff to talk about.

DefCon is short for Defense Condition. DefCon is also the underground hacker convention, 13 years and going strong. It’s not that underground when it’s the first google hit when I type in “defcon”, but hey, that’s how computer nerds do it. So I have been reading a bit about this vegas geekfest and found that DefCon is a DefGo for me next year. One of these stories is a mix between Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, an interesting DefCon perspective from a female point of view.

The second most interesting DefCon story is about 124.9 miles long! That’s right, a few guys got together and transmitted an unamplified WiFi signal from a mountain top in Utah to the Vegas outskirts. Two donated satellite dishes and some rental vans put these guys in the record books for longest WiFi link. I love how they pointed the dish at Vegas and picked up a broadcasted signal! They were surfing the web!