Topic: COMPUTER - on May 5, 2007 at 11:56:00 AM CEST
Virtual Rape Is Traumatic, but Is It a Crime?
Last month, two Belgian publications reported that the Brussels police have begun an investigation into a citizen's allegations of rape -- in Second Life.
I am half convinced that the tantalizingly brief story, printed in De Morgen and Het Laatste Nieuws, is a hoax or an April Fool's joke.
Yet it has prompted several threads of discussion, from a legal analysis to four pages of commentary at the Second Citizen forums.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: COMPUTER - on May 5, 2007 at 11:04:00 AM CEST
MacLockPick
The solution is based on a USB Flash drive that can be inserted into a suspect's Mac OS X computer that is running (or sleeping). Once the software is run it will extract data from the Apple Keychain and system settings in order to provide the examiner fast access to the suspect's critical information with as little interaction or trace as possible.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: COMPUTER - on May 3, 2007 at 2:12:00 PM CEST
PhreakNIC 0x0b
PhreakNIC is an annual gathering in Nashville, TN, for hackers, makers, security professionals, and general technology enthusiasts. Hours upon hours of both informative and entertaining presentations are given by volunteers and many areas are set up with the intent of encouraging socialization. In our 11th year, we are now the longest running non-commercial hacker convention in the United States.
The 11th Annual PhreakNIC (PN0x0b) will be held from Friday, October 19, 2007 through Sunday, October 21,2007 at the Days Inn Stadium in Nashville, TN. This is fifth year in the same hotel.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: COMPUTER - on May 2, 2007 at 1:22:00 PM CEST
One man writes Linux drivers for 235 USB webcams
A LONE HOBBYIST programmer sitting at his home in France is responsible for adding 235 USB webcams to the list of those supported by Linux. He tells the INQUIRER about this often unknown and unrecognised achievement.
Near three years ago, I purchased the cheapest USB webcams - actually, pair - I could find at the time, without taking into consideration whether those webcams worked with Linux or not. I ran one desktop PC with Win2K and one of the webcams was plugged to that box. I quickly found out several things: first, "Made in China" webcams surely are cheap, but that comes at a price of often having no support web site, no physical address of the manufacturer, and no updates to its drivers. The Win2K drivers for the "DigiGR8" 301P had apparently a memory leak under Win2k, forcing me to reboot the win2k box on a daily basis. Basically it just stopped working after a dozen hours of continuous use, and rebooting was the only solution.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: COMPUTER - on April 28, 2007 at 1:29:00 PM CEST
10 Stunning Facts About Microsoft’s Profits
The VAR Guy has written extensively about Microsoft’s problems. But today, he got a stunning reminder about the company’s power. It takes Microsoft only 10 hours of business to exceed Red Hat’s entire quarterly profit. Skeptical? Check out the math, and nine other facts about Microsoft’s profits.
Microsoft today announced quarterly revenue of $14.4 billion and net income of $4.93 billion. In other words, Microsoft’s daily net income is about $55 million. That’s $55 million in pure profit every 24 hours. Do some quick math and you’ll learn it takes Microsoft only about…
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: COMPUTER - on April 27, 2007 at 12:40:00 PM CEST
Magnetic Field by Chaoscope
Chaoscope is a 3D strange attractors rendering software. Below is a sample of pictures rendered by the program. You can check the Gallery to see more examples of what Chaoscope can do. It is an ongoing project created and maintained by Nicolas Desprez ; the current version is 0.3.1. It is a freeware running on the Windows™ platform.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: COMPUTER - on April 27, 2007 at 12:31:00 PM CEST
Hackety Hack
Nearly four years ago, I wrote an essay called The Little Coder's Predicament. It's not too unusual. Lots of others like it have been written. The point is: programming just isn't available to people like it was with the Commodore 64. I also outlined my requirements for a new cross-platform programming environment for beginners.
The essay was widely linked on Slashdot, Reddit, Lambda, etc. I got lots of mail from people who both agreed and disagreed. Great. Nice. Good people all of them! And yet, nothing has changed. Not really!
I've been told of the Xbox development kit and possible programming of Wii channels. The Playstation actually had a language. But none if it has met my criteria for a proper coding platform.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: COMPUTER - on April 24, 2007 at 12:56:00 PM CEST
Beryl: The Cool Linux UI Reviewed
To this day, I still have to smile when new Linux users decide to take the plunge because they want the cool looking visual effects that Beryl offers. To some limited degree, I can understand the motivation. The stunning videos on YouTube are certainly compelling to those who have never tried to use the setup themselves. Unfortunately, there are still some valid reasons for sticking with the alternatives for the time being. Let's explore some of the issues that I have found with using Beryl.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: COMPUTER - on April 24, 2007 at 12:52:00 PM CEST
Pirates Of Silicon Valley
Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999) is an unauthorized made-for-television docudrama written and directed by Martyn Burke. Based upon the book, Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer, by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine, this film documents the rise of the home computer/personal computer through the rivalry between Apple Computer (Apple II and the Apple Macintosh) and Microsoft (MITS Altair, DOS, IBM PC, and Windows).
The central story of the film begins in the early 1970s and ends in 1985 when Steve Jobs was fired by CEO John Sculley from Apple Computer.
1 hr 36 min 50 sec
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: COMPUTER - on April 24, 2007 at 12:46:00 PM CEST
25th Anniversary of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
Twenty five years ago today, Sinclair Research launched Britain's most popular home computer of the 1980s — the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Costing about one third of the price of its rivals such as the Commodore 64 while having a faster CPU and a better BASIC interpreter, the machine sold well in many guises throughout the 1980s and had more than a staggering 9,000 software titles.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: COMPUTER - on April 22, 2007 at 11:37:00 AM CEST
Microsoft Silverlight to copy Flash video tricks, Adobe responds
Microsoft last week made what is likely to be a lame attempt to slam the barn door after the video horse has bolted, copying the Adobe Flash Video strategy with a product that is quite simply too late.
Microsoft spectacularly blew the PC video market despite its huge global lead in Windows Media Player, with its onboard codec and DRM and more and more the Microsoft digital media strategy appears to be in tatters.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: COMPUTER - on April 20, 2007 at 11:52:00 AM CEST
Colour barcode system to hit DVDs
A colour barcode system holding more data than current codes will find its way onto DVDs later this year.
The four and eight-colour geometric patterns can hold up to two-pages of data, double the amount of traditional black and white, striped barcodes.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
