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Comcast pwned cause of their attitude. |
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Written by Chris Tangora
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Friday, 30 May 2008 |
 So ComCast & Network Solutions got pwned by some hackers earlier in the week. Why the hackers were initially trying to get in is still up in the air. The hackers "Defiant" and "EBK" openly don't like ComCast, but is it enough to really take over their internet services? Regardless of initial motivation, they did. At first it was playful, they hacked into Network Solutions and changed the contact on one of the 200 ComCast domain names they now controlled. ComCast noticed this and immediately got control back. The hackers, part of the underground group Kryogeniks, didn't stop there. They continued there attack via Network Solutions and regained control of the 200 domains. Once they were in a second time they played around and called the technical contact for the domain names. After the manager hung up on them they got mad, and that is when things went really bad.
Defiant and EBK then went on an all night binge of moving the ComCast servers around the internet, essentially toying with ComCast and causing massive disruptions to ComCast users getting access to their emails. Eventually ComCast/Network Solutions did pull control back in, but it took a while for all the DNS's to point to the correct server. During this time they could have had access to the financial information of the ComCast users, but they chose not to. They simply wanted to "stick it" to ComCast. Well, they did. But now they are waiting for that knock, err, pound, uhhh... bashing of the door down by the feds to take them in for questioning/arrest.
The part that gets me is how open the hackers are about it. They completely screwed Network Solutions and ComCast, and they are giving interviews about it. If you look at Defiant's myspace page there is a picture of him smoking a bong. DUDES!!!! Sometimes you gotta keep that stuff quiet. Don't be broadcasting it or you'll get busted. Kids, will they ever learn?
The moral of the story. If you have an account on Network Solutions, I'd be careful. And if some kid calls you telling you that he has control of your domain names, don't be rude.
Read more at Wired.com
Defiant's apparent MySpace page.
 Comments (4)
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Watch us as we break the law. |
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Written by Chris Tangora
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Thursday, 29 May 2008 |
 I did it. You don't realize it yet, but that picture to the left is a direct patent infringement. You can't tell by just looking at it, but if you click on it you'll see that it is linked to another webpage. Don't tell the cops, at least don't tell the Singapore cops. Apparently the Singapore based VueStar has a patent granted in 2006 that says if you have an image that is linked to another web page, you are using their Intellectual Property and are in direct patent infringement.
Okay. Yes, this is true. But it is also a load of crap. VueStar has sent out invoice to companies asking for money from them for using their patents. If push comes to shove this should fall under the "obviousness test" that the Supreme Court helped reinforce recently. If this were a true patent infringement everyone from your grandma to Google would be in violation. There are more details that the patent goes into but they are all a load of BS, like searching through a database to find images to display? Really? Bottom line, don't worry about the cops busting down your door to slap you with a fine, unless you live in Singapore.
Favorite quote is from VueStar, "If your site is only text and has no images, icons or other patent methods then no license required".
Link to US Patent 7065520
From theinquirer.net via arstechnia.com
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FastMac's all purpose battery charger. |
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Written by Chris Tangora
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Friday, 23 May 2008 |
 Finally. This is what heavy laptop uses have been waiting for, a battery charger that is NOT device specific. If you have more than one type of laptop or more than one battery you know what I mean. Apple changes the battery layout with every model and size change, so if you buy a battery stand it is usually only good for that model or that size. FastMac realized this and has made the U-Charger , a "U"niversal laptop battery charger.
What really gets me so giddy about this is how many batteries it can charge. "All 10.8V Apple Laptop Batteries Produced Since 1999." Yes, that's right. You can buy one external battery charger and charge your iBook G3 or your MacBook Pro. There are a few models that it can't charge (14.4v models), but they are working on the another version for these. Craziness I tell you. It is currently on sale for $69.99 (retails for $89.99). If you've looked at other chargers that just do one battery type you know how good of a deal this is. If you are a road warrior, consider this your new shield.
Click here to see the battery list supported by the U-Charger
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Fastest Mac DVD drive for less |
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Written by Chris Tangora
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Thursday, 22 May 2008 |
 Other World Computer, macsales.com, now has the fastest DVD burners for the Mac. If you have a PowerPC tower or desktop (excluding the G5 iMac and MacMini) you can get extremely fast burn speeds for dirt cheap. For $32 you can get a 20x DVD write speeds and 10x DVD-DL speed. For an additional $3 you can upgrade to a lightscribe DVD burner with even faster DVD-DL & CD speeds, and you can burn DVD-RAM up to 12x. These aren't knock off brands either, OWC has always carried what we consider quality Mac products and this is no exception. The $32 DVD burner is a Pioneer and the $35 burner is Samsung .
While these are great deals you do have to look at the background to this. These are really good speeds for DVD burners, no doubt. But the only problem I can see is the eventual fading out of DVD's. Granted that it won't happen for a few more years, but once we start seeing the BluRay disc burners coming into the Mac the rest of the industry will follow. The DVD supply will be around for a long time. It's convenient and it isn't proprietary (like BluRay).
If you don't have a PPC tower OWC still has some DVD drives that will work for your upgrades. They also offer BluRay readers as well, but they start out at $160 and go up quickly to the upper $600's. If you have a PPC tower or desktop that you plan on keeping for the next 2 to 4 years these DVD burners are worth a look. If you get one and you like it, make sure you send them your old one back for a cash refund on it (it's not much, but every dollar helps).
Comparison of high definition optical formats
OWC's rebates for old opticals
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OLPC's next greatest thing |
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Written by Chris Tangora
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Wednesday, 21 May 2008 |
 One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), laptop.org, announced their next version of the sub $100 notebook, the XO-2. The original XO laptop actually came in well over $100 (at $188) and was getting bogged down with patent disputes and OS questions (Windows pushed their way in). The specs haven't been released yet, but the design is out and it is attracting all sorts of attention.
The new laptop's main feature is that it has two screens and no keyboard. The bottom screen can act as a keyboard while the top will be the display. Both displays can also act as if you were reading a book. This seems like the biggest benefit of all to the new layout. Lots of people have criticized the design saying it is not going to be achievable, or that it will cost well more than the current XO. OLPC says that in two years all the parts will cost no more than $75 per computer.
When I first saw the new design I had a memory of some older Apple patents. The patents were for the multi-touch keyboard display. I did some digging and couldn't find the exact patent, but did find a nice list of similar patents that Apple holds over at Functioning Form, lukew.com/ff. That got me wondering. Since OLPC said no to Apple's offer for OS X to be the OS for the XO, did Steve do some patent trading to get it on the next version of the XO? If the XO-2 is using an Apple patent, what are the chances that Windows will be available by default and not by hack?
Thanks to Marco for the shout out from DIGG
More on the XO-2 from the BBC.
List of apple touch interface patents at lukew.com.
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Play almost anything on the AppleTV |
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Written by Chris Tangora
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Wednesday, 21 May 2008 |
 Apple Core, LLC released version 2.2 of their aTV Flash for the AppleTV. aTV Flash allows AppleTV owners to play nearly any format, from AVI and DivX to WMV, along with raw DVD files without converting them first. It also allows streaming directly from UPnP streaming servers.
It retails for $69.95, on sale online from Apple Core for $59.95. The great part is that it comes as an USB flash drive, so it doesn't void your warranty. If your Apple TV has hardware issues, simply remove the flash drive and you can be back to the original settings. The link on the website for their codecs is broken, so use our link to get to the correct page. If you have an Apple TV, this small investment is definitely worth a look.
Full codecs supported (and not supported) by the aTV Flash
More info about the aTV Flash at Apple Core, LLC
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Intel makes mashup easy in FireFox |
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Written by Chris Tangora
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Tuesday, 20 May 2008 |
 Intel has beta released Mash Maker, a plug-in for FireFox that allows end users to make their own mashup pages. Mash Maker works in the FireFox (Mac version 1.0 and greater) and in Windows under FireFox (v1 +) and I.E. 7.
The idea is good, but it is still in beta so expect a few glitches. Mash Maker allows you to take pre-made widgets and make floating, collapsible windows above your web content. Calorie counters, stop watches, Google Maps and note takers are just some of the pre-installed widgets. An API is available to create your own, but no programming knowledge is needed to use the pre-defined widgets. The download is simple, but requires a registration to login to the plug-in.
More on Intel's Mash Maker
Download Mash Maker
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Protect your iPod/iPhone, cure cancer. |
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Written by Chris Tangora
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
 Otterbox makes cases for lots of things, but they are also helping out a good cause. 10% of the purchase price of all Otterbox for iPhone and the Defender Series for the 3rd gen iPod Nano goes to the Avon Breat Cancer Crusade.
Yes, they're pink. But pink is in fashion now. Support a good cause and protect your investments at the same time. Plus they are a limited edition. Grab one for yourself or for your friend.
Otterbox & the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade
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