News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
Don’t know how long this offer will last, but Amazon is selling the MP3 version of the Guns N’ Roses Greatest Hits album for a mere 25 cents.
Thanks to Pam Cooper for this topic.
Update: Unfortunately the offer is no longer valid—the album is back to its regular price.
Link: www.amazon.com/…
Samsung has released a new type of smartphone, one that’s a hybrid phone/tablet and which also allows you to use a stylus (in addition to your fingers). It’s called the Galaxy Note and is a throwback to the pre-smartphone PDA days. I could be wrong, but I don’t really see it becoming all that popular.
Thanks to Donna Cloman for this link
Link: http://online.wsj.com/…
Windows 8 is being touted as a “generational” change to the Windows product line, much in the same way that Windows 95 was. The linked article gives a brief synopsis of what we can expect to see. The major hurdle appears to be that every Windows user will have to learn a radically new interface—we’ll see how that works out.
In case you missed them, Hulu has online videos of this year’s Superbowl commercials (it also has previous years back to 2008). Here are my three favorites:
And then there’s the one where Priceline (finally!) kills off William Shatner.
Note that it may be necessary to disable your browser’s ad-blocking software in order to view the site.
Link: http://www.hulu.com/…
From the linked article: “3M has developed a see-through film that turns ordinary windows into solar panels. … A square meter of the film can generate roughly enough electricity to charge an iPhone under peak sunlight, but still allows for high visibility.” It’s an easy, do-it-yourself install and will go on sale sometime this year.
Link: http://www.computerworld.com/…
(via Kim Komando)
I posted this topic just because the name is so neat. “Frankenmalware” describes the result of a computer virus infecting a computer worm. The worm then propagates the virus.
For those who find this confusing, here’s a short tutorial on the difference between a virus and a worm. A virus is malware that attaches itself to executable files on a computer. When an infected file is run, the virus code is also run. Viruses may or may not contain mechanisms to spread themselves to other machines. A worm, however, is a standalone program that propagates itself over a network by taking advantage of security holes in target machines. Unlike viruses, worms do not have to attach themselves to existing executable files—a worm is autonomous. Note that the distinction between viruses and worms is not perfect—some malware contains components of both—and we have a tendency to lump them all under the umbrella name of “viruses”.
So frankenmalware occurs when a computer that’s already infected with a worm gets infected with a virus, and the virus attaches itself to the worm’s executable file. When the worm spreads to another machine, it unknowingly carries the virus and infects the new computer. All of this is done without the intervention of the user or the knowledge of the people who wrote the virus/worm.
Link: http://www.malwarecity.com/…
(via Kim Komando)
Forget those expensive space tourism trips to the International Space Station! A Russian company named Orbital Technologies is planning to have a space hotel in orbit by 2016. A five-night stay will cost $1 million.
Link: http://www.smh.com.au/…
(via Bureau 42)
The creation of Unix at Bell Labs was a revolutionary moment in the history of computing. It has shaped the future of the field, and set in place foundational elements of the modern open source movement. The linked article describes how the Unix revolution was dictated, in part, by a 1956 anti-trust consent decree between AT&T and the US government. Who would have thought that such a small footnote in history could have a significant impact today, over 50 years later?
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
The author of the linked article argues that most tablet manufacturers are making a mistake by trying to cram as many high-tech hardware features as possible into their tablet computers. He contends that, aside from a small number of gadget-loving technophiles, users don’t care about those features. He then goes on to say that Apple and Amazon have the right idea, which is to create a solid base of services that integrate with the tablet, and that this infrastructure is what’s making their tablets successful. His argument makes sense to me, and if he’s right, I think we can see a shakeout in the industry within two or three years.
Samuel Kioskli, a man who worked for an ATM servicing company, was arrested on charges of stealing $200,000 from the ATMs his company managed. What qualifies this for the coveted Chad’s News “stupid criminals” status is that (1) he allegedly replaced the stolen money with photocopied forgeries, thus quickly bringing attention to the crime as angry customers called the bank, and (2) he was under video surveillance at the time.
Link: http://www.sfgate.com/…
(via Slashdot)
In the linked article, Kim Komando gives several good reasons for not sharing your wireless internet connection with neighbors. An important one being that if the neighbor does anything illegal, the police arrest you and confiscate your computer equipment. (On the other hand, if you’re the one doing illegal stuff over the internet, I’ve actually heard people suggest that it’s a good idea to leave your wireless router unsecured—so there’s reasonable doubt concerning who performed the crime.)
Link: http://www.komando.com/…
The linked article has 10 stupid computer user stories, told by a computer support person. Many of them are too old to be relevant in today’s computer-savvy world, but my favorite is “The janitor’s closet”.
