Accounts of CNN anchor Rick Sanchez, Fox News, Barack Obama, and Britney Spears have also been reportedly hacked
The social networking blog site Twitter is facing security related issues these days. According to reports, more than 30 Twitter accounts have been hacked recently. These include accounts of prominent people like President-elect Barack Obama, Britney Spears, and CNN anchor Rick Sanchez. Accounts of well-known organizations like Fox News have also been reportedly hacked.
This phishing attack seems to have spread rapidly over the last two days and has lead to obscene comments written about private parts, drugs, and sex. However, these comments were soon deleted by the Twitter authorities or the account holders.
A post on the official Twitter blog said that they immediately locked down the accounts and investigated the issue. These accounts were compromised by an individual who hacked into some of the tools used by Twitter s support team. Twitter, then, immediately took the support tools offline and will put them back only when they're safe and secure.
All i can say is that if you are a Twitter user, avoid clicking on links from unknown sources and report any kind of unusual activity you spot on the website.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Twitter Nods for TV Series, News Show
Twitter, a micro-blogging service, has earned popularity by leaps and bounds albeit without any concrete business model. These days, Twitter users, fans and the entire web is buzzing with the speculations about an upcoming Twitter TV show. Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, posted on the official Twitter blog that production companies like MTV, CNN, G4, E! and other independent production houses are looking forward to leverage on Twitter for new projects.
Earlier this month, Twitter reportedly tied up with ABC news to come up with a weekly digital show called NightTLine. The show allows the users to discuss and debate on the news of the day on Twitter.
Twitter has also partnered with Reveille and Brillstein Entertainment to develop an unscripted TV drama with the aim of putting ordinary people on the trail of celebrities in a revolutionary competitive format. Variety reported that Reveille (creators of The Office) and Brillstein Entertainment (creators of Samantha Who) had jointly announced yesterday this project which is project concept of Novelist Amy Ephron.
Stone further stated that Twitter has a 'lightweight, non-exclusive, agreement with the producers' for TV series but denied that there is an official Twitter Show.
Slowly but gradually, we might end up watching Twitter in many new TV shows.
Earlier this month, Twitter reportedly tied up with ABC news to come up with a weekly digital show called NightTLine. The show allows the users to discuss and debate on the news of the day on Twitter.
Twitter has also partnered with Reveille and Brillstein Entertainment to develop an unscripted TV drama with the aim of putting ordinary people on the trail of celebrities in a revolutionary competitive format. Variety reported that Reveille (creators of The Office) and Brillstein Entertainment (creators of Samantha Who) had jointly announced yesterday this project which is project concept of Novelist Amy Ephron.
Stone further stated that Twitter has a 'lightweight, non-exclusive, agreement with the producers' for TV series but denied that there is an official Twitter Show.
Slowly but gradually, we might end up watching Twitter in many new TV shows.
Nokia 'Rover' Tablet Pictures Leaked
what's evident from the only picture of the device is that it has more of an N-Series touch whilst still retaining the much needed tablet look. The blurry shot sure doesn't really help things out. We do have some details from the article posted yesterday. The device codenamed "Rover" has also been termed the N900 by some. At this time, we only have a few details regarding the processor, screen size and that it will sport a separate 3D chip. Then, there is the 5 megapixel camera that should keep imaging buffs happy.
On the software front, it will come loaded with Maemo 5. Overall, the general compactness and reduction in the size of the device should appeal many and should let users "upgrade" to one of these, instead of opting for the N97.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Gustave the Croc Surfaces to Strike Again - One of Africa's most elusive killers is back in action in Burundi.
A cold-blooded serial killer is on the loose. His name is Gustave. He's 20 feet long, weighs 2,000 pounds, and stands accused of devouring hundreds of people. Writer Michael McRae and photographer Bobby Model travel to war-torn Burundi to confront the man-eater.
Text by Michael McRae
Photograph Bobby Model
Patrice Faye is standing on the west bank of Burundi's Rusizi River with binoculars raised to his eyes.
"Quatre metres," the 52-year-old French expatriate says nonchalantly as he sizes up a 13-foot-long Nile crocodile basking on a sandbar 50 yards away. It's a wiltingly hot day at the end of the dry season in central Africa, and the muddy Rusizi, though diminished in height and volume, is still racing toward its rendezvous with Lake Tanganyika, a mile downstream. Faye has been studying Burundi's crocodiles for two decades and has seen countless individuals of this size. The bull is about 25 years old and weighs roughly 500 pounds—just average for a young adult male of the species, yet still capable of inflicting tremendous harm on man or beast.
This croc isn't the creature that Faye is looking for, however. Like Captain Ahab, the self-taught naturalist is preoccupied with one monster in particular: Gustave, the largest, most fabled crocodile in all of Africa—a demonic Loch Ness Monster of incredible proportions and, according to legend, appetite. Gustave is reputed to have devoured hundreds of villagers, snatching them from the banks of the Rusizi and the northeastern shores of Lake Tanganyika. Faye estimates that the massive croc measures 20 feet long, weighs one ton, and is 60 years old (wild crocs, on average, live to age 45). Trained herpetologists agree that Gustave could be that large and that he is certainly one of the most infamous man-eaters of all time. But Faye's assertion that Gustave kills for sport—knocking off villager after villager like some killing machine—leaves skeptics clearing their throats.
I've come to Burundi to suss out the myths and realities surrounding Gustave, and, hopefully, to document the end of his alleged bloody rampage. With me are photographer Bobby Model and French film director Vincent Munie. Along with Faye, an able storyteller who after six years of sleuthing knows more about Gustave than anyone, the three of us make up an advance search team. Our mission is to track down Gustave; he is still on the loose but has been sighted as recently as three weeks ago. We have five days to locate him before the arrival of our colleague Brady Barr, the world record holder for croc wrangling—3,000 captured in 15 years.
12-year-old's drawing to grace Google page
One of the perks of using search engine Google's home page is checking out the frequently changing seasonal, current-event, and holiday-inspired "doodles" used for the logo.
Soon the work of 12-year-old Christin Engelberth will occupy the Google spotlight to be viewed by millions of online searchers worldwide.
On Wednesday, Google announced that Christin, a sixth-grader at Bernard Harris Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, is this year's winner of "Doodle 4 Google," a yearly competition that asks K-12 students to dream up their own variation of the logo. Her work will be featured on Google's main site for 24 hours on Thursday.
The theme of this year's contest was "What I Wish for the World."
"Both our country and the world are undergoing significant change," Google said on the contest's Web pages. At Google we believe in thinking big, and dreaming big, and we can't think of anything more important than encouraging students to do the same."
"A New Beginning," the title of Christin's doodle, depicts the Google logo as a land and sea naturescape intertwined with trees, a frog and leaping dolphin, a curious lizard, a turtle and fish, and a butterfly set against an orange and yellow background with a rising sun represented by the second "O" in "Google."
Christin said she portrayed a dawn as a symbol of a new day. Her wish was that "out of the current crisis, discoveries will be found to help the Earth prosper once more." She added that wanted to portray a brighter tomorrow and "discoveries being made lead to a better Earth for everyone."
Christin said her initial idea for a doodle was for animal conservation, but then she decided "it shouldn't just include animals; it should include the rest of the world."
Christin did check out her competition, and said she thought the other doodles were "much better than mine."
But a panel of independent judges and Google employees, along with close to 6 million online voters, disagreed, and chose her sketch as the overall winner from a field of over 28,000 other submissions.
Google's Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience, and Dennis Hwang, webmaster manager, said on the Google Blog that Christin's design was part of "a very creative pool of doodles."
As the national winner, Christin will receive a $15,000 college scholarship, a laptop, and a $25,000 technology grant for her school, in addition to having her artwork featured on the Google site.
She was presented with her award at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City, where Google also unveiled an exhibit of the top doodles. They will be on display until July 5.
National finalists also were selected in three grade groups. Each will receive a laptop computer.
All winners were treated to a day in New York that Google said "included activities which promote peace, sustainability and wellness -- all inspired by this year's theme." The winners also will participate in a doodling class led by Dennis Hwang and the Google doodle team.
Grand prize winner Christin -- told she was excited to visit New York City -- said she's been "drawing for as long as she can remember."
When she grows up, she said, she hopes to do "anything to do with art."
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
The IUCN Red List of Endangered Species of Birds.
A record number of bird species are now listed as threatened with extinction, a global assessment has revealed.
The IUCN Red List evaluation considered 1,227, or 12%, of all known bird species to be at risk, with 192 species described as critically endangered.
The main threats affecting bird numbers continued to be agriculture, logging and invasive species, the report said.
However, it added that where conservation measures had been put in place, bird populations had recovered.
"It is extremely worrying that the number of Critically Endangered birds on the IUCN Red List continues to increase, despite successful conservation initiatives around the world," said Simon Stuart, chairman of the IUCN's Species Survival Commission.
The latest assessment, carried out by BirdLIfe International, uplisted nine species to Critically Endangered.
One species to be listed as Critically Endangered in the global survey, which began in 1988, was the gorgeted puffleg (Eriocnemis isabellae), a colourful hummingbird that was only recently described for the first time.
Conservationists say that the species only has about 1,200 hectares of habitat remaining in the cloud forests of south-west Colombia.
Yet, they add, about 8% of this area is being lost every year as a result of commercial coca plantations.
Unwelcomed guests
The palila (Loxioides baiilleui) is another species that has been uplisted.
This large finch has become the latest species to be categorised as Critically Endangered on Hawaii, which has become an "extinction hotspot for birds".
"It is yet another in a long line of Hawaiian species that have suffered as a result of the introduction of invasive species," BirdLife International's global species programme officer Jez Bird told.
Some of the threats included grazing animals, which destroyed the birds' habitat, and mosquitoes that carried avian malaria.
"There are now 14 species that are considered to be Critically Endangered on the islands, a number of which could possibly be extinct, so it is depressing to see another one apparently go the same way."
The islands are isolated volcanic outcrops in the eastern Pacific Ocean, where the introduction of novel species quickly destabilises the archipelago's ecosystems.
Globally, the main threats facing bird populations continued to be agriculture, deforestation and invasive species, Mr Bird explained, adding that there was no sign of the threats disappearing in the near future.
"Invasive species are something that is very well addressed by conservation efforts, and there is scope to avoid extinctions and turning species' fortunes around," he said.
"But things like agriculture and logging are continent-wide and much bigger problems.
"To tackle these in the long-term will require policy engagements rather than action on the ground."
Silver lining
While the overall trend was bleak for bird species, Mr Bird said that conservation efforts were paying dividends, such as in the case of the Mauritius fody (Foudia rubra).
"It's endemic to the islands of Mauritius, where the dodo went extinct along with a number of other species.
"But gradually this has been turned around and we have seen a number of species in recent years being downlisted to lower categories, including this fody."
He said this was a result of work by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation to tackle the threats posed by invasive species and habitat degradation.
The foundation had also established another population of fody on an offshore island, he added.
"Thanks to that introduction, there is now a secure population that is away from the immediate threats of invasive species, etc."
Mr Bird added that 32 species listed as Critically Endangered were the focus of conservation efforts, as part of the BirdLife International's Preventing Extinctions Programme.
Overall, this year's Red List saw 77 species change categories. While many alterations were the result of better data, 12 were the result of changes in population size or potential threats.
While nine species were uplisted to Critically Endangered, six were downlisted to Endangered.
"What the changes in this year's IUCN Red List tell us is that we can still turn things around for these species," said Dr Stuart Butchart, BirdLife's global research and indicators co-ordinator.
"There just has to be the will to act."
The IUCN Red List evaluation considered 1,227, or 12%, of all known bird species to be at risk, with 192 species described as critically endangered.
The main threats affecting bird numbers continued to be agriculture, logging and invasive species, the report said.
However, it added that where conservation measures had been put in place, bird populations had recovered.
"It is extremely worrying that the number of Critically Endangered birds on the IUCN Red List continues to increase, despite successful conservation initiatives around the world," said Simon Stuart, chairman of the IUCN's Species Survival Commission.
The latest assessment, carried out by BirdLIfe International, uplisted nine species to Critically Endangered.
One species to be listed as Critically Endangered in the global survey, which began in 1988, was the gorgeted puffleg (Eriocnemis isabellae), a colourful hummingbird that was only recently described for the first time.
Conservationists say that the species only has about 1,200 hectares of habitat remaining in the cloud forests of south-west Colombia.
Yet, they add, about 8% of this area is being lost every year as a result of commercial coca plantations.
Unwelcomed guests
The palila (Loxioides baiilleui) is another species that has been uplisted.
This large finch has become the latest species to be categorised as Critically Endangered on Hawaii, which has become an "extinction hotspot for birds".
"It is yet another in a long line of Hawaiian species that have suffered as a result of the introduction of invasive species," BirdLife International's global species programme officer Jez Bird told.
Some of the threats included grazing animals, which destroyed the birds' habitat, and mosquitoes that carried avian malaria.
"There are now 14 species that are considered to be Critically Endangered on the islands, a number of which could possibly be extinct, so it is depressing to see another one apparently go the same way."
The islands are isolated volcanic outcrops in the eastern Pacific Ocean, where the introduction of novel species quickly destabilises the archipelago's ecosystems.
Globally, the main threats facing bird populations continued to be agriculture, deforestation and invasive species, Mr Bird explained, adding that there was no sign of the threats disappearing in the near future.
"Invasive species are something that is very well addressed by conservation efforts, and there is scope to avoid extinctions and turning species' fortunes around," he said.
"But things like agriculture and logging are continent-wide and much bigger problems.
"To tackle these in the long-term will require policy engagements rather than action on the ground."
Silver lining
While the overall trend was bleak for bird species, Mr Bird said that conservation efforts were paying dividends, such as in the case of the Mauritius fody (Foudia rubra).
"It's endemic to the islands of Mauritius, where the dodo went extinct along with a number of other species.
"But gradually this has been turned around and we have seen a number of species in recent years being downlisted to lower categories, including this fody."
He said this was a result of work by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation to tackle the threats posed by invasive species and habitat degradation.
The foundation had also established another population of fody on an offshore island, he added.
"Thanks to that introduction, there is now a secure population that is away from the immediate threats of invasive species, etc."
Mr Bird added that 32 species listed as Critically Endangered were the focus of conservation efforts, as part of the BirdLife International's Preventing Extinctions Programme.
Overall, this year's Red List saw 77 species change categories. While many alterations were the result of better data, 12 were the result of changes in population size or potential threats.
While nine species were uplisted to Critically Endangered, six were downlisted to Endangered.
"What the changes in this year's IUCN Red List tell us is that we can still turn things around for these species," said Dr Stuart Butchart, BirdLife's global research and indicators co-ordinator.
"There just has to be the will to act."
Go Banana in Africa!!
You've heard of "green" fuel. Now get ready for yellow as scientists have found a way to turn banana waste into a sustainable fuel source that could be relevant to many countries across Africa.
The simple, low-tech idea, was developed by researchers at Nottingham University.
They used banana skins to create briquettes that can be burned for cooking, lighting and heating.
It could alleviate the burden of gathering firewood, the dominant energy source in many parts of the continent.
This would help reduce deforestation, which makes a significant contribution to global climate change.
Go yellow
In some African countries, like Rwanda, bananas are an important and versatile crop, used for food, wine and beer.
But experts estimate that the edible fruit makes up just a small part of what the plant produces.According to scientists, for every one tonne of bananas, there are an estimated ten tonnes of waste, made up of skins, leaves and stems.
It was on a visit to Rwanda that Joel Chaney, a PhD student from the University of Nottingham came up with the idea of developing a low-tech approach to turn this banana waste into an efficient fuel source.
Back in the laboratory at the University's faculty of engineering, Joel showed me how to make bananas burn.
He first mashes a pile of rotting skins and leaves. This pulp is then mixed with saw dust, compressed and dried to create briquettes that ignite readily and throw out a steady heat, ideal for cooking.
"The banana skins bind other materials together really well, they act like glue," says Mr Chaney.
European Commission slaps a record fine on Intel
Computer chipmaker Intel has been fined a record 1.06bn euros ($1.45bn; £948m) by the European Commission for anti-competitive practices.
It dwarfs the 497m euro fine levied on Microsoft in 2004 for abusing its dominant market position.
The Commission found that between 2002 and 2007, Intel had paid manufacturers and a retailer to favour its chips over those of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Intel has announced that it will appeal against the verdict.
Intel's senior vice president Bruce Sewell told BBC Five Live that Intel contested the findings and was seeking a chance to "clear our name and exonerate the company."
He denied "categorically" that it had paid manufacturers to favour its products over those of rivals.
"We would never pay for any kind of obligation," Mr Sewell said. "We provide incentives to customers to buy our products."
He added that there had been no harm to customers and that prices in the microprocessor market had fallen sharply in recent years.
The fine was welcomed by AMD, which had lodged complaints in 2000, 2003 and 2006.
"The EU decision will shift the power from an abusive monopolist to computer makers, retailers and above all PC consumers," said Giuliano Meroni, AMD's European president.
It dwarfs the 497m euro fine levied on Microsoft in 2004 for abusing its dominant market position.
The Commission found that between 2002 and 2007, Intel had paid manufacturers and a retailer to favour its chips over those of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Intel has announced that it will appeal against the verdict.
Intel's senior vice president Bruce Sewell told BBC Five Live that Intel contested the findings and was seeking a chance to "clear our name and exonerate the company."
He denied "categorically" that it had paid manufacturers to favour its products over those of rivals.
"We would never pay for any kind of obligation," Mr Sewell said. "We provide incentives to customers to buy our products."
He added that there had been no harm to customers and that prices in the microprocessor market had fallen sharply in recent years.
The fine was welcomed by AMD, which had lodged complaints in 2000, 2003 and 2006.
"The EU decision will shift the power from an abusive monopolist to computer makers, retailers and above all PC consumers," said Giuliano Meroni, AMD's European president.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Villagers come to the rescue of scorched turtles
Villagers have come to the rescue of about 500 fresh water turtles, reeling under the gruelling summer in Ganjam district, by getting diverted water from a canal to their drying pond.
Residents of Gollia village, 70 km from Berhampur, found that the turtles, who have been living for a long time in the pond, were hit hard in 2009 as the temperature rose and the pond started drying up.
"These creatures were in miserable condition though none of them died due to scarcity of water", Ashok Nanda, a villager, said.
The local people brought the matter to the notice of the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Ghumusar (South Division).
"When I came to know about the condition of the turtles due to water scarcity, I immediately approached the irrigation department and they assured that water will be released from the Baghua reservoir into the pond", said the DFO B K Mohanty.
"It is the villagers who have been protecting these turtles, treating them as an avatar of Vishnu. It is the only place in the state where such a large number of fresh water turtles are found", wildlife experts said.
The irrigation department officials released the water from the reservoir on Wednesday after personnel of the Forest department dug a one km-long canal to bring the water to the pond.
As soon as the water gushed into the pond, almost all the turtles raised their heads while floating in the water even as several of them tried to drink the fresh water, Mohanty said.
"The turtles have really got a new lease of life with the pond getting filled with water," he added.
The size of some of the turtles living in the pond is so big that a child can sit over them, a villager said. Legend has it that two of these turtles were brought to the pond at Gollia from the historic Indradyumna tank at Puri during the rule of the Bhanja dynasty.
Map of Swine Attack !!!!
Cases have now been confirmed in 23 countries around the world, including El Salvador, Costa Rica, Spain, Germany, South Korea, Hong Kong and Israel
This map is being updated regularly. Use the slider below the map to see how the virus has spread.
This map is being updated regularly. Use the slider below the map to see how the virus has spread.
UK swine flu genetics unravelled
The first genetic code of swine flu from European samples has been unravelled by UK researchers.
The Health Protection Agency has also announced it has now shared isolates of the UK virus with scientists working on a vaccine against the strain.
It will enable researchers to compare the virus affecting humans in Europe with that in Mexico and the US and look at the immune reaction it causes.
Health secretary Alan Johnson said the work was a "significant step".
Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had already made genetic information on the swine flu virus publicly available to scientists around the world.
But a team at the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) have been specifically working on getting the full genetic fingerprint of the virus that has infected Europeans.
They will also share the information globally which will help scientists better understand how the virus behaves as it infects people.
And because viruses have the potential to evolve and change their behaviour as they spread, researchers are also keen to keep an eye on any changes that might occur as more people become infected.
Gmail Down Again !!!!!
After few weeks of relative calm, Google's Gmail seems to have encountered another outage. While details of the outage are currently unknown, going by Twitter trends and related posts, it seems this one is on a fairly large scale and has affected a sizable number of users.
Google Apps users too have not been spared. Once you login, either on Gmail on your Google Apps mail page, you're greeted with the Temporary Error (500) message. If you were already logged in whilst the outage happened, you might see the "Oops the system encountered a problem (#767) - Retrying..." message.
Gmail has been in the limelight over the past few months because of its multiple outages that were reported in the past few months. The last outage was reported on April 17, just over three weeks ago. Prior to that, there was a major outage in March and another before that in February
Friday, May 8, 2009
Marine Current Turbines by SeaGen!!!
The requirement for new and renewable energy technologies is being driven by the worlds needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in conjunction with the increasing global energy demands.
The UK is a signatory of Kyoto Protocol, and has taken the step to introduce a climate change bill to make reducing emissions law.
Marine Current Turbines Ltd has been involved with tidal energy technology development since the early 1990’s, initially with the Loch Linhe turbine and more recently with SeaFlow located near Lynmouth, North Devon.
The SeaGen project is the final stage in the technology development prior to installing multiple units in arrays of turbines.
The final Environmental Impact Study was submitted to the regulatory authority, the Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) in Northern Ireland in June 2005.
The FEPA license for the temporary installation for the SeaGen system for a five year duration was first issued in December 2005, revised in February 2007 and again in February 2008.
Pre-installation environmental monitoring commenced in May 2004. A baseline report has been completed and was submitted to EHS in August 2006. The environmental impact of SeaGen will be continuously monitored by independent science team throughout the licensed 5 year installation period
The project is being managed by Royal Haskoning with Queens University Belfast and the Sea Mammal Research Unit providing the science input.
David Erwin, a well known environmental scientist in Northern Ireland chairs the working science group and stakeholder meetings.
Harland and Wolff were used as the base for operations for the installation in 2008.
The SeaGen components were manufactured in various locations in UK and Europe. The significant subsystems were tested at locations close to Marine Current Turbines office in Bristol prior to being delivered to Harland and Wolff for final system assembly and preparation for installation
Microsoft's Zune HD to Have Multitouch, HDMI
Microsoft
, without doubt, is prepping Zune HD to compete with Apple's iPod Touch portable media player. Last weekend, images of Microsoft's Zune HD were leaked, and now WMPUser has been tipped off about the technical details. The new Zune HD is expected to be launched this September in the US, Canada, UK, France, and other European countries.
Microsoft would obviously like to get competitive by grabbing more market share in the portable media player market. A confirmed list of features include LiveSide and NeoWin.
The new Zune HD will have a 3.6-inch OLED touchscreen with capacitive multi-touch support. Nvidia's Tegra chip will power the Zune HD, and we think it might be the new Tegra 600 series announced in mid-February at the Mobile World Congress 2009. Hopefully, Zune HD's Tegra chip would be faster than Apple's Second Generation iPod Touch's ARM11-based S5L8720x chip clocked at 532MHz.
Microsoft's Zune HD will have a HDMI out for streaming content directly to the television. Again, the Tegra platform, which is HD video friendly, would be helping out in this process. Also, Zune HD has HD Radio, which is not a built-in feature in Apple's iPod Touch but available through Apps from App Store. Zune HD would also be WiFi compatible and capable of Wireless Sync with Windows Marketplace.
Zune HD will obviously have a web browser with multi-touch support. It seems like it will be a showcase for Windows Mobile 7 since rumor mills have been buzzing about Zune's integration with the Windows Mobile 7.
Microsoft will make Zune HD available in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB versions with a limited edition dock in different colors. Additionally, charge packs, car packs, and Home AV packs will be bundled with the Zune HD.
Wolfram Alpha:Gives Answers Directly Unlike Google
Wolfram Alpha, a new "Computational Knowledge Engine" developed by British physicist Stephen Wolfram, is all set to revolutionize search with its amazing/innovative ability to give answers to your questions directly - instead of directing you to sources where you "might" get the required information.
The software is still in its initial days of existence and will be available for use later this month. Already touted to be a Google Killer - which most probably it won't be, the Wolfram Alpha has managed to rake up considerable storm even before its launch. It was showcased earlier this week at Harvard University. Many experts consider this to become the "Internet's Holy Grail" once fully operational. It will be able to understand and respond to ordinary queries and give answers to queries in ordinary language, similar to how a person would respond when queries. To give you an idea of what this is capable of, let us take a few examples. Suppose you want to compare the height of the Empire State Building with the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, all you need to do is to type in your query and wait for the software to calculate your results derived from various sources. Once the search is over, you will not only get a detailed answer to your query but also a lot of other related information that might be of interest to you.
Many experts believe this to be a part of the natural evolution of the internet. Additionally, the results that you receive are assessed by experts and are made available only after a thorough verification. This is unlike Wikipedia, which thrives on user-generated content. Wolfram Alpha is incidentally based on Stephen Wolfram's Mathematica software, a standard tool for scientists, engineers and academics for crunching complex maths.
The software is still in its initial days of existence and will be available for use later this month. Already touted to be a Google Killer - which most probably it won't be, the Wolfram Alpha has managed to rake up considerable storm even before its launch. It was showcased earlier this week at Harvard University. Many experts consider this to become the "Internet's Holy Grail" once fully operational. It will be able to understand and respond to ordinary queries and give answers to queries in ordinary language, similar to how a person would respond when queries. To give you an idea of what this is capable of, let us take a few examples. Suppose you want to compare the height of the Empire State Building with the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, all you need to do is to type in your query and wait for the software to calculate your results derived from various sources. Once the search is over, you will not only get a detailed answer to your query but also a lot of other related information that might be of interest to you.
Many experts believe this to be a part of the natural evolution of the internet. Additionally, the results that you receive are assessed by experts and are made available only after a thorough verification. This is unlike Wikipedia, which thrives on user-generated content. Wolfram Alpha is incidentally based on Stephen Wolfram's Mathematica software, a standard tool for scientists, engineers and academics for crunching complex maths.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Zombie computers 'on the rise' !!
Twelve million computers have been hijacked by cyber-criminals and detected by security vendor McAfee since January, the firm has said.
It reports there has been a 50% increase in the number of detected so-called "zombie" computers since 2008.
The true number of newly hijacked PCs is likely to be higher than those detected by McAfee alone.
The figures come as a report from Deloitte said a global approach to cyber-security was needed.
"Doing nothing is not an option," said Deloitte's Greg Pellegrino.
Everything that depended on cyberspace face unprecedented risks, said Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT).
"This issue is moving so quickly, and with so much at stake economically and in terms of safety and security for people, we don't have 100 years to figure this out," explained Mr Pellegrino, who is a global public sector industry leader at DTT.
McAfee also revealed that the United States now hosted the world's largest percentage of infected computers at 18% with China a not too distant second with just over 13%.
"The massive expansion of these botnets provides cyber-criminals with the infrastructure they need to flood the web with malware," said Jeff Green, senior vice-president of McAfee.
"Essentially, this is cyber-crime enablement."
"Daily living"
The DTT findings revealed a growing awareness of the role the internet plays in so many different aspects of our lives from security to commerce and from transportation to communication.
Dollars
Better cyber-security measures will benefit global commerce, says the report
"We are seeing this change from protecting the internet to a conversation about how we succeed and prosper in cyberspace," Mr Pellegrino told the BBC.
"Security spending is growing at a rate never seen before while the threat environment is growing at a pace of 40% a year.
"In terms of volume and severity of incidents, the math doesn't work and we have to come up with a different approach that requires public and private sectors working together," Mr Pellegrino said.
"We are talking about daily living," said fellow author Gary McAlum, who is a retired US Air Force colonel and senior manager of security and privacy services at Deloitte.
"There is a lot of discussion about the economy and the military and the public and private sector, but we have now reached a sense of urgency about the interconnectedness of all these areas."
That view was echoed by a member of the US military top brass who just gave evidence to a branch of the House Armed Services Committee.
"Our economy, the nation's critical infrastructure, and many of our military operations depend on unfettered access to cyberspace," said Lt Gen Keith Alexander, the director of the National Security Agency (NSA) who also heads the Pentagon's new Cyber Command.
"Maintaining freedom of action in cyberspace in the 21st Century is as inherent to US interests as freedom of the seas was in the 19th Century, and access to air and space in the 20th Century."
He has called for the creation of a digital warfare force for the future and has stated that the US needs to reorganise its offensive and defensive cyber-operations.
Prominence
The Deloitte study included interviews conducted with government officials and industry experts from around the world.
While it revealed a patchwork approach to the problem it also showed it was one that was gaining prominence.
fraud sign
There are 32,000 suspected cyber-attacks every 24 hours, says the NSA
"We were very pleased that there was a similar tone and awareness and leadership effort coming from different countries across the world," Mr Pellegrino said.
"Clearly this particular issue has a different context depending on where you are in the world. We cannot afford to go backwards."
In America, President Obama has made the issue of cyber-security a priority. Shortly after taking office he ordered a 60-day review that has now been delivered to his desk.
It is understood the release of the review has been delayed by the ongoing H1N1 swine flu crisis. When the report is made public, it is expected that the president will also announce his choice for cyber-security tsar to lead the charge.
While the Deloitte research said security in Asia-Pacific needed to "catch up" it noted that the United Kingdom was in the process of writing a national cyber strategy with an emphasis on public-private partnership.
On the continent, the European Commission has urged member states to co-ordinate on cyber-security measures, while in Latin America the report authors conclude that there is a "diversity of approaches".
Canada has completed its own cyber-security review and this year will be implementing the National Cyber-Security Strategy as well as creating a new Directorate of Cyber-Security with a mandate to engage closely with the private sector.
Despite all these efforts, the Deloitte authors point out that time is of the essence.
"Not only do we have to take action, we don't have enough time," warned Mr Pellegrino.
Mr McAlum agreed and said mapping a clear strategy was crucial.
"We need to get our house in order first so that we can interact with the rest of the world with one voice, with clear roles and responsibilities aligned."
Apple on Buying Spree - Twitter Next in Line?
Rumor mills are churning the possibility of Apple buying out Twitter, the social networking initiative that allows users to "tweet" their status in less than 140 characters.
Apparently, a trustworthy source has revealed to TechCrunch's Michael Arrington that Apple is in the "late stages" of striking a deal with Twitter. The deal is supposedly valued at $700 million and if all goes well, it will be completed by the end of this month. A formal announcement too is expected by the time of the WWDC, (WorldWide Developer's Conference) scheduled in June.
The current rumors come only a few days after Google made an attempt to buy Twitter. Social Networking Giant Facebook too had in the past tried to acquire Twitter. Both the attempts were graciously rejected by Twitter. With these events in the background, it is slightly surprising to hear rumors like these.
Another perplexing thing to ponder about is Apple's intentions behind the acquisition. Acquiring Twitter made far more sense for companies like Google and Facebook who are already in this "social networking" field and can leverage Twitters influence to enhance their existing products. Apple, on the other hand, has virtually no presence in this field and unless the company has something serious to offer in this space, this might just vanish, just like many other rumors do.
We will, in any case, wait and watch how his one ends. After all, the WWDC is not that far anyway.
Login to Your PC Using BlackBerry Storm
But then, yours is a smartphone right? So why not just remotely log-in to your PC right from your phone? That's precisely what folks at LogMeIn help you to do with their upcoming LogMeIn software for the BlackBerry Storm. The software, still in its Alpha stages, will help you login to as many as 10 different computers, right from your Storm's touchscreen. You can access files and virtually perform all the tasks you can normally do on your PC - all within the confines of the phone screen. Just do not shut down the system!
The application supports both - Macs and PCs. All you need to be worried about is the fact that remote access is only possible when the target computer is "connected" to the Internet. That shouldn't be a major cause of concern we presume!
LogMeIn has been in the remote desktop scene since quite some time now and this is the first time the company has readied a tool for the BlackBerry Storm. The company already has a version available for the iPhone. You can learn more about the LogMeIn Ignition here.
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