May 2009
2 posts
1 tag
Botnet master hits the kill switch, takes down... →
Those behind the Zeus botnet recently decided to press the big red button, bluescreening 100,000 computers around the globe. Security experts aren’t sure why yet, although they have some ideas.
April 2009
5 posts
1,500 Farmers Commit Mass Suicide In India →
Over 1,500 farmers in an Indian state committed suicide after being driven to debt by crop failure, it was reported today. The agricultural state of Chattisgarh was hit by falling water levels. “The…
Biting parody of Microsoft’s ‘Laptop Hunter’... →
It’s funny because its true.
New bill would give president power to halt... →
A recently proposed but little-noticed Senate bill would allow the federal government to shut down the Internet in times of declared emergency, and enables unprecedented federal oversight of private…
Cybersecurity Act would give president power to... →
Miramax Rewards Would-Be BitTorrent Pirate With... →
It’s normal for BitTorrent users to be a tiny bit paranoid, since their activities aren’t always popular with everyone. But imagine musing via Twitter that your favorite movie isn’t on torrent sites…
March 2009
29 posts
Apple rejects Twitter client for dirty words...on... →
Right, not for offensive language in the app itself, but for offensive language on Twitter — an insanely strict new standard. Hell, Apple might as well reject the next versions of Safari and Mail,…
The Broadband Gap: Why Is Theirs Faster? →
Many countries have faster and more widely available high speed Internet service than the United States. It has a lot to do with their urban density, not our poor technology.
Get $200 iTunes Store Vouchers for $2.60 →
Stop being an ass and don’t pirate songs and movies. Pirate money and get legal material! Chinese hackers have cracked the algorithm that generates the iTunes Store gift card: You can get $200 for…
Engadget Visits Late Night To Show Off The Palm... →
Engadget’s Joshua Topolsky visited Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to give a preview of the Palm Pre.
How to Delete Any Online Account →
Canceling accounts you’ve created on the Web isn’t always easy. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to ditch social networks, online retailers, blogging services, and more.
Severed Finger Replaced with USB Linux Distro →
Jerry had a motorcycle accident last May and lost a finger. When the doctor working on the artificial finger heard he is a hacker, the immediate suggestion was to embed a USB “finger drive” to the…
Why we've reached the end of the camera megapixel... →
Olympus Imaging’s Akira Watanabe says 12 megapixels is enough for most users. Ars thinks he’s on to something.
Circuit City: And Now It's Dead →
Today, after 50 years, Circuit City no longer exists. A moment of silence is in order.
Samsung Stuffs 1.5TB Onto 3-Platter Hard Drive →
And, unlike solid state disk, this energy-efficient drive only costs $149.
Opinion: Windows 7's UAC is a broken mess; mend it... →
The changes Microsoft has made to Windows 7’s UAC render it little more than a pesky annoyance. If this is the path the company wishes to go down, it should stop doing things by halves and kill it…
Top hacker says Safari is "easiest browser to... →
Security researcher Charlie Miller, who last year won $10,000 for hacking into a MacBook Air via Safari in just two minutes, says he thinks Safari will be the first browser to fall at this year’s…
Man Assaulted For Being Linux Advocate →
Putting fuel in my truck was the last place I expected to get into a confrontation.Especially concerning Free Open Source Software. I mean, come on…
Interview With Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone →
The Twitter co-founder talks about Obama’s social media savvy, what makes someone popular on Twitter, and how people are like birds.
Why I Sued Google (and Won) →
“But it’s not fair!” Google’s paralegal protested. “What if everyone whose account was cancelled sued Google?”
The 100 oldest registered .com domains →
Interesting list of old domains.
10 cutting-edge apps you've never heard of →
Must-have new apps on show at DEMO 09 day two
EFF: Here's how to keep the government from spying... →
The Electronic Frontier Foundation today launched its “Surveillance Self-Defense” site, which is designed to provide Americans with practical advice on how to keep their government from snooping into…
Google CEO: Twitter A 'Poor Man's Email System' →
Google CEO Eric Schmidt commenting about Twitter:”Speaking as a computer scientist, I view all of these as sort of poor man’s email systems.”
Three MySpace Executives Departing To Start New... →
A leaked memo states three executives at MySpace are leaving the company to form their own startup, led by COO Amit Kapur. He will be joined by senior VP of technology Jim Benedetto and and senior VP…
Facebook's Explains Failed Twitter Takeover →
Twitter liked the sound of $500 million but balked when Facebook said its stock was worth $8-9 billion. Twitter’s team knew that Facebook was letting employees sell stock on the secondary market at…
How To Turn Customers Into Pirates →
In the past we’ve given plenty of examples of how DRM hurts paying customers instead of the people it is meant for. Still, many software companies prefer to see their customers as potential ‘thieves’…
10 Things Windows 7 Must Do To Succeed →
I recently attended a briefing where Microsoft explained some of the new features in Windows 7 to reviewers from different publications. At the end of the meeting, the MS folks asked the half-dozen…
How Twitter's growth is being driven by unexpected... →
In the year leading up to this talk, the web tool Twitter exploded in size (up 10x during 2008 alone). Co-founder Evan Williams reveals that many of the ideas driving that growth came from unexpected…
Top 10 Tools for Running Your Own Blog or Web Site →
Having your own hosted web domain has never been cheaper, or easier, with the vast array of free resources out there. Here are our ten favorite tools to help anyone launch and maintain their internet…
Report: RIAA Undergoing "A Bloodbath" of Massive... →
The Recording Industry Association of America is firing scores of workers, a “bloodbath” as some have described it.The recession, and its announced pullback of its 5-year-old litigation campaign, are…
Why Apple must do a Netbook now →
With news that users are hacking Windows and Linux Netbooks to run OS X—and run it pretty well—Apple needs to release a Netbook of its own before it loses ground in the highest-growth laptop…
Japanese "hate" for iPhone all a big mistake →
A report intending to portray the iPhone as “hated” in the Japanese market turns out to have been built upon fake quotations from industry writers and observers who were misrepresented by remarks…
Review: Samsung's 256GB Solid State Disk Drive →
I put the drive up against Intel’s X25-M SSD, which I consider the industry leader for SSDs when it comes to performance.
Cell Providers Threaten Nokia. Want Skype Gone... →
Two UK mobile operators are reportedly fuming at Nokia for including a mobile version of Skype on its N97 handset. Both Orange and O2 are so terrified that the popular VoIP service will siphon away…
February 2009
49 posts
Microsoft responds to Xbox Live denial-of-service... →
Microsoft says Xbox 360 owners affected by denial-of-service attacks should contact their Internet provider, although they’re threatening the malicious standard of banning any and all hackers. This…
iPhone game saves a family's home →
The 30-year-old computer programmer hoped to sell enough copies of the game that the couple wouldn’t have to put their home on the market. That was more than $700,000 ago.
Facebook: You Own All Your Data. Period. →
In case you didn’t read him quoted in some 1,700 newspapers last week, NBC’s Press:Here has an interview with Chris Kelly, Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer this week.
How To Hackintosh a Dell Mini 9 Into Ultimate OS X... →
I am typing on this on a 9-inch, 3G-equipped, almost-pocketable computer, running the best consumer OS money can currently buy. It costs around $400. Do you want one too? Here’s how to get yours.
Microsoft wants refund from some laid off... →
Software giant sends a letter to some of the 1,400 employees it laid off last month letting them know they were overcompensated and that it would like the money back. Read this blog post by Steven…
The Top 20 Twitter Applications →
We’ve accumulated a list of the twenty most popular Twitter applications, based on monthly unique visitor data from Compete.
Single Google Query uses 1000 Machines in 0.2... →
The switch to holding the complete search index in memory results in the use of 1000 machines to handle a single query compared to just 12 previously.
The 32 Totally Essential (and Free) Apps for Every... →
You have to admit, Windows is a pretty barebones operating system, feature-wise. After a fresh install of XP or Vista (perhaps following a Clean Start), you’re faced with a barren Start Menu and an…
Free Service Unblocks Private Phone Calls →
A new service set for launch Tuesday allows cellphone users to unmask the Caller ID on blocked incoming calls, obtaining the phone number, and in some cases the name and address, of the…
Facebook Reverts To Old Terms Of Service →
In the light of the global shitstorm, Facebook has decided to go back to the old Terms of Service. Phew, now we can all safely go back to sending each other digital cupcakes without Big Brother…
Don't like EULAs? Have your cat agree to them. →
A how-to on getting your cat to agree to a EULA instead of you.
Boxee asked to remove Hulu →
The content partners of Hulu have asked that Boxee remove Hulu from its softwaree. This is once again proving “they don’t get it”.
Facebook’s Users Ask Who Owns Information →
A change in a networking site’s terms of service has raised suspicions that subscribers no longer control personal material.
Confirmed: Palm Pre to support Flash. →
Copy and paste, data tethering, and now Flash — it looks like the Pre’s going to fill in a lot of unchecked iPhone feature boxes, doesn’t it?