2012
By Michael Cavna
4/24/212
GIDEON SUNDBACK, like any other man, put his pants on one leg at a time. But for years, most notably, those slacks lacked a zipper.
Gideon Sundback, that transplanted son of Sweden, will forever be remembered for what he pulled off -- and up -- once he hiked up his knickers and set about altering not only a garment, but also the course of the clothing industry.
That’s why today, Google honors the father of “the modern zipper” — and celebrates his 132nd birthday — with perhaps the company’s most enticing Doodle yet. With a click, the stitched logo can be smoothly unzipped to reveal your sexy search results.
Talk about getting your information on the fly.
(And for some rock-savvy viewers, the Doodle may be evocative of another much-seen example of working-zipper art: Andy Warhol’s famed cover for the Rolling Stones album “Sticky Fingers.” Caveat: The HTML5 Doodle’s interactivity might not be available on all browsers.)
The zipper, that fascinating fastening, that toothsome joiner, has many fathers — from sewing pioneer Elias Howe three decades before Sundback was even born in 1880 (Howe patented an “automatic, continuous clothing closure”) to Whitcomb Judson (who made the “clasp locker”) to even the B.F. Goodrich Co. (which is said to have coined the onomatopoeic term “zipper”).
But it was Sundback the electrical engineer who in 1913 — while working for Judson’s Universal Fastener Company after immigrating to North America — nearly tripled the number of the zipper’s teeth per square inch; he also scoop-dimpled the teeth to strengthen the closure, and created the slider for opening and closing the interlocking mechanism.
Sundback, the company’s head designer, also created the machine for making the zippers. And by 1917, he had a patent for the “separable fastener.”
The zipper caught on early for use in boots, but it wasn’t until the ‘30s that it really began to gain traction as a popular trend for trousers and dresses and soon jackets. In the zipper’s grip, fashion was rapidly transformed.
Sundback died in 1954 and was interred in Meadville, Pa. But his zipper still has a firm hold on us — and vice versa.
Google invites you to zip it — might as well seize the opening while it lasts.
2012
03/06/2012
by Jason Gilbert
After a very brief countdown, and with the next iPad just days away from its release, Apple recently passed 25 billion apps downloaded on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, and as part of the celebration, it has released a list of the 25 most downloaded iOS apps for both the iPad and the iPhone of all time.
You can download all of these super popular apps in iTunes here (if you haven't already!), but if you're just looking to browse, we've got the list right here. Here, for example, are the top 25 free iPhone apps:
1. Facebook
2. Pandora Radio
3. Words With Friends Free
4. Skype
5. The Weather Channel
6. Google Search
7. Google Earth
8. Angry Birds Free
9. Shazam
10. Netflix
11. Paper Toss
12. Twitter
13. Movies by Flixster
14. Bump
15. PAC-MAN Lite
16. Flashlight.
17. Unblock Me FREE
18. Temple Run
19. Instagram
20. Touch Hockey
21. Angry Birds Lite
22. ESPN ScoreCenter
23. Fruit Ninja Lite
24. Groupon
25. Angry Birds Rio Free
A few things to note here:
- Facebook, who has often been called an enemy of Apple's, has the most downloaded app on the iPhone of all time. Apple raised eyebrows in Fall 2011 when it chose to integrate Twitter into its iOS operating system rather than Facebook; the Facebook app, meanwhile, is likely the most downloaded app of all time on any iOS device, in terms of raw numbers.
- Skype, owned by another Apple rival in Microsoft, is the fourth most downloaded free iPhone app of all time, despite Apple having its FaceTime alternative pre-installed on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.
- The Weather Channel is the fifth most downloaded free iPhone app of all time, despite Apple's weather app coming pre-installed on all iPhones.
- Google Search is the sixth most downloaded free iPhone app of all time, despite Google search being standard in the Safari browser on the iPhone
- Google -- which is Apple's most notable and well-established rival in the mobile space -- makes two of the top ten most downloaded free apps on the iPhone of all time. Microsoft owns another.
- The most popular free games for iPhone of all time? Words with Friends, Angry Birds, Paper Toss, PAC-MAN, Unblock Me, Temple Run, Touch Hockey, Angry Birds Lite, and Fruit Ninja Lite.
Also out are the top 25 free iPad apps. Feel free to bookmark this list if you are one of those planning on buying the new iPad that Apple might be, and almost certainly is, unveiling on March 7th:
1. Angry Birds HD Free
2. The Weather Channel for iPad
3. Netflix
4. Skype for iPad
5. Kindle
6. ABC Player
7. Pandora Radio
8. Angry Birds Rio HD Free
9. CNN App for iPad
10. Words With Friends HD Free
11. Google Earth
12. Calculator Pro for iPad Free
13. Fruit Ninja HD Lite
14. Calculator for iPad Free
15. NYTimes for iPad
16. USA TODAY for iPad
17. Facebook
18. MyPad for Facebook & Twitter
19. Flipboard
20. eBay for iPad
21. Angry Birds Seasons HD Free
22. Dictionary.com
23. Twitter
24. Solitaire
25. Friendly for Facebook
Of note here:
- The iPad is an Angry Birds machine: Angry Birds HD Free, Angry Birds Rio HD Free, and Angry Birds Seasons HD Free are all in the top 25 apps of all time.
- Again, apps with Apple-made alternatives proved popular, with Amazon's Kindle (as opposed to iBooks) and Skype for iPad (as opposed to FaceTime) both nabbing top 10 appearances.
- The iPad came with the hope that it might save newspapers, or at least re-engage or re-connect tablet owners with news sites and magazines. Of the top 25 Free iPad Apps of All Time, four are focused on the news: CNN, the New York Times, and USA Today all won big with their apps, while Flipboard -- a snazzy app that aggregates and personalizes news for individual users -- also snuck into a top 25 slot.
- ABC is alone among the major network offering full episodes of new television shows for free (with ads) on the iPad; its tablet-optimized app is also the sixth most downloaded app in the history of the iPad. If ABC demonstrates solid revenue from its iPad app, perhaps other networks will follow ABC's lead sooner than later.
- Two calculator applications made the Top 25. Though Apple provides a Calculator app on the iPhone, it does not on the iPad (Same situation with a Weather app: Comes with iPhone, not with iPad). Perhaps it's time for Apple to develop a Calculator app of its own for iPad.
Apple released this list, again, as part of its "25 Billion Apps Downloaded" celebration, which also included Apple rewarding one lucky winner with a $10,000 gift certificate for iTunes Store downloads (Why not $25 billion dollars in iTunes downloads, Apple?). For those with a little cash, Apple also released the top paid apps for both the iPhone and the iPad.
2012
NEW YORK — A group of expert hackers who attacked governments and corporations around the globe has been busted after its ringleader – one of the world's most-wanted and most-feared computer vandals – turned against his comrades and secretly became an informant for the FBI months ago, authorities announced Tuesday.
Five people, including a Chicago man, were charged in court papers unsealed in federal court in New York, and authorities revealed that a sixth person, Hector Xavier Monsegur, a legendary figure known in the hacking underworld as "Sabu," has pleaded guilty in New York, where he lives.
Authorities said it marked the first significant prosecution of major Internet hackers.
According to court papers, members of the group got their start as part of a large worldwide hacking organization known as Anonymous, which authorities said has been operating at least since 2008. Court papers accused Anonymous of a "deliberate campaign of online destruction, intimidation and criminality."
In chat rooms and on Twitter, Anonymous supporters erupted into a chorus of disappointment, confusion, and anger. Some wondered whether the news was an elaborate fraud. Others revisited earlier suspicions that Sabu was a government agent.
As members of Anonymous surveyed the damage Tuesday, one of its most popular Twitter feeds assured its followers that it was still OK.
"We're sailing close to the wind," the feed read. "Our crew is complete and doing fine."
Monsegur was portrayed in court papers as the ringleader of some of the group's more infamous deeds. Authorities said he formed an elite hacking organization last May – a spinoff of Anonymous – and named it "Lulz Security" or "LulzSec." "Lulz" is Internet slang that can mean "laughs" or "amusement."
Despite the organization's lighthearted name, authorities said Monsegur and his followers embarked on a dastardly stream of deeds against business and government entities in the U.S. and around the world, resulting in the theft of confidential information, the defacing of websites and attacks that temporarily put victims out of business.
Authorities said their crimes affected nearly 1 million people.
Their exploits included attacks on cyber-security firms and the posting of a fake story that slain rapper Tupac Shakur was alive in New Zealand.
As their exploits became known, some hackers associated with the group boasted about their prowess.
Monsegur, free on $50,000 bail, was charged with conspiracy to engage in computer hacking, among other offenses. Authorities said he pleaded guilty Aug. 15.
According to the court papers, he was an influential member of three hacking organizations – Anonymous, Internet Feds and Lulz Security. Court papers said he acted as a "rooter," a hacker who identified vulnerabilities in computer systems.
The court papers said he participated in attacks over the past few years on Visa, MasterCard and PayPal; government computers in Tunisia, Algeria, Yemeni and Zimbabwe; Fox Broadcasting Co. and the Tribune Co.; PBS; and the U.S. Senate.
Also charged in court papers with conspiracy to commit computer hacking were Ryan Ackroyd, Jake Davis, Darren Martyn, Donncha O'Cearrbhail and Jeremy Hammond. Three were arrested Tuesday; Davis and Martin were previously arrested.
Hammond, who is from Chicago, appeared before a federal judge there and was ordered transferred to New York. Martyn and O'Cearrbhail lived in Ireland, Ackroyd and Davis in Britain.
LulzSec members attained notoriety last May by attacking the PBS website and planting the false story about Shakur. According to court papers Tuesday, Monsegur and others did it in retaliation for what they perceived to be unfavorable news coverage of Wikileaks on the PBS news program "Frontline."
In July, when LulzSec's attacks were grabbing world headlines, an unknown person alleged that Sabu was Monsegur, publishing his personal details on the Internet. Sabu took to Twitter to deny that he had been exposed, and as Anonymous's attacks continued, suspicions eased.
Barrett Brown, a former journalist who became closely associated with Anonymous, said Sabu's betrayal would have a serious effect on Anonymous.
"He was an admired Anon," he said. "He's been a leader. People came to him with information. God knows what else he told them."
Follow this link to story at Huff Post Tech and also for video clip
2012
05 Mar 2012
Hackers broke into Nasa computer systems 13 times last year and gained "full functional control" of systems in breaches that could have compromised US national security, the space agency has admitted.
Nasa spends only $58m of its $1.5bn annual IT budget on cyber security, Paul Martin, the agency's inspector general, told a Congressional panel on NASA security.
"Some Nasa systems house sensitive information which, if lost or stolen, could result in significant financial loss, adversely affect national security, or significantly impair our nation's competitive technological advantage," Martin said in testimony before the US House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
He said the agency discovered in November that hackers working through a Chinese-based IP address broke into the network of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and gained "full functional control" of computers.
He said their access allowed them to modify, copy, or delete sensitive files, create user accounts for mission-critical JPL systems and upload hacking tools to steal user credentials and compromise other Nasa systems. They were also able to modify system logs to conceal their actions, Mr Martin said.
"Our review disclosed that the intruders had compromised the accounts of the most privileged JPL users, giving the intruders access to most of JPL's networks," he added.
In another attack last year, intruders stole credentials for accessing Nasa systems from more than 150 employees.
Martin said the agency has moved too slowly to encrypt or scramble the data on its laptop computers to protect information from falling into the wrong hands.
Unencrypted notebook computers that have been lost or stolen include ones containing codes for controlling the International Space Station as well as sensitive data on Nasa's Constellation and Orion programs and Social Security numbers, Martin said.
Nasa was one of the organisations breached by the British hacker and Asperger's sufferer Gary McKinnon in 2001 and 2002. He is still battling extradition to the US.
2012
02/27/2012
In 2007, Google released Google Street View, in which a computer user could access a virtual panoramic image of many streets in the world. House or apartment hunters could check out properties from the comfort of their kitchen table before they made the trek out to visit a potential place.
In order to accomplish the giant task of capturing images from streets across the world, cars drove around with nine cameras in tow. But problems soon arose with respect to privacy issues, which is why when people intrude in the shots, their faces are blurred. And a new art form was born. Jon Rafman curates choice images from the Google Street View all-seeing machine, capturing surreal moments in time.
Rafman hunts through Google Street View pictures and accesses notable, jarring moments. Some are uncanny (e.g., two old men walking independently down a lone highway in matching outfits), others dramatically stunning (e.g., a black stallion rebelling mid-street), and others surreal (e.g., an alien lounging in tie-dye). The images themselves are raw and unimpressed, passing over empty streets and blood-drenched car wrecks with the same automated gaze.
The gap between the camera's indifference and the human eye's inclination towards narrative is where Rafman takes interest. In his words: "This very way of recording our world, this tension between an automated camera and a human who seeks meaning, reflects our modern experience. As social beings we want to matter and we want to matter to someone, we want to count and be counted, but loneliness and anonymity are more often our plight."
Rafman's images are full of dark comedy and wondrous beauty. Ripe with prostitutes, bums, kisses, car crashes and sublime natural forms, the collection shows how technology has not succeeded in reducing the world to a knowledge base. Call them accidents or glitches or simply the human need to find meaning in the world. Whether or not we live in an indifferent universe, we live in a richly mysterious one.
Check out Rafman's stunning images below and let us know your thoughts in the comments section. Is this an intriguing window into another world, or do you think Google has gone too far?
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