28 Oct 08 The Internet Is 'Built Wrong'

An anonymous reader writes "API Lead at Twitter, Alex Payne, writes today that the Internet was 'built wrong,' and continues to be accepted as an inferior system, due to a software engineering philosophy called Worse Is Better. 'We now know, for example, that IPv4 won't scale to the projected size of the future Internet. We know too that near-universal deployment of technologies with inadequate security and trust models, like SMTP, can mean millions if not billions lost to electronic crime, defensive measures, and reduced productivity,' says Payne, who calls for a 'content-centric approach to networking.' Payne doesn't mention, however, that his own system, Twitter, was built wrong and is consistently down."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Tagi: engineering philosophy, inferior system, trust models, defensive measures, future internet, centric approach, millis, twitter, ipv4, software engineering, productivity, alex, networking

19 Oct 09 Fake security software in millions of computers: Symantec

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tens of millions of U.S. computers are loaded with scam security software that their owners may have paid for but which only makes the machines more vulnerable, according to a new Symantec report on cybercrime.
Tagi: washingt, millis, security software, reuters, symantec, tens

21 Oct 09 It Could be Possible to Stop Hurricanes with Supersonic Jets [Weather Control]

Hurricanes, as we've seen, can wreak serious havoc when they strike populated areas. We've never had control over them before, but one researcher thinks they could be broken up with F-4 fighter jets.

In theory, sending in a pair of the jets to do loops around the eye of the hurricane while it's still out over the ocean, creating sonic booms, would break it up before it hits the shore.

Jet fighters flying at supersonic speeds along special trajectories with a hurricane/typhoon at various altitudes would create supersonic booms. In one such embodiment, the trajectories for the supersonic booms of the present invention are counter to the rotational component of the hurricane and/or typhoon being targeted. As such, supersonic booms can be tailored and/or designed to partially and/or fully -negate the basic rotational contribution in a hurricane by slowing down a hurricane's/typhoon's rotation. Additionally, when supersonic booms propagate downward to the surface of the ocean they also destabilize a hurricane's/typhoon's structure by increasing the pressure in the central part of a hurricane's/typhoon's eye.

It's a pretty crazy idea, but I guess it makes sense. It would be pretty amazing to be able to stop any hurricane before it hit shore, saving millions and millions of dollars and who knows how many lives. I can't wait for them to test this out. [Patent via AV Web; Thanks, Jason!]

Tagi: supersonic jets, eye of the hurricane, weather control, fighter jets, web thanks, jet fighters, millis, booms, trajectories, altitudes, embodiment, jas, hurricanes, havoc, researcher, cy, patent

29 Jan 10 'Millions of people' now own Kindles, says Amazon in its most non-vague sales statement yet

Amazon has been notoriously and aggravatingly mum on releasing concrete sales figures for its Kindle series. Last tidbit we heard was that it was the most gifted item in the retail company's history. Or maybe there was some indication by AT&T's note today that 1 million non-phones have been activated, which at this point includes newer Kindles, Nooks, and Sony Readers. At any rate, CEO Jeff Bezos let out the tiniest smidgen of Kindle's sales today in its fiscal report, saying that "millions of people now own Kindles." If we're lucky, next earnings call we'll get to play a "higher or lower" guessing game. Maybe.

'Millions of people' now own Kindles, says Amazon in its most non-vague sales statement yet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tagi: phes, guessing game, retail company, millis, s sales, smidgen, amazon, nooks, tidbit, 28 jan, milli, earnings, amp, ceo, nbsp, tt

19 Apr 10 Hacker's accomplice gets five years for TJX security breach

Ending a chapter in one of the worst hacking cases in U.S. history, a federal judge handed down a five-year sentence Thursday to a 25-year-old man who helped steal tens of millions of credit card numbers.

Damon Patrick Toey had already pled guilty to charges that he sold batches of stolen credit card data, called dumps, on behalf of convicted hacker Albert Gonzalez and helped him infiltrate the systems of a number of companies. Gonzalez was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison, the longest sentence ever handed down in the United States for a computer crime.

Tagi: credit card numbers, security breach, tjx, toey, millis, computer crime, accomplice, mth, batches, federal judge, dumps, hacker, old man, tens, credit card data, united states