Albener Pessoa

I hope you weren’t planning on watching Goldfinger anytime soon. The Bond classic is just one of a mind-boggling 1,794 titles vanishing from Netflix Instant Watch as of today. I mean, you probably could watch it somewhere else, but considering how much of my own media consumption is Netflix-based, I don’t even know where you’d start looking to watch a thing somewhere else. Do they still make DVDs? Are those still a thing?

On a quick look at the full list of titles on InstantWatcher, there are some ways this isn’t all that big of a deal — I mean, it’s not like you were watching the dozens of Barney episodes that are getting the ax. In other ways, though, it’s more telling — and more troubling for the long-term health of the service. Today’s exodus from Instant Watch comes as the company sees its deals with studios like Warner Brothers, MGM, and Universal expire, suggesting that other studios may be looking for more ways to get in on the streaming action themselves, rather than remaining content to cede the market to Netflix.

That said, reports that the films departing Netflix will be showing up on Warner Instant when that service launches later this month appear to be incorrect. At least Warner is denying them via Twitter:

We aren’t involved in Netflix’s business decisions & our content is drawn solely from WB’s library & aren’t streaming Universal/MGM content

— Warner Archive (@WarnerArchive) April 30, 2013

While we’re turning into big fans of Netflix’s original programming, they’re going to have to drastically up their production schedule if they want to replace all the material they’re losing just today. If they can’t find a way to work with studios going forward, the future of Netflix could become a whole lot murkier.

(via The Verge, Instantwatchers)

Relevant to your interests

• The Netflix family plan will let you watch less programming on more devices
• It’s looking less and less like Netflix will ever get off the Internet and on cable
• And man, don’t even get them started on Canadian Internet speeds…

Just under two years ago authorities in the United States busted one of the most important movie piracy release groups on the planet. In recent months its members have been handed some of the harshest copyright-related sentences on record but immediately after the raids something interesting happened. Instead of running for cover, pirates regrouped and the piracy situation actually got worse.

thegeek531:

Cats

Em 1996, três adolescentes americanos juntaram uma grana para lançar um musical inspirado no episódio IV (o primeiro filme) de Guerra nas Estrelas. O resultado… Olha, é melhor você ver abaixo e tirar suas próprias conseqüências…

Parte 1

Parte 2

Parte 3

Parte 4

Parte 5

Parte 6

Retro gaming enthusiasts take note: this joystick is what you need to play any Atari game on the original console. It plugs right into the original console hardware and removes the need to choose the joystick, paddle, or keypad controller separately. You just leave this puppy hooked up and move your hands to the set of controls used on each game.

[x2Jiggy] built the thing from scratch. The enclosure is a wooden box from the craft store. He holds it closed with a couple of magnetic latches like you might find on old fashioned kitchen cabinets. The buttons of the keypad are mounted on a chunk of protoboard but he did take the time to give it a coat of matching paint so that it doesn’t look out of place. Inside you’ll find some more protoboard and point-to-point soldering to complete the rest of the connections.

You can see a fast motion video of the build process after the break. This reminds us of the universal controller built for Project Unity.

Filed under: peripherals hacks

This robot doesn’t know if it’s a walker or a tank. It’s the brain-child of [Marc Hamende] who works as a mechanical engineer by day and mad roboticist at night. The best place to find full details is by digging into the long thread he’s been posting to for about six weeks. It will give you a pretty good snapshot of his approach, starting with SolidWorks renderings of the project, and adding in assembled components as he brings the project together.

The mechanism for each foot is fascinating. He milled the white pieces which stack together to encapsulate the motor that runs the treads. These assemblies pivot to bring the metal rod serving as a walking foot in contact with the ground. But they also make it possible to adjust the treads to deal with rough terrain. A Propeller chip drives the device, with an Xbee module to communicate with the controller.

Don’t miss the video after the break. You’ll hear some skidding as it makes turns, but [Marc] plans to add code to adjust motor speed in order to compensate for the inside/outside differential issues. He’s also posted an image album over at Flickr.

Filed under: robots hacks

After nearly a year of selling ebooks free of DRM copy protection, Macmillan subsidiary Tor Books UK said that it has seen no increase in piracy on any of its properties. The company's editorial director elaborated in an extensive reflection on the decision earlier this week, writing, "The move has been a hugely positive one for us, [...] we’re still pleased that we took this step." The science fiction and fantasy publisher officially made the change last July alongside its American sister company, noting that their audiences were too technically savvy to be forced to deal with the limitations of DRM.

Though Tor Books UK's editorial director noted that the decision was met with significant support by its authors and customers, it hasn't seen the same positive response from its competitors. Ars Technica points to a Publishers Weekly article on an industry rival that reportedly tried to have Tor reverse its decision. A subsidiary of Hachette Book Group allegedly suggested that some Tor Books authors should pressure the company to once again use DRM — the reasoning being that it could hurt sales in other regions where different companies owned the book rights. Tor Books seemingly has no intention of backing down, but it doesn't look like its position on DRM is catching on with the rest of the industry.

• Via Ars Technica
• Source Tor
• Related Items tor forge ebooks tor books drm drm-free

Clientes da alemã Deutsche Telekom foram surpreendidos com um novo aviso sobre a nova política de uso da internet estabelecida pela operadora. A partir de agora, todos os clientes de banda larga fixa sofrerão com o término da neutralidade de rede. Os clientes que extrapolarem uma franquia estipulada terão velocidade de acesso reduzida. São 75 GB para você usar sua conexão como quiser, mas, depois disso, a velocidade de acesso para serviços externos à rede é limitada a míseros 384 Kbps.

Essa restrição não é boa nem para os usuários, nem para empresas que sobrevivem na web. Em um mundo onde smartphones, tablets e videogames passaram a usufruir da banda larga de casa e que serviços over-the-top como Netflix, Rdio e YouTube estão cada vez mais populares, 75 GB de franquia é muito pouco. Nessas condições, o uso desses serviços será comprometido. É uma forma de forçar que os clientes utilizem apenas os oferecidos pela própria operadora, que nem sempre tem o mesmo catálogo ou a expertise de atuação no ramo para entregar a melhor experiência possível.

Priorizar o tráfego interno em relação ao tráfego externo é uma ação que fere o princípio de neutralidade da rede. Como na Alemanha não existe nenhuma regulamentação específica quanto a isso para o setor de internet banda larga, não há muito o que fazer, principalmente porque a Deutsche Telekom detém mais de 60% do mercado de internet alemão. O próprio governo alemão não gostou muito da ideia e mandou uma carta para a operadora, que não necessariamente precisará modificar seu plano de ação.

No Brasil, o princípio de neutralidade da rede está sendo amplamente discutido no Marco Civil da Internet, que ainda não foi votado. Conheça mais sobre o projeto e veja o que ele procura mudar em relação à privacidade, conteúdo e neutralidade da rede.

Com informações: Convergência Digital

Operadora acaba com neutralidade de rede na Alemanha

New systems could improve the vision of micro aerial vehicles.

Aerial robotics research has brought us flapping hummingbirds, seagulls, bumblebees, and dragonflies. But if these robots are to do anything more than bear a passing resemblance to their animal models, there is one thing they’ll definitely need: better vision.


In February, at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco, two teams presented new work (PDF) aimed at building better-performing and lower-power vision systems that would help aerial robots navigate and aid them in identifying objects.
 

Dongsuk Jeon, a graduate student working with Zhengya Zhang and IEEE Fellows David Blaauw and Dennis Sylvester at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, outlined an approach to drastically lower the power of the very first stage of any vision system—the feature extractor.  (more) (A "Runaway" hit from 1984.) 

FutureWatch: Mosquito-bots custom programmed to deliver injections (stun / drug / poison / etc.) based on recognition algorithms?

“Harper Lee, the 87-year-old author of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” has filed suit against her literary agent over the rights to her classic novel. The suit alleges that the agent took advantage of Lee’s age and infirmity when she assigned the copyright to him six years ago. In 2007, Lee was living in an assisted living facility and had recently suffered a stroke when she signed over the rights of “To Kill a Mockingbird” to her agent, Samuel Pinkus, and his agency Keystone Literary. “Pinkus knew that Harper Lee was an elderly woman with physical infirmities that made it difficult for her to read and see,” the complaint contends. “Harper Lee had no idea she had assigned her copyright” to Pinkus’ company, the suit states.”

- Harper Lee sues literary agent over ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ rights - latimes.com

Jon Bell:

I use a trick with co-workers when we’re trying to decide where to eat for lunch and no one has any ideas. I recommend McDonald’s.

Q. "I really enjoy your articles. Let me ask you: Would a spy school go over here in the U.S.?"

A. It probably would. There are plenty of people - from kiddies to Mitty's - who think spying is cool, albeit illegal. Training is probably not illegal, just implementing the skills. 

I educate my clients on spying techniques, just so they know what to look out for. Being aware helps them protect themselves against spying. 

Come to think of it, we are one of the very few countries whose government spy agencies do not support the private sector with the business intel they collect. Perhaps there is a spy school niche market, to help us level the international economic playing field. Hummm... Just don't have your Bonds reporting to HR or Facilities, like the security departments I see in some corporations.

Examples of spy schools, games and books...
http://www.jamesbondlifestyle.com/news/bond-experience-launches-november-7th
http://thebondexperience.com
http://www.spymuseum.org/education-programs/
http://www.stilettospyschool.com/newyork.php
http://www.mi6academy.com/newyork.php
http://www.spyschool.com/
http://www.beyondweird.com/survival/sschools.html
http://www.fxnetworks.com/archer/spyschool (game for kids)
Spy School (book for kids) 
Another Spy School (book for kids)
So You Want to Be A Spy (book for kids)
So you want to be an industrial spy? (rare, out of print)
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the CIA (book)
Spy's Secret Handbook (Project X Top Secret) (book for kids) 
It's True! This Book is Bugged (book for kids) 
How to be a Spy: The World War II SOE Training Manual
The Spycraft Manual: The Insider's Guide to Espionage Techniques
The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception
The Spy's Handbook: Learn How To Spy On Anyone At Anytime Without Getting Caught By Using Spy Gadgets And Other... 
 

"We propose a method for removing marked dynamic objects from videos captured with a free-moving camera, so long as the objects occlude parts of the scene with a static background." Max Planck Institute for Informatics (more)

Political propaganda videos will never look the same...

(Supplementary video. Takes time to load.)

The folks at security tools company Pwnie Express have built a tablet that can bash the heck out of corporate networks. - Wired Magazine

The Pwn Pad - a commercial grade penetration testing tablet which provides professionals an unprecedented ease of use in evaluating wired and wireless networks.

The sleek form factor of the Pwn Pad makes it an ideal product choice when on the road or conducting a company or agency walk-through. This highspeed, lightweight device, featuring extended battery life and 7” of screen real estate offers pentesters an alternative never known before. (more)

TOOLKIT INCLUDES:
Wireless Tools
Aircrack-ng
Kismet
Wifite-2
Reaver
MDK3
EAPeak
Asleap-2.2
FreeRADIUS-WPE
Hostapd
Bluetooth Tools:
bluez-utils
btscanner
bluelog
Ubertooth tools Web Tools
Nikto
Wa3f Network Tools
NET-SNMP
Nmap
Netcat
Cryptcat
Hping3
Macchanger
Tcpdump
Tshark
Ngrep
Dsniff
Ettercap-ng 7.5.3
SSLstrip v9
Hamster and Ferret
Metasploit 4
SET
Easy-Creds v3.7.3
John (JTR)
Hydra
Medusa 2.1.1
Pyrit
Scapy

Newer cameras increasingly sport built-in Wi-Fi capabilities or allow users to add SD cards to achieve them in order to be able to upload and share photos and videos as soon as they take them.

But, as proven by Daniel Mende and Pascal Turbing, security researchers... these capabilities also have security flaws that can be easily exploited for turning these cameras into spying devices.

Mende and Turbing chose to compromise Canon's EOS-1D X DSLR camera an exploit each of the four ways it can communicate with a network. Not only have they been able to hijack the information sent from the camera, but have also managed to gain complete control of it. ...like uploading porn to the camera, or turning it into a surveillance device. (more) (video presentation - long and boring)

Solution in a nutshell... Before purchasing any Wi-Fi enabled device, make sure it supports encryption.

Google's Glass wearable computer have been hacked so video and audio can be transmitted online to anyone.

Hackers have been able to remotely watch and hear everything a wearer does, and today warned 'nothing is safe once your Glass has been hacked.'

Although Glass does not go on sale to the public until next year, the attack raises major security and privacy questions over Google's plans for the device. (more)

CamJAMR is a reusable plastic film sticker that fits over camera lenses installed on computers, tablets and smart phones. Web developer Josh Luft, 24...

To thwart any unwanted spying, Luft, who creates websites in Somers, first put Post-It notes over his computer’s web camera. The sticky papers kept falling off, so Luft began researching materials until he settled on a plastic film similar to the removable plastic films that cover screens on new cellphones.

Luft’s website, CamJAMR.com, sells the sticker packages of 12 lens covers for $4.99. The covers have various sizes to fit computer and cellphone cameras. The stickers leave no residue on the lenses, he said.

When was the last time you made a new friend? Not just a new acquaintance or buddy at work, but someone really close—the kind of person you would call in an emergency? If you're "old" like me (past the age of 30), you might notice it's harder than ever to make those kinds of lifelong friends. Here's why and, also, why that might not be such a bad thing.

Read more...

For the past decade, Leonard Susskind, one of America’s pre-eminent physicists, has taught a series of six courses in Stanford’s Continuing Studies program.  The series ”explores the essential theoretical foundations of modern physics,” helping lifelong learners (like you) attain the “theoretical minimum” for thinking intelligently about modern physics. Over the years, the Continuing Studies program (where, in full disclosure, I serve as the director) has taped the lectures and made them available to a global audience on YouTube and iTunes. We’ve even burned the lectures onto CDs and shipped them to remote locations in Afghanistan and Nepal where connectivity is still lacking.

This week, Susskind’s popular lectures found a new home of sorts with the launch of The Theoretical Minimum, a new web site that presents the six courses in a way that’s neat, clean and easy to navigate. The site also offers a short text summary of each lecture, plus related reference materials. You can jump into the courses and get started on your own intellectual journey via this list:

• Classical Mechanics
• Quantum Mechanics
• Special Relativity and Electrodynamics
• General Relativity
• Cosmology
• Statistical Mechanics

Note: Susskind’s courses, and many others, also appear in the Physics section of our collection of 700 Free Online Courses.

Related Content:

Free: Richard Feynman’s Physics Lectures from Cornell (1964)

Demystifying the Higgs Boson with Leonard Susskind, the Father of String Theory

Michio Kaku Explains the Physics Behind Absolutely Everything

Leonard Susskind, Father of String Theory, Warmly Remembers His Friend, Richard Feynman

3 comment(s)

Submitted by: daphnevanb
Posted at: 2013-04-11 12:33:16
See full post and comment: http://9gag.com/gag/7066822

Pittsburgh is a safer place, thanks to police detective Ronald DePellegrin, who allowed himself to receive a blow job in order to arrest a prostitute.

DePellegrin saw an online ad for a prostitute and "obtained his [chief's] permission to conduct an undercover operation." He set up an appointment with the prostitute, first stopping by Walgreens to purchase condoms and baby wipes.

DePellegrin describes what happens next in his criminal complaint: “Becky started to perform oral sex on me, when I said oh shit, the cops were coming."

A police union spokesman uttered a classic policespeak word in his defense of the sting operation: "[Police officers] sometimes have to do what they have to do to effectuate an arrest."

Sex First, Then Arrest Hooker: Don't Cops Have Better Things to Do?

Seria o Bananão da classe média para a classe média!

Image: Grap/Wikimedia

The next time your mom complains that you don't throw junk away, tell her that you're in good company: nearly 15 million people suffer from varying degrees of hoarding disorder. But what causes hoarding?

A few years ago, Samson (not his real name) unplugged his refrigerator. It had, he says, “got out of hand.” He didn’t empty it, and he hasn’t opened it since.

That's how Bonnie Tsui's journey to understanding the science of hoarding began:

In a National Public Radio interview a couple of years ago, Frost talked about the reasons hoarders might collect certain items: a decades-old newspaper because it could be useful in the future; an array of bottle caps purely for their fascinating physical characteristics; a seemingly insignificant postcard because it reminded the owner of a loved one or a specific event. Frost saw universality in the way the beliefs seem to be tied to information processing. “There are some problems with attention—that is, distractibility and sometimes a hyper focus, problems with categorization, the ability to organize things,” he explained. “People who hoard tend to live their lives visually and spatially instead of categorically, like the rest of us do.” One of his patients, Irene, would put an electricity bill on top of a pile; if she needed it again, she would remember where it was in space, rather than filing it away—mentally and physically—in a “bills” category.
“We don’t know the nature of the emotional attachments that people who hoard have to objects,” Frost told me. “How do they form, and why are they so? What are the vulnerabilities that lead up to it?”

Read the rest of Bonnie's article over at Pacific Standard Magazine: Link

Tip for all my student readers: if you’re too lazy to use a bibliography creator like NoodleBib or RefWorks, let Google generate your bibliography entries for you. All you have to do is google the article/book title in Google Scholar, click “cite” at the bottom of the search result, and copy either the MLA, APA, or Chicago cite into your word document. 

Todo mundo sabe que uma bobina de Tesla não é exatamente um brinquedo inofensivo, apesar das descargas de plasma que elas produzem serem bonitas para caramba. Em suma, a descarga pode chegar a tensões altíssimas, cerca de 80.000 V.

Ainda assim um membro do Hack a Day foi maluco o suficiente para fazer uma réplica do Mjolnir, o martelo do Thor e uma das armas mais legais dos quadrinhos, e ainda acoplou uma bobina em miniatura. O resultado pode ser conferido no vídeo abaixo.

Caleb Kraft, o criador da cópia, ficou encantado com os vídeos da usuária do YouTube Staci Elaan, onde ela demonstra várias versões de bobinas de Tesla – algumas acopladas em armas “de brinquedo”. O que lhe chamou a atenção foi o fato de todas elas serem alimentadas com baterias de 12 V, então ele encomendou uma de tamanho reduzido o bastante para ser facilmente transportada. Com ela em mãos ele confeccionou a réplica que ficou um pouco fora de escala (Dr. Brown não aprovaria), mas cumpre a função no quesito “desferir descargas absurdas nos inimigos”.

Quem tiver interesse em fazer um igual o segundo vídeo e a fonte detalham o passo-a-passo, mas é bom manter em mente que apesar de parecer bem legal, uma martelada nas ideias pode literalmente acabar com a alegria de qualquer um.

Fonte: Hack a Day.

Parece que agora vai: a prefeitura de São Paulo prepara licitação onde serão criados pontos de acesso livre à internet em cerca de 120 locais, entre praças, parques e terminais de ônibus. O mais surpreendente é que o plano não pretende contemplar apenas as áreas nobres, já que desde o plano piloto será levado à periferia.

O edital será publicado apenas na próxima sexta-feira, mas a redação da Folha de São Paulo já teve acesso às informações e detalha como será a implantação.

Durante o plano piloto onze praças servirão para testar o serviço: três no centro velho e oito nas Zonas Sul e Leste, a saber:

• Centro: Pateo do Colégio, Pça. Roosevelt e Vale do Anhangabaú;
• Zona Sul: Praça Adão Domingos de Morais Filho (Capão Redondo), Praça dos Cartógrafos (Jardim São Luís) e Largo Treze (Santo Amaro);
• Zona Leste: Terminal São Mateus, Praça Dilva Gomes, na Cohab I (Artur Alvim), Praça Mãe Preta (Vila Curuçá), Praça Lions Clube (Itaim Paulista) e Praça Pe. Aleixo Monteiro Mafra (São Miguel Paulista, pertinho de casa).

A licitação será em lotes de 18 praças cada e seguirá algumas regras: a conexão deverá ser mantida 24/7 com velocidade mínima de 512 kb/s (quilobits por segundo), com interrupções de apenas 5% do tempo por mês. O serviço deve dar suporte a vídeos e voIP, e avaliação dos usuários refletirá no pagamento à empresa fornecedora do serviço.

Quanto à segurança, num primeiro momento o usuário não terá que se cadastrar para usar os pontos W-Fi, mas será obrigatório criar mecanismos para evitar que o mesmo não faça mau uso da rede.

A iniciativa é excelente, e apesar da carta do Wi-Fi livre ser utilizada em todas as eleições por aqui desde 2004, se o sistema funcionar (e de fato for implantado na periferia) pode ajudar a democratizar e muito o acesso à internet.

Fonte: Folha SP.