Daniel

The coastline of the southern Tasmania, in Australia, is composed of stunning rock columns that protrude up to 300 meters from the sea level. These rocks are what geologists call dolerites, with its distinct elongated shape and hexagonal columns.

Dolerites form when molten rocks pushed up from the deep underbelly of the earth cools quickly and crystallizes to form small visible crystals in the rock. When the rate of cooling is just right, the rocks shrink in volume, causing the creation of cracks. The cracks allow the rocks in the interior to cool, resulting in more cracks. At the end, you get a large block of rock with long vertical and symmetrical cracks creating five or six sided columns. The columns can be just a few centimeters to over several meters in diameter.

Photo credit: Nishi Wojnar/Flickr

In the summer of 1963, the United States successfully put a gigantic ring around the earth. But unlike Saturn, earth’s ring was not made of dust, rock, and ice, but thin hair-like strands of copper wires—half a billion of them.

The wires, or needles, were part of Project West Ford, which was an attempt to strengthen the earth’s ionosphere and provide the United States Military a jam-proof, fail-proof, and destruction-proof communication system.

Clumps of copper needles from Project West Ford still circle the earth. Image credit: stuffin.space

Ice Energy

A Santa Barbara-based company called Ice Energy has partnered with NRG Energy to deliver 1,800 “ice batteries” to commercial and industrial buildings served by electric utility Southern California Edison (SCE). The units are expected to reduce air conditioning bills by up to 40 percent and eliminate 200,000 tons of CO₂ over the next 20 years.

Ice Energy has been building ice-based cooling systems since the early 2000s. Much like pumped storage or compressed air “batteries,” Ice Energy essentially stores electricity by drawing power from the grid at non-peak times to freeze water in a special container. Then at peak times, when the cost of electricity is high and grid operators are struggling to keep up with demand, Ice Energy’s systems kick in and use that block of ice to cool the space that the air conditioning unit normally serves.

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Almost a year after app developer SilverPush vowed to kill its privacy-threatening software that used inaudible sound embedded into TV commercials to covertly track phone users, the technology is more popular than ever, with more than 200 Android apps that have been downloaded millions of times from the official Google Play market, according to a recently published research paper.

As of January, there were 234 Android apps that were created using SilverPush's publicly available software developer kit, according to the paper, which was published by researchers from Technische Universitat Braunschweig in Germany. That represents a dramatic increase in the number of Android apps known to use the creepy audio tracking scheme. In April 2015, there were only five such apps.

The apps silently listen for ultrasonic sounds that marketers use as high-tech beacons to indicate when a phone user is viewing a TV commercial or other type of targeted audio. A representative sample of just five of the 234 apps have been downloaded from 2.25 million to 11.1 million times, according to the researchers, citing official Google Play figures. None of them discloses the tracking capabilities in their privacy policies.

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The "Google Docs" phishing attack that wormed its way through thousands of e-mail inboxes earlier this week exploited a threat that had been flagged earlier by at least three security researchers—one raised issues about the threat as early as October of 2011. In fact, the person or persons behind the attack may have copied the technique from a proof of concept posted by one security researcher to GitHub in February.

The issue may not technically be a vulnerability, but the way Google has implemented its application permissions interface—based on the OAuth 2 standard used by a large number of Web application providers—makes it far too easy to fool unsuspecting targets into giving away access to their cloud, e-mail, storage, and other Google-associated accounts. The websites used in the phishing attack each used domains that mimicked Google's in some way. The sites would call a Google Apps Script that used Google's own authentication system against itself. The malicious Web application (named "Google Docs") was delivered by an HTML e-mail message that looked so much like a genuine Google Docs sharing request that many users just sailed right through the permissions requested without thinking.

Researchers have repeatedly warned Google about this potential social engineering threat, and this shortcoming had already been exploited in malicious e-mails used by an alleged state actor. While Google quickly shut down the malicious application's access to customers' credentials, the threat remains, since all it takes to relaunch a campaign is to configure another application with Google's authentication API.

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Just three weeks left to get in your proposals for BAHFest Sydney!

Microsoft is planning to let Surface Laptop owners upgrade to Windows 10 Pro free of charge until the end of the year. While the laptop ships with Windows 10 S, a new version designed just for Windows Store apps, Microsoft isn't charging Surface Laptop owners the $49 fee to switch to Pro. If you purchase another Windows 10 S device then you'll still need to pay the $49 upgrade free, but Surface Laptop customers will have until the end of the year to switch.

Microsoft is also throwing in an Office 365 Personal account for a year with the Surface Laptop, providing full access to the desktop versions of Office. These apps will arrive in the Windows Store soon, and even the Windows 10 S shipping on the Surface Laptop will be able to run...

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More dog adventures.

Enlarge / This is how a Chrome 57 displays https://www.xn--80ak6aa92e.com/. Note the https://www.apple.com in the address bar.

If you're using Chrome, Firefox, or Opera to view websites, you should be aware of a weakness that can trick even savvy people into trusting malicious impostor sites that want you to download software or enter your password or credit card data.

The weakness involves the way these browsers display certain characters in the address bar. Until Google released version 58 in the past 24 hours, for instance, Chrome displayed https://www.xn--80ak6aa92e.com/ as https://www.apple.com. The latest versions of Firefox and Opera by default continue to present the same misleading address. As the screenshot above demonstrates, the corresponding website has nothing to do with Apple. Had a malicious attacker registered the underlying xn--80ak6aa92e.com domain, she could have used it to push backdoored software or to trick visitors into divulging passwords or other sensitive information.

Xudong Zheng, a Web application developer who developed the apple.com look-alike site to demonstrate the threat, explained here how the attack works.

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You wouldn't believe this, but hey, me and Kelly have a new book out! 

More competence.

More signs.

As part of an overhaul of the UK’s national driving exam, trainee drivers will be tested on their ability to follow directions from a sat nav. The Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which licenses instructors and regulates driving tests, said it was updating the exam to include “more real life scenarios” that better reflect new demands on drivers.

The DVSA says about half of all car drivers in the UK use a sat nav of one form or another (including both standalone units and mobile apps), and that individuals needed to be able to safely manage the distraction. Examiners will provide drivers with a sat nav unit during their test and make sure it is positioned “appropriately and safely.” The examiner will input the route, and...

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This family cottage located in Kingston upon Thames, England was renovated by McGarry-Moon Architects. A new addition was built, which together with the main house can now accommodate up to 12 persons.

“The new extension meets the old with a touch of glass,” the architects said. “Its palette is muted but precise, with crafted iroko timber meeting sharp board-marked concrete walls. Together they form a restrained but striking palette that sits comfortably next to the detailed tiled faces of the cottage.”

The double height space above the kitchen and dining area flows into the more secluded lounge. Looking out over the pool and the retained mature trees, one encounters the garden room. A separate building, the garden room acts as a self-contained retreat, approached under a louvered timber walkway.

A minimalist design language spiced up with elements of surprise is what makes a tour of this house appealing. Generously-sized windows blur the indoor-outdoor boundaries. “The result is a project that allows the architectural languages of the contemporary and Victorian to relate to each other and form a stimulating and respectful dialogue,” the architects concluded. [information provided by McGarry-Moon Architects; photos courtesy of: Adam Currie]

The post Charming Family Cottage in England Gets Contemporary Update appeared first on Freshome.com.

There’s been a lot of excellent analysis and reporting about the proposed $86b AT&T / Time Warner merger in the days since the deal was announced, but this infographic from the Wall Street Journal really nails the fundamental insanity of the telecom industry. What started in 1877 as the original Bell Telephone Co turned into the great phone monopoly of AT&T, found itself broken up by the government in 1984, and has since slowly reconstituted itself as the massive duopoly of the modern AT&T and Verizon. At the same time, Warner sucked up Time Inc to become TimeWarner, merged with AOL in history’s most popular business punchline, un-merged, spun off Time Inc again, and is now being swallowed by AT&T while AOL is now part of...

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Terry and Terry Architecture completed the Skyline House, a family home located on top of the Eastbay mountain range in California, USA. An impressive remodel of a former firestorm house, the project frames views of the city of Oakland and the southwest Bay.

The clients’ brief requested an open plan residence that maximized the connection to the existing garden and deck. Social areas needed to offer flexibility and opportunities for family gatherings.

“The design consists of shrouding the open common space in a wood tube that connects the garden in the front to the viewing deck at the rear,” the architects explained. “The roof of the tube form is warped out creating a large volume for the living space that echoes the contours of the hillside it resides on. The main living space becomes the connector of the two contrasting outdoor spaces.”
An outdoor dining area was implemented by extending the living room into the front garden. The interior design is clean and contemporary; wood and glass make each room feel inviting, yet boundless.

For indoor activities, the designer came up with a media & projection room situated on the lower floor. This is also where the bedroom and office area are located. [Photography courtesy of Terry and Terry Architecture]

The post Wood Tube Wraps the Living Room of This Family Home in California appeared first on Freshome.com.

This modern ranch home in Big Timber, Montana makes the most of its picturesque location in the American West with panoramic views of the surrounding 2000-acre property.  Floor to ceiling windows wrap around the structure.  They add a touch of modern style and set everyday tasks against the backdrop of Montana’s Crazy mountains.

During the spring melt, water flows from these peaks into the flood plain surrounding this home.  Hughes Umbanhower Architects designed Big Timber Riverside so that home would look like its floating on the flooded plain.  It sits on a tall plinth, which allows the water to flow beneath its foundation.

Spring fed ponds surround the home with fresh water features year-round.  This adds a dramatic element to entry.  It includes a stone walkway over the pond water and natural stone steps up to a large, glass door.

The interior uses natural materials and clean lines to fuse rustic and modern styles.  For example, weathered wooden boards provide a beautiful backdrop to the home’s updated living room.  The living room also has one of three fireplaces featured throughout the home.  Each provides unique style and a cozy ambiance in cooler Montana temperatures.  (Photography and information courtesy of Hughes Umbanhower Architects)

The post Modern Ranch Home Views Showcase Big Sky Country appeared first on Freshome.com.

Dell is ready to compete with Microsoft’s Surface Hub for access to your giant touchscreen budget. The PC maker has announced two 4K Interactive Touch Monitors — 55-inch and 86-inch models — designed for the education and business markets.

The monitors feature 20 touch points and stylus support, but doesn’t come with a built-in PC like the Microsoft Surface Hub does (it does feature a plethora of ports, however). You can even integrate a Dell OptiPlex Micro desktop right into the back panel of the monitors without the need for a separate power cord.

The 55-inch monitor (C5518QT) will cost less than $5,000, while the 86-inch monitor (C8618QT) will come under $11,000, according to Dell, notably cheaper than Microsoft’s...

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Traveling by train is one of the simplest ways to get around, and it can also be the most photogenic. These 12 routes from around the world are so visually striking you’ll be glued to your railroad car’s window for the entire trip.

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More relaxation.

More job satisfaction.

Enlarge (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

Ten years ago this week—on June 29, 2007—many waited (in line or online) for the first iPhone's formal release. This week as the device turns 10, we're examining its impact and revisiting the phone that changed it all. As such, we wanted to resurface this trip down iPhone review memory lane. This piece first ran on January 9, 2017 (ten years after Steve Jobs first unveiled his now signature product to the world).

Ten years ago, Steve Jobs hopped onstage at the 2007 MacWorld conference and announced a much-anticipated product that would come to totally eclipse the Mac. It was an iPod, a phone, and an Internet device. It was the first iPhone, and whether you like Apple and its products or not, it drastically altered the face of computing.

Apple stopped attending MacWorld in 2009 (the conference ended entirely in 2015) and Steve Jobs passed away in 2011, but the iPhone is still here and so are we. We've reviewed every single iPhone that Apple has released, and as we did when the iPad turned five, we'll walk down memory lane with both the benefit of hindsight and the stuff we thought at the time.

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