Monsters don’t sleep under your bed
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21 Aug 18:13
Socially awkward at a whole new level
Socially awkward at a whole new level
firehose likes this
21 Aug 18:12
No Bear Grylls, not that kind of butterflies…
No Bear Grylls, not that kind of butterflies…
12 Mar 00:26
The Tyranny of Hotel Room Service
$40 club sandwiches, $14 bagels, and $20 cookies: why is hotel room service so expensive?!
10 Mar 23:03
Colloidal Silver: Turn Yourself Blue, Nutcase
by drew
Even though Paul Karason hit the talk show circuits a few years back to show off his blue-gray skin, caused by his chronic intake of colloidal silver, you can still purchase this toxic supplement. There are several kinds available, but this particular brand, Natural Path Silver Wings, is the worst, mainly because they suggest you give it to children. Not only that, but it has over a hundred psychotic reviews. People are claiming that they no longer have to take antibiotics, and that it’s healed second-degree burns, cleared up pinkeye, stopped dandruff, and cured influenza. This guy even claims that colloidal silver healed a bite from a brown recluse spider.
Argyria, the skin condition caused by colloidal silver, doesn’t go away when you stop taking colloidal silver, by the way. It’s caused by silver particles that accumulate in the dermis and sweat glands after you ingest or absorb silver particles through your skin. Since they accumulate in the lower layers of skin, they’re hard to remove.
Convinced that Paul Karason was trying to discredit their mystery cure, colloidal silver proponents celebrated when Karason died last year, at the age of 62.
10 Mar 23:02
Camo Condoms: A condom that’s camouflage
by drew
“Camo Condoms” are a great idea. When you’re out in the woods, a deer can spot a regular condom at three-quarters of a mile.
08 Mar 00:38
It's True: Some People Just Don't Like Music
by timothy
Albener PessoaGlad to know there are some other people like me
sciencehabit writes "Researchers have found that between 1 and 3% of people don't like music of any kind. These people aren't tone deaf or incapable of grasping the emotional meaning of a song—their brains simply didn’t find listening to music rewarding. While some psychiatric disorders are associated with the loss of the ability to feel pleasure, called anhedonia, the music-haters represent the first evidence for not feeling pleasure from only one specific pleasing stimulant, a condition that has been dubbed music-specific anhedonia. Curious where you fall on the music reward spectrum? The researchers have an online quiz." I know I actively prefer silence to most music, but what I like, I like intensely. Update: 03/06 21:48 GMT by T : Sorry for the garbled submission; now fixed. 
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Ronald.phillips, Albener Pessoa and -1 others like this
07 Mar 16:13
Brazil, Europe Plan Undersea Cable to Skirt Spying
by Kevin Murray
Albener PessoaHahahaha
Brazil and the European Union agreed on Monday to lay an undersea communications cable from Lisbon to Fortaleza to reduce Brazil’s reliance on the United States after Washington spied on Brasilia.
At a summit in Brussels, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said the $185 million cable project was central to “guarantee the neutrality” of the Internet, signaling her desire to shield Brazil’s Internet traffic from U.S. surveillance. (more)
Shhhh... Apparently, they missed reading this, this 1918 experiment and this modern day story. Not to mention... Operation Ivy Bells, Operation Tempora and Glimmerglass.
At a summit in Brussels, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said the $185 million cable project was central to “guarantee the neutrality” of the Internet, signaling her desire to shield Brazil’s Internet traffic from U.S. surveillance. (more)
Shhhh... Apparently, they missed reading this, this 1918 experiment and this modern day story. Not to mention... Operation Ivy Bells, Operation Tempora and Glimmerglass.
07 Mar 13:24
Airbag e cinto foram decisivos para sobrevivência de motorista após queda da Ponte Rio-Niterói
by Ricardo de Oliveira
Marina Pinto Borges (22), sobreviveu à queda de 50 metros da Ponte Rio-Niterói na última segunda-feira, após ainda capotar sete vezes na pista. Após o acidente, constatou-se que o airbag duplo e os cintos com pré-tensionadores foram fundamentais para que a motorista não perdesse a vida.
Depois da série de capotagens, o Renault Sandero de Marina caiu de uma altura de 50 metros, antes do vão central de aço com 72 metros. O acionamento do airbag e a retenção dos cintos fez com que a condutora permanecesse consciente durante a queda.
Ela conseguiu sair do carro sozinha, antes que o mesmo afundasse e, nadando, foi resgatada pela equipe de práticos de segurança. Marina teve apenas ferimentos leves. Segundo seu relato, um veículo freou bruscamente e ela tentou desviar, mas perdeu o controle e bateu na mureta de proteção, iniciando uma sequência de capotagens antes de cair.
[Fonte: Veja/Imagem ilustrativa]
Agradecimentos ao Thiago Limongi pela dica.
A noticia Airbag e cinto foram decisivos para sobrevivência de motorista após queda da Ponte Rio-Niterói foi publicada no site Notícias Automotivas - Carros.
06 Mar 22:43
Roku Takes Aim at Chromecast and Apple TV With $49 Streaming Stick [iOS Blog]
by Jordan Golson
Roku today introduced a new $50 HDMI streaming-stick to compete directly with Google's Chromecast and give consumers a significantly cheaper alternative to the Apple TV.
The new streaming stick is a sequel of sorts to a stick that Roku introduced last year that only worked with select Roku-ready TV's. The new stick comes with a full-fledged remote control and largely replicates the functionality of the full-sized Roku 3 set-top box, though it lacks an Ethernet jack and support for gaming. Users get access to more than 1,000 Roku channels, including Plex, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon, Spotify, Major League Baseball, Showtime, WatchESPN and many more.
The new streaming stick is a sequel of sorts to a stick that Roku introduced last year that only worked with select Roku-ready TV's. The new stick comes with a full-fledged remote control and largely replicates the functionality of the full-sized Roku 3 set-top box, though it lacks an Ethernet jack and support for gaming. Users get access to more than 1,000 Roku channels, including Plex, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon, Spotify, Major League Baseball, Showtime, WatchESPN and many more.
"The new Roku Streaming Stick gives consumers more choice for streaming entertainment to the TV than any other device," said Jim Funk, senior vice president of product management at Roku. "Consumers want a ton of entertainment, an easy way to search for movies and TV shows, and options to control the experience with a remote or mobile device. This new Roku Streaming Stick brings all that and more – and in a tiny form factor."The Roku Streaming Stick connects to the Internet via 802.11n Wi-Fi and plugs into the USB port present on most modern flat-screen TVs for power. It is available for pre-order for $50 from Roku's website or on Amazon.com. It will begin shipping in April.
    
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06 Mar 17:52
Crypto Bug Leaves Linux, Hundreds of Apps Open to Eavesdropping
by Kevin Murray
Hundreds of open source packages, including the Red Hat, Ubuntu, and Debian distributions of Linux, are susceptible to attacks that circumvent the most widely used technology to prevent eavesdropping on the Internet, thanks to an extremely critical vulnerability in a widely used cryptographic code library.
The bug in the GnuTLS library makes it trivial for attackers to bypass secure sockets layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) protections available on websites that depend on the open source package. Initial estimates ... indicate that more than 200 different operating systems or applications rely on GnuTLS to implement crucial SSL and TLS operations, but it wouldn't be surprising if the actual number is much higher.
Web applications, e-mail programs, and other code that use the library are vulnerable to exploits that allow attackers monitoring connections to silently decode encrypted traffic passing between end users and servers. (more)
The bug in the GnuTLS library makes it trivial for attackers to bypass secure sockets layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) protections available on websites that depend on the open source package. Initial estimates ... indicate that more than 200 different operating systems or applications rely on GnuTLS to implement crucial SSL and TLS operations, but it wouldn't be surprising if the actual number is much higher.
Web applications, e-mail programs, and other code that use the library are vulnerable to exploits that allow attackers monitoring connections to silently decode encrypted traffic passing between end users and servers. (more)
06 Mar 00:09
A Black Eye for Blackphones
by Kevin Murray
Albener Pessoa"Interesting article, but... one half of my brain is saying wouldn't the LE's want criminals to think these phones are secure? And, once the general public views encryption as a criminal tool, the politicians would be free to pass laws restricting communications encryption so then only the outlaws (and selected others) would use it... kind-of-like gun silencers.
Or, maybe I've been "Snowed-in" over the long winter and have become cynical."
Australian law enforcement agencies are increasingly unable to monitor the communications of some of the country's most powerful criminals due to the rising prevalence of uncrackable encrypted phones.
The phones are linked to a series of the underworld killings that rocked Sydney, several senior law enforcement officials told the ABC on condition of anonymity.
The phones are sold by dozens of companies worldwide and have legitimate uses.
But the law enforcement officials say thousands of the phones have been obtained by Australian criminals and they are using them to commit serious crimes, including murder. (more) (video report)
Interesting article, but... one half of my brain is saying wouldn't the LE's want criminals to think these phones are secure? And, once the general public views encryption as a criminal tool, the politicians would be free to pass laws restricting communications encryption so then only the outlaws (and selected others) would use it... kind-of-like gun silencers.
Or, maybe I've been "Snowed-in" over the long winter and have become cynical.
The phones are sold by dozens of companies worldwide and have legitimate uses.
But the law enforcement officials say thousands of the phones have been obtained by Australian criminals and they are using them to commit serious crimes, including murder. (more) (video report)
Interesting article, but... one half of my brain is saying wouldn't the LE's want criminals to think these phones are secure? And, once the general public views encryption as a criminal tool, the politicians would be free to pass laws restricting communications encryption so then only the outlaws (and selected others) would use it... kind-of-like gun silencers.
Or, maybe I've been "Snowed-in" over the long winter and have become cynical.
06 Mar 00:07
Bogus Boris Netflix App
by Kevin Murray
Android phones and tablets from four different manufacturers are arriving with malware “pre-installed” – a bogus version of Netflix which sends password and credit card information to Russia, according to app security specialist Marble Security.
David Jevans, CTO and founder of the company said that he was alerted to the problem by a company testing his product, software to help organizations manage mobile devices, after it repeatedly flagged Netflix as malicious, according to PC World’s report.
Jevans’ team analysed the app, and found that it was bogus, using tools including one that analyzed the app’s network traffic for signs of communication with known malicious servers. Jevans says, “This isn’t the real Netflix. You’ve got one that has been tampered with, and is sending passwords and credit card information to Russia.” (more)
Jevans’ team analysed the app, and found that it was bogus, using tools including one that analyzed the app’s network traffic for signs of communication with known malicious servers. Jevans says, “This isn’t the real Netflix. You’ve got one that has been tampered with, and is sending passwords and credit card information to Russia.” (more)
Tadeu likes this
05 Mar 19:23
Jeep Renegade será o primeiro pernambucano da Fiat e terá motor 1.6 Flex com Start&Stop
by Ricardo de Oliveira
UPDATE: O SUV será vendido com motorização flex 1.6 E.torQ. A Chrysler confirmou oficialmente que o Jeep Renegade será o primeiro carro fabricado pela Fiat em Goiana, litoral de Pernambuco. É primeira vez que a FCA confirma um produto para a planta nordestina e também revela a produção do SUV compacto em 2016 na China.
No entanto, a produção para os EUA e Europa começa na fábrica de Melfi, Itália. Com previsão de ser vendido em 100 países, o utilitário esportivo foi desenhado nos EUA, onde chega no primeiro trimestre de 2015. Na Europa, as vendas iniciam-se no final de 2014. No caso brasileiro, o Jeep Renegade chegará no segundo semestre de 2015.
Com visual robusto e influenciado pelo estilo Tek-Tonic, o Jeep Renegade vai oferecer melhor capacidade off-road que seus rivais compactos através de um moderno sistema de tração 4×4 chamado Active Drive, que pode ter até cinco modos de operação, bem como desligamento automático do diferencial traseiro e da caixa de transferência.
A Jeep fala em cinco motores a gasolina (1.6 E.torQ, 1.4 MultiAir2, 1.4 MultiAir Turbo, 1.4 MultiAir2 Turbo e 2.4 Tigershark), dois a diesel (1.6 e 2.0 Multijet) e quatro câmbios (manual de 5 ou 6 marchas, TCT e automático), totalizando 16 combinações. No caso brasileiro, o Jeep Renegade virá com tecnologia Flex e o propulsor utilizado será o 1.6 E.torQ de até 132 cv com Start&Stop, câmbio manual de cinco marchas e tração FWD. No entanto, algumas das outras opções devem ser oferecidas.
Além da motorização, o Jeep Renegade se destaca pelo inédito teto solar e pela personalização do interior. Preço? Provavelmente entre R$ 90.000 e R$ 100.000, enquanto o irmão da Fiat – que também será fabricado em Goiana/PE – custaria entre R$ 55.000 e R$ 75.000.
Galeria de fotos do Jeep Renegade:
A noticia Jeep Renegade será o primeiro pernambucano da Fiat e terá motor 1.6 Flex com Start&Stop foi publicada no site Notícias Automotivas - Carros.
04 Mar 22:50
Assorted links
by Tyler Cowen
Albener Pessoa likes this
04 Mar 20:58
Florida Cops’ Secret Weapon: Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking
by Kevin Murray
Police in Florida have offered a startling excuse for having used a controversial “stingray” cell phone tracking gadget 200 times without ever telling a judge: the device’s manufacturer made them sign a non-disclosure agreement that they say prevented them from telling the courts. (more)
04 Mar 20:57
Chevron Wins Suit Fighting $9.5 Billion Ecuador Judgment - The Spy Pen Helped
by Kevin Murray
Back in 2009, I posted this: Spy Pen May Kill $27 Billion Lawsuit. A little later: The Chevron Secret Recordings Case Continues. Chevron claimed that the Ecuadorian legal system was corrupt and they were not getting a fair hearing.
They backed up their claim with covert videos showing the bribery and corruption. For a while they hosted the videos on their website, while saying they had nothing to do with the making of them.
The videos were made with nothing more than a cheap spy pen and video wristwatch bought from a SkyMall catalog.
Now, a $9.5 Billion lawsuit is $0.00. If this doesn't prove the power of spy gadgets, nothing does.
Got any cheap spy gadgets hanging around your offices? You don't know, do you? Call me.
Here is how the lawsuit ended today...
A federal judge ruled in favor of Chevron Corp. on Tuesday in a civil racketeering case, saying a record $9.5 billion environmental judgment in Ecuador against the oil giant was "obtained by corrupt means."
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan found that New York lawyer Steven Donziger and his litigation team engaged in coercion, bribery, money laundering and other criminal conduct in pursuit of the 2011 verdict.
The decision barred Mr. Donziger and his two Ecuadorean co-defendants from profiting from the verdict.
The case in New York stems from a 2003 lawsuit filed by a group of Ecuadorean villagers from the Lago Agrio region over decades-old pollution from oil exploration in the Amazon rain forest by Texaco Inc., which Chevron acquired in 2001. The decision could hamper efforts to enforce the 2011 judgment by pursuing Chevron's assets in Canada and elsewhere. (more)
The videos were made with nothing more than a cheap spy pen and video wristwatch bought from a SkyMall catalog.
Now, a $9.5 Billion lawsuit is $0.00. If this doesn't prove the power of spy gadgets, nothing does.
Got any cheap spy gadgets hanging around your offices? You don't know, do you? Call me.
Here is how the lawsuit ended today...
A federal judge ruled in favor of Chevron Corp. on Tuesday in a civil racketeering case, saying a record $9.5 billion environmental judgment in Ecuador against the oil giant was "obtained by corrupt means."
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan found that New York lawyer Steven Donziger and his litigation team engaged in coercion, bribery, money laundering and other criminal conduct in pursuit of the 2011 verdict.
The decision barred Mr. Donziger and his two Ecuadorean co-defendants from profiting from the verdict.
The case in New York stems from a 2003 lawsuit filed by a group of Ecuadorean villagers from the Lago Agrio region over decades-old pollution from oil exploration in the Amazon rain forest by Texaco Inc., which Chevron acquired in 2001. The decision could hamper efforts to enforce the 2011 judgment by pursuing Chevron's assets in Canada and elsewhere. (more)
04 Mar 19:16
USA Today’s list of the top 10 tech toys from Toy Fair 2014
by Kelly
Here’s a list of the top ten tech toys from the 2014 Toy Fair, which was held in NYC in mid-February. Highlights include a shout out to our friends at littleBits, as well as MOSS, a company that makes robotics kits for kids ages 8 and up, via USA Today:
Where can you find a talking bear that responds to your questions, a golf-ball-sized robot that follows the lines you draw and a watch that not only tells time but takes videos? At the 111th American International Toy Fair in New York City, which ran from February 16-19, 2014.
After scouring the football fields full of toy booths, here are my picks for 10 exciting tech toys coming to shelves later this year.
littleBits (Ages 8-up, kits range from $99 to $199:
Kids become inventors with these magnetized snap-together electronic blocks (little bits). The blocks – each a tiny circuit — are color-coded so that kids know that blue blocks are power units, pink represents controls (such as dimmers, motion triggers or slides), while green blocks are outputs (such as sounds, LED lights, etc.). Using their own imagination, kids can create cars that run, whirling dervishes, mini boom boxes, robots and more
MOSS (Ages 8-up, kits range from $149.95 to $399.95)
Building robots becomes as simple as connecting square blocks that are color-coded to perform different functions. There is no writing of code or wiring, just snapping together the blocks with steel spheres to build things that spin, crawl and move. These sets make the complicated process of designing a robot a snap..
Featured Adafruit Products!
littleBits: Prototyping is easier than you think with littleBits! No soldering, no programming and no wiring needed. Just snap together these magnetic circuit boards and get ready for some creative fun with modular electronics. Each piece has a different function from light and sound to motors and pulses. These kits come with instruction sheets and project ideas to get you started. Visit the littleBits community for more project ideas and don’t forget to post your “dream bit” to their site!
Each Tuesday is EducationTuesday here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts about educators and all things STEM. Adafruit supports our educators and loves to spread the good word about educational STEM innovations!
firehose likes this
04 Mar 18:54
Man “fixes” women’s computers, watches them through webcams
by WIRED UK
A 30-year-old man from London has been convicted for installing spying software on the computers of three women in order to watch them remotely.
Andrew Meldrum was this week found guilty of three counts of unauthorized access to computer material and two counts of voyeurism. He will be sentenced on Monday, April 14.
One of the victims, aged 21, contacted police in November 2012 after she found software on her computer that allowed for her webcam to be accessed remotely. She suspected it had been placed there by Meldrum since he had recently helped her with some computer trouble.