Chad's News

Turn Ordinary Windows Into See-Through Solar Panels

Chad Cloman — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:08:33 +0000

From the linked article: “3M has developed a see-through film that turns ordinary windows into solar panels. … A square meter of the film can generate roughly enough electricity to charge an iPhone under peak sunlight, but still allows for high visibility.” It’s an easy, do-it-yourself install and will go on sale sometime this year.

Link: http://www.computerworld.com/…
(via Kim Komando)

Frankenmalware Explained

Chad Cloman — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:39:13 +0000

I posted this topic just because the name is so neat. “Frankenmalware” describes the result of a computer virus infecting a computer worm. The worm then propagates the virus.

For those who find this confusing, here’s a short tutorial on the difference between a virus and a worm. A virus is malware that attaches itself to executable files on a computer. When an infected file is run, the virus code is also run. Viruses may or may not contain mechanisms to spread themselves to other machines. A worm, however, is a standalone program that propagates itself over a network by taking advantage of security holes in target machines. Unlike viruses, worms do not have to attach themselves to existing executable files—a worm is autonomous. Note that the distinction between viruses and worms is not perfect—some malware contains components of both—and we have a tendency to lump them all under the umbrella name of “viruses”.

So frankenmalware occurs when a computer that’s already infected with a worm gets infected with a virus, and the virus attaches itself to the worm’s executable file. When the worm spreads to another machine, it unknowingly carries the virus and infects the new computer. All of this is done without the intervention of the user or the knowledge of the people who wrote the virus/worm.

Link: http://www.malwarecity.com/…
(via Kim Komando)

Space Hotel May Become a Reality Within 5 Years

Chad Cloman — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:53:40 +0000

Forget those expensive space tourism trips to the International Space Station! A Russian company named Orbital Technologies is planning to have a space hotel in orbit by 2016. A five-night stay will cost $1 million.

Link: http://www.smh.com.au/…
(via Bureau 42)

How the 1956 AT&T Consent Decree Shaped the Birth of Unix and the Open Source Movement

Chad Cloman — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:26:39 +0000

The creation of Unix at Bell Labs was a revolutionary moment in the history of computing. It has shaped the future of the field, and set in place foundational elements of the modern open source movement. The linked article describes how the Unix revolution was dictated, in part, by a 1956 anti-trust consent decree between AT&T and the US government. Who would have thought that such a small footnote in history could have a significant impact today, over 50 years later?

Link: http://arstechnica.com/…

Tablet Computers: Gadgetry vs. Services

Chad Cloman — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:37:10 +0000

The author of the linked article argues that most tablet manufacturers are making a mistake by trying to cram as many high-tech hardware features as possible into their tablet computers. He contends that, aside from a small number of gadget-loving technophiles, users don’t care about those features. He then goes on to say that Apple and Amazon have the right idea, which is to create a solid base of services that integrate with the tablet, and that this infrastructure is what’s making their tablets successful. His argument makes sense to me, and if he’s right, I think we can see a shakeout in the industry within two or three years.

Link: http://www.techrepublic.com/…

Stupid Criminal Stories #19

Chad Cloman — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:27:51 +0000

Samuel Kioskli, a man who worked for an ATM servicing company, was arrested on charges of stealing $200,000 from the ATMs his company managed. What qualifies this for the coveted Chad’s News “stupid criminals” status is that (1) he allegedly replaced the stolen money with photocopied forgeries, thus quickly bringing attention to the crime as angry customers called the bank, and (2) he was under video surveillance at the time.

Link: http://www.sfgate.com/…
(via Slashdot)

Why You Shouldn’t Share Your Internet Connection With Neighbors

Chad Cloman — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:58:32 +0000

In the linked article, Kim Komando gives several good reasons for not sharing your wireless internet connection with neighbors. An important one being that if the neighbor does anything illegal, the police arrest you and confiscate your computer equipment. (On the other hand, if you’re the one doing illegal stuff over the internet, I’ve actually heard people suggest that it’s a good idea to leave your wireless router unsecured—so there’s reasonable doubt concerning who performed the crime.)

Link: http://www.komando.com/…

Stupid User Stories

Chad Cloman — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:04:46 +0000

The linked article has 10 stupid computer user stories, told by a computer support person. Many of them are too old to be relevant in today’s computer-savvy world, but my favorite is “The janitor’s closet”.

Link: http://www.techrepublic.com/…

A Short History of Ethernet

Chad Cloman — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 23:48:30 +0000

The linked article gives a (slightly) technical history of the Ethernet protocol, which these days is almost ubiquitous for wired LANs. It also explains how Ethernet works compared to other networking strategies. Somehow, fast transfer speeds arise out of seemingly total chaos. If you’re technically inclined, I think you’ll enjoy reading this article.

Link: http://arstechnica.com/…

Cephalopods, the Masters of Camouflage [Video]

Chad Cloman — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:00:43 +0000

Cephalopods (squid, octopuses, and cuttlefish) are very, very good at camouflaging themselves—it’s their primary method of protection from predators. But just how good is shown in the linked video, where an octopus is hiding. The word “unbelievable” is appropriate.

Thanks to Josh for this link.

Link: http://www.sciencefriday.com/…

The iPhone – Will It Blend? (Video)

Dealing With a Window That’s Outside the Display Area

Chad Cloman — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:21:03 +0000

Some time ago, I had a computer program that would occasionally glitch and set its location to be somewhere off the screen. The program would run fine and would show up on the taskbar, but I couldn’t access it with my mouse because it was outside the visible area of the Windows desktop. Eventually I discovered the technique described in the linked article. This is a command that’s been around for a long time but isn’t obvious to the casual user, especially the part about using the arrow keys to perform the movement.

Link: http://www.techrepublic.com/…

Resize Any Window

A Round-the-Clock Solar Power Plant

Chad Cloman — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:41:21 +0000

One of the problems with alternative energy sources such as wind and solar is their intermittent nature. Sometimes the wind is blowing and sometimes it isn’t. And the sun goes down every night. This is one of the reasons why fossil fuel plants are still a mainstay for any major power utility.

This problem has led to a quest for ways to store energy such that an alternative fuel power plant can supply energy on demand. One such method uses compressed air, while another has large batteries. More recently, a company named SolarReserve has received a $737 million loan guarantee from the US government for the construction of a round-the-clock solar power plant in Nevada—a plant that uses molten salt to store energy accumulated during daylight hours.

Link: http://www.forbes.com/…
(via Slashdot)