News items and other various tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share with his friends.
Next weekend’s release of The X-Files: I Want to Believe will not address the X-Files mythology. But should you want to know the full and unambiguous history of the mythology, I refer you to the linked site. After reading sections 0 through 4 of the primer, and based on my own experience watching the show, I finally got the big picture—which was originally presented in disjoint pieces over scores of episodes.
Comedy Central’s Colbert Report, with host Stephen Colbert, is a great show. The “Colbert bump” is the increase in popularity affecting guests who appear on the show (e.g., increased book sales for authors, a rise in poll numbers for politicians, etc.). And Firefox has joined the growing ranks of those receiving the bump. The linked article contains a graph showing spikes in the number of Firefox 3 downloads—spikes that happened immediately after the browser was mentioned on the show.
Link: http://blog.mozilla.com/…
(via digg)
Earlier this year a security researcher found a previously unknown and far-reaching security hole in the Domain Name System (DNS). As far as I can tell, it’s not a bug in a specific DNS implementation but rather an issue with the actual DNS specification. It’s a form of DNS cache poisoning, which is pretty much impossible for the end user to detect or guard against and which we’ve discussed previously here at Chad’s News. Yesterday, a large coalition of vendors released a simultaneous patch for all of their products. Details about the vulnerability are sparse, as the security experts are waiting a month before giving out the specifics. What I found surprising was that both the DNS servers (usually hosted by ISPs) and the DNS clients (e.g., end-user PCs) require patches.
It’s recommended that everyone apply the appropriate updates. For Windows users, this means doing a Windows Update. But be careful. The Microsoft DNS patch conflicts with the ZoneAlarm firewall and will block all internet access if you have both installed at the same time. The exploit does not yet exist in the wild, so it will probably be okay to delay the updates for a few days while Microsoft and ZoneAlarm get their act together.
Link: http://securosis.com/…
(via Slashdot)
Now that the June 30th deadline has passed, Windows XP will no longer be sold on new systems (with a few special exceptions). The good news, however, is that Microsoft has committed to support XP through 2014.
Link: http://www.informationweek.com/…
(via Engadget)
For those concerned about the environmental impact of throwing away compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), Home Depot will recycle them for you.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/…
Due to the massive increase in the price of gasoline, the Internal Revenue Service has raised the standard mileage deduction. As of July 1st, it is $0.585 per mile instead of $0.505. The new rate applies to travel performed from July 1st to the end of the year. Note that the old rate still applies from January 1st to June 30th, 2008.
Link: http://www.irs.gov/…
(via The Consumerist)
The linked article lists the top 10 most common passwords. I remember that, some time ago, there was a virus that used a dictionary attack, with only a few hundred common passwords. Despite the limited number, it was surprisingly successful.
It’s a situation I’ve read about in at least two science fiction books. You’re kidnapped by aliens and transported away from Earth. You heroically manage to win your freedom but then tragically realize you have no idea where Earth is. (Given a map of the Milky Way Galaxy, I defy you to point out the general location of Earth. Can’t do it, can you?) And it gets worse—for all you know they may have taken you to a totally different galaxy. Well fear not, intrepid Chad’s News reader. Should this happen, all you’ll have to do is whip out your “Location Earth Dog Tag” and you’ll be back home before you know it. There’s even a guarantee: “Should you ever be abducted by aliens while wearing Location Earth Dog Tags and not returned safely to Earth you will be entitled to a full refund of the purchase price.”
Link: http://www.earthbounddog.com/
(via Daily Illuminator)
Update: After doing some investigating, it turns out the dog tag is missing some crucial information. There is supposed to be binary information along the pulsar lines, indicating the periods of the pulsars. Looking at the picture of the dog tag, I don’t see that data. Additionally, even if the binary numbers existed, they specify the period as a multiple of the hyperfine transition period of hydrogen (the spin-flip frequency). That fact isn’t included on the dog tag either. Sigh…
A woman got belligerent and physically violent on a JetBlue flight, causing it to be diverted so she could be de-planed and arrested. She claims that she was in an alcohol-induced blackout and doesn’t remember the incident.
Link: http://www.examiner.com/…
(via The Consumerist)
Web designers have long known better than to use the annoying tag (or even its CSS counterpart). But there are some not-so-good designers who seem to consider the <BLINK> tag to be an elegant and forceful statement. Fortunately the linked article tells how to configure Firefox such that blinking text is disabled.
Link: http://lifehacker.com/…
The linked article describes various ways to safely clean LCD monitor screens. It was written in response to a situation where grandkids used permanent markers to draw on a monitor.
Link: http://www.komando.com/…
Should you ever get into trouble with the MPAA or RIAA for illegally downloading copyrighted movies/music, the linked article will be very helpful.
Link: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/…
(via Slashdot)
Chad Cloman
Denver, CO USA
