Inspired by the low-cost computing power of the Raspberry Pi, a team at the University of Southampton has used the ARM-based Linux computer-on-a-board as a building block for a low-cost supercomputer. And they’ve published a step-by-step guide.
Led by Professor Simon Cox, the team used 64 Raspberry Pi computers, each equipped with a 16-gigabyte SD card to construct a functioning computing cluster for under £2,500 (a bit over $4,000)—not including the Ethernet swtiches used to connect the nodes.
source : http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/09/university-builds-cheap-supercomputer-with-raspberry-pi-and-legos/; http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~sjc/raspberrypi/pi_supercomputer_southampton.htm
Thursday 13 September 2012
BlackHole 2.0 The New Exploit Kit
The developer of the toolkit, who goes by the handle "Paunch," recently announced the availability of Blackhole 2.0, which removes much of its trove of known and patched exploits, and replaces them with a whole new crop—along with features that will make it harder for antivirus companies and site owners to detect trouble.
BlackHole is a web-based software package which includes a collection of tools to take advantage of security holes in web browsers to download viruses, botnet trojans, and other forms of nastiness to the computers of unsuspecting victims. The exploit kit is offered both as a "licensed" software product for the intrepid malware server operator and as malware-as-a-service by the author off his own server.
The announcement for the new version was initially posted on the underground hacker marketplace site Exploit.ln, promises a number of new features to make it harder for antivirus software to detect and defend against exploit attacks. One of those is a random URL generation system that creates single-use web addresses for attacks that last only as long as a specific attack on a target computer. Random URLs are intended to prevent antivirus companies or security professionals from using the link to download the exploit for analysis.
source : http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/09/blackhole-2-0-gives-hackers-stealthier-ways-to-pwn/
BlackHole is a web-based software package which includes a collection of tools to take advantage of security holes in web browsers to download viruses, botnet trojans, and other forms of nastiness to the computers of unsuspecting victims. The exploit kit is offered both as a "licensed" software product for the intrepid malware server operator and as malware-as-a-service by the author off his own server.
The announcement for the new version was initially posted on the underground hacker marketplace site Exploit.ln, promises a number of new features to make it harder for antivirus software to detect and defend against exploit attacks. One of those is a random URL generation system that creates single-use web addresses for attacks that last only as long as a specific attack on a target computer. Random URLs are intended to prevent antivirus companies or security professionals from using the link to download the exploit for analysis.
source : http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/09/blackhole-2-0-gives-hackers-stealthier-ways-to-pwn/
Opus Audio Codec For All Application
While most audio codecs aim to solve specific problems—relatively high bit-rate music reproduction such as AAC and MP3, low latency voice reproduction such as Speex and the AMR family—Opus provides a "one size fits all" option which, according to its developers, provides best-in-class quality in almost all applications.
The codec was primarily developed by Mozilla and Xiph.org, with contributions from Skype/Microsoft and Broadcom. Opus weds Xiph.org's low-latency high bitrate music-oriented CELT algorithm to Skype's low bitrate speech-oriented SILK. The codec switches between algorithms depending on the bandwidth available, while boasting real-time latencies across the full bitrate/quality spectrum.
source : http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/09/newly-standardized-opus-audio-codec-fills-every-role-from-online-chat-to-music/
The codec was primarily developed by Mozilla and Xiph.org, with contributions from Skype/Microsoft and Broadcom. Opus weds Xiph.org's low-latency high bitrate music-oriented CELT algorithm to Skype's low bitrate speech-oriented SILK. The codec switches between algorithms depending on the bandwidth available, while boasting real-time latencies across the full bitrate/quality spectrum.
source : http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/09/newly-standardized-opus-audio-codec-fills-every-role-from-online-chat-to-music/
Quirky Help Turns Ideas Into Products
You submit your idea to Quirky’s website and pay a $10 fee. If an invention gains popularity, and the Quirky team sees the potential, it moves to the “Under Consideration” pool of products. The community can contribute to your product submission by researching for prior art, adding revisions to the idea, suggesting a different product name, and advising how much they would pay for the product if they could buy it now.
source : http://www.wired.com/business/2012/09/quirky/; http://www.quirky.com/
source : http://www.wired.com/business/2012/09/quirky/; http://www.quirky.com/
Put Led on RC Plane
source : http://hackaday.com/2012/09/07/putting-300-watts-of-leds-on-an-rc-plane/
Using Kalman Filter To Help Balance Robot
source : http://hackaday.com/2012/09/10/kalman-filter-keeps-your-bot-balanced/
Easy Icepack
Take a standard kitchen sponge, soak it in water, put it inside a ziploc bag, and freeze it. When the ice starts to melt, the sponge soaks up the water so it doesn't leak everywhere.
source : http://lifehacker.com/5942213/make-your-own-ice-packs-from-cheap-sponges
source : http://lifehacker.com/5942213/make-your-own-ice-packs-from-cheap-sponges
Make Fresh Water Using Solar Power
Using a ceramic solar still called the Eliodomestico that operates like an “upside-down coffee percolator”.
source : http://www.gizmag.com/eliodomestico/24058/
source : http://www.gizmag.com/eliodomestico/24058/
Wednesday 5 September 2012
Wood Nanotcrystals Stronger Than Carbon Fiber
The new wood-based nanocellulose materials can be stronger and lighter than both Kevlar and carbon fiber, at about ten percent of the cost of those materials.
source : http://www.gizmag.com/cellulose-nanocrystals-stronger-carbon-fiber-kevlar/23959/
source : http://www.gizmag.com/cellulose-nanocrystals-stronger-carbon-fiber-kevlar/23959/
UAV + Quadrotor Aircraft
source : http://hackaday.com/2012/09/04/autonomous-plane-quadrotor-both-meet-the-atmos/
Thermal Imaging Phone
source : http://www.instructables.com/id/Thermal-Imaging-Phone-Camera/; http://www.robhopeless.com/2012/09/thermal-imaging-phone-camera.html
Spinal Stem Cell Injections Reverse Paralysis
New Scientist reports that a small trial involving three partially paralyzed patients saw injections of 20 million neural stem cells administered directly into their spinal cords. The stem cells were harvested from donated fetal brain tissue, and the patients received immunosuppressive drugs to minimize the risks of rejection.
Before treatment, all of the patients could feel nothing below their nipples. Six months on, two of them can now feel touch and heat as far down as their belly button.
source : http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22235-stem-cells-bring-back-feeling-for-paralysed-patients.html
Before treatment, all of the patients could feel nothing below their nipples. Six months on, two of them can now feel touch and heat as far down as their belly button.
source : http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22235-stem-cells-bring-back-feeling-for-paralysed-patients.html
Climate Change Will Drive Up Food Prices
Climate change's impact on future food prices is being underestimated, Oxfam warned in a report on Wednesday.
The development charity predicts that massive price spikes will be a devastating blow to the world's poorest people who today spend up to 75% of their income on food.
Its report, "Extreme Weather", "Extreme Price", suggests extreme weather events such as droughts and floods – made more likely by global warming – could drive up future food prices. Previous research has tended to consider gradual impacts of rising global temperatures, such as changing rainfall patterns.
The research claimed that:
• Even under a conservative scenario another US drought in 2030 could raise the price of maize by as much as 140% over and above the average price of food in 2030, which is already likely to be double today's prices.
• Drought and flooding in southern Africa could increase the consumer price of maize and other coarse grains by as much as 120%. Price spikes of this magnitude today would mean the cost of a 25kg bag of corn meal – a staple which feeds poor families across Africa for about two weeks – would rocket from around $18 to $40.
• A nationwide drought in India and extensive flooding across south-east Asia could see the world market price of rice increase by 22%. This could lead to domestic spikes of up to 43% on top of longer term price rises in rice importing countries of such as Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.
• Climate shocks in sub-Saharan Africa are likely to have an increasingly dramatic impact in 2030 as 95% of grains such as maize, millet and sorghum that are consumed in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to come from the region itself.
source : http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/05/climate-change-food-oxfam
The development charity predicts that massive price spikes will be a devastating blow to the world's poorest people who today spend up to 75% of their income on food.
Its report, "Extreme Weather", "Extreme Price", suggests extreme weather events such as droughts and floods – made more likely by global warming – could drive up future food prices. Previous research has tended to consider gradual impacts of rising global temperatures, such as changing rainfall patterns.
The research claimed that:
• Even under a conservative scenario another US drought in 2030 could raise the price of maize by as much as 140% over and above the average price of food in 2030, which is already likely to be double today's prices.
• Drought and flooding in southern Africa could increase the consumer price of maize and other coarse grains by as much as 120%. Price spikes of this magnitude today would mean the cost of a 25kg bag of corn meal – a staple which feeds poor families across Africa for about two weeks – would rocket from around $18 to $40.
• A nationwide drought in India and extensive flooding across south-east Asia could see the world market price of rice increase by 22%. This could lead to domestic spikes of up to 43% on top of longer term price rises in rice importing countries of such as Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.
• Climate shocks in sub-Saharan Africa are likely to have an increasingly dramatic impact in 2030 as 95% of grains such as maize, millet and sorghum that are consumed in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to come from the region itself.
source : http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/05/climate-change-food-oxfam
Spotted Within 3 Hours Because Trading Popular Files on Bittorrent
Users who participate in BitTorrent swarms for popular files are likely to have their IP addresses logged by monitoring companies within three hours. That's the conclusion of a paper being presented this week at the SecureComm conference in Italy by Tom Chothia and colleagues at the University of Birmingham.
Users who think they can evade detection just by using common blocklists are probably fooling themselves. "Publicly available blocklists, used by privacy-conscious BitTorrent users to prevent contact with monitors, contain large incidences of false positives and false negatives," the Birmingham team concludes.
source : http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~tpc/Papers/P2PSecComm2012.pdf; http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/trading-popular-files-on-bittorrent-youll-be-spotted-within-3-hours/
Users who think they can evade detection just by using common blocklists are probably fooling themselves. "Publicly available blocklists, used by privacy-conscious BitTorrent users to prevent contact with monitors, contain large incidences of false positives and false negatives," the Birmingham team concludes.
source : http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~tpc/Papers/P2PSecComm2012.pdf; http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/trading-popular-files-on-bittorrent-youll-be-spotted-within-3-hours/
Save a Phone Using Pencil Lead
source : http://hackaday.com/2012/09/03/saving-a-bricked-phone-with-a-pencil-lead/
Retro Gaming Pc
source : http://lifehacker.com/5835259/how-to-turn-your-computer-into-a-retro-game-arcade
Sunday 2 September 2012
White House Beer Recipe
source : http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/09/01/ale-chief-white-house-beer-recipe
Latest Java Has Bug So Dangerous
Researchers said they've uncovered a flaw in the Java 7 update released by Oracle on Thursday that allows attackers to take complete control of end-user computers.
source : http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/08/critical-bug-discovered-in-newest-java/
source : http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/08/critical-bug-discovered-in-newest-java/
Deadly DIY Weapons
1. The Bleach Bomb
What's in bleach? Sodium hypochlorite. What's in drain cleaner? Hydrochloric acid. When you mix bleach and an acid-containing drain cleaner, a spontaneous chemical reaction occurs: NaClO + 2 HCl ? Cl2 + H2O + NaCl
The reaction produces poisonous chlorine gas and likely leaves unreacted hydrochloric acid as well. Chlorine gas, even small amounts of it, is bad stuff. As WWI graphically demonstrated, it attacks the membranes in your eyes, throat, and nose, and prolonged exposure can cause death by asphyxiation.
2. Thermite
Not many chemical processes are as gloriously, vigorously, and robustly exothermic as the thermite reaction. Take powdered aluminum (say from the inside of an Etch-a-Sketch) and rusted iron (say from a well-weathered steel wool pad) in just the right proportions and ignite with a sparkler. The reaction that ensues is hot enough to burn through dirt.
3. Styrofoam Napalm
Vietnam War-era napalm was made by mixing of benzene, gasoline, and polystyrene. The stuff was a hellish mixture that clung to surfaces while it burned, and it was practically inextinguishable. It's possible to come up with something pretty darn close to the vintage napalm by simply dunking Styrofoam in a bucket of gasoline, mixing it around for a while and reserving the leftover goo.
4. Maglite Laser
Myriad YouTube videos show how to make a retina-melting, flesh-burning portable laser from a discarded DVD burner and Maglite flashlight. If you remove the laser diode from the burner, then swap it out for the bulb of the Maglite, you essentially turn the flashlight into a handheld, intensely concentrated laser.
source : http://gizmodo.com/5939234/7-deadly-weapons-you-should-never-ever-make-out-of-harmless-household-items
What's in bleach? Sodium hypochlorite. What's in drain cleaner? Hydrochloric acid. When you mix bleach and an acid-containing drain cleaner, a spontaneous chemical reaction occurs: NaClO + 2 HCl ? Cl2 + H2O + NaCl
The reaction produces poisonous chlorine gas and likely leaves unreacted hydrochloric acid as well. Chlorine gas, even small amounts of it, is bad stuff. As WWI graphically demonstrated, it attacks the membranes in your eyes, throat, and nose, and prolonged exposure can cause death by asphyxiation.
2. Thermite
Not many chemical processes are as gloriously, vigorously, and robustly exothermic as the thermite reaction. Take powdered aluminum (say from the inside of an Etch-a-Sketch) and rusted iron (say from a well-weathered steel wool pad) in just the right proportions and ignite with a sparkler. The reaction that ensues is hot enough to burn through dirt.
3. Styrofoam Napalm
Vietnam War-era napalm was made by mixing of benzene, gasoline, and polystyrene. The stuff was a hellish mixture that clung to surfaces while it burned, and it was practically inextinguishable. It's possible to come up with something pretty darn close to the vintage napalm by simply dunking Styrofoam in a bucket of gasoline, mixing it around for a while and reserving the leftover goo.
4. Maglite Laser
Myriad YouTube videos show how to make a retina-melting, flesh-burning portable laser from a discarded DVD burner and Maglite flashlight. If you remove the laser diode from the burner, then swap it out for the bulb of the Maglite, you essentially turn the flashlight into a handheld, intensely concentrated laser.
source : http://gizmodo.com/5939234/7-deadly-weapons-you-should-never-ever-make-out-of-harmless-household-items
Put Taser on AR Drone
To do this, all stickers and extra material was removed from the “indoor” hull of the AR Drone. Use the indoor version because it has this night light frame that extends out past the blades to protect them. This was perfect for allowing it to bump into people.
Then made two tracks with aluminum tape around the entire hull. These were connected with wire directly to the capacitor in a disposable camera. Another weight reduction was to remove all extraneous pieces of the camera. Not only did this make it lighter, but it allowed the entire circuit to be hidden inside the hull. Only a little bit of carving was necessary to make enough space.
source : http://hackaday.com/2012/08/27/the-taserdrone-a-shocking-mod-for-the-ar-drone/
Then made two tracks with aluminum tape around the entire hull. These were connected with wire directly to the capacitor in a disposable camera. Another weight reduction was to remove all extraneous pieces of the camera. Not only did this make it lighter, but it allowed the entire circuit to be hidden inside the hull. Only a little bit of carving was necessary to make enough space.
source : http://hackaday.com/2012/08/27/the-taserdrone-a-shocking-mod-for-the-ar-drone/
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