Hackers obtain PS3 private cryptography key due to epic programming fail? (video)
December 29, 2010 No Comment
The 27th annual Chaos Communication Conference already hacked encrypted GSM calls with a $15 cellphone , but there was a second surprise in store this morn — the souls who unlocked the Nintendo Wii’s homebrew potential (and defended it time and again ) claim to have broken into the PlayStation 3 as well. Last we left the black monolith, Sony had won a round, forcing the community to downgrade their firmware for any hope at hacking into the console. Well, the newly formed fail0verflow hacking squad says that won’t be a problem any longer, because they’ve found a way to get the PS3 to reveal its own private cryptography key — the magic password that could let the community sign its very own code. So far, the team hasn’t provided any proof that the deed’s been done, but they have provided quite an extensive explanation of how they managed the feat: apparently, Sony didn’t bother generating any random numbers to secure the blasted thing. (We don’t really know how it works, but we have it on good authority that dead cryptography professors are rapidly spinning in their graves.) The group intends to generate a proof-of-concept video tomorrow, and release the tools sometime next month, which they claim should eventually enable the installation of Linux on every PS3 ever sold. Catch the whole presentation after the break in video form, or skip to 33:00 for the good stuff. Continue reading Hackers obtain PS3 private cryptography key due to epic programming fail? (video) Hackers obtain PS3 private cryptography key due to epic programming fail? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 19:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Christine O’Donnell Under Investigation for Spending Donations on Herself
December 29, 2010 No Comment
Christine O’Donnell raised a record $7.3 million in her 2010 bid to represent Delaware in the Senate, but allegations about how she spent that money and funds from previous campaigns have led to a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors and the FBI. O’Donnell, whose rocky financial history was widely reported during the campaign, has been accused of spending campaign donations on personal expenses, including her rent, which, if true, is in direct violation of federal law. According to AP, the financial oversight of O’Donnell’s campaign left something to be desired. Consider that an operation as unstable as the one described below was tasked with accounting for $7.3 million.
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In light of Henry Kissinger’s comment, captured in the Nixon White House and released this month, that “if they put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union, it is not an American concern,” Think Progress has compiled a brief history of the former secretary of state’s complicity in human rights abuses. In response to this latest revelation, and Kissinger’s well-known record of transgressions against human decency, Christopher Hitchens says that “Henry Kissinger should have the door shut in his face by every decent person and should be shamed, ostracized, and excluded. No more dinners in his honor; no more respectful audiences for his absurdly overpriced public appearances; no more smirking photographs with hostesses and celebrities; no more soliciting of his worthless opinions by sycophantic editors and producers.”
Continue reading …Wicked Audio’s 3D headphones aren’t what you think, border on unsightly
December 29, 2010 No Comment
Okay, so maybe “border” is being generous. Wicked Audio is well known for its — shall we say, vivacious — line of earbuds and headphones , but none compare to the outfit’s new 3D series of cans. Set to officially debut at CES next week, this line actually has embossed logos on each ear cup, enabling you to “feel” the graphics on the side. Hard to say who exactly this benefits, but for those who love raised artwork upside their noggins, we suppose it’s perfect. As for specs? Keep dreaming — all we know is that you’ll be choosing the least offensive design from the three above next month when they go on sale for $29.99 at FYE. Continue reading Wicked Audio’s 3D headphones aren’t what you think, border on unsightly Wicked Audio’s 3D headphones aren’t what you think, border on unsightly originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 19:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Dana Perino Thinks We Need to Get Ready to ‘Eat Our Spinach’ and Be ‘Serious’ About Cuts to Social Security
December 29, 2010 No Comment
Click here to view this media Former White House spokesperson Dana Perino who I’m quite sure is living comfortably enough that these austerity measures she’s touting won’t ever affect her life style informed the rest of us that we’d better take Paul Ryan’s “Roadmap” seriously and be ready to “eat our spinach” so the wealthy in this country can keep their tax cuts. Of course, no mention of spinach eating for the rich was involved in this conversation. Tucker Carlson proved that he can be every bit as a big of an annoying hack as Sean Hannity filling in for him this week and the Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Moore thinks that we need to do 15-20% spending cuts across the board to eliminate government programs to get our deficit under control. I’m quite sure after listening to his blather for years now that he doesn’t think any of those cuts should come from our military industrial complex and instead should come from those pesky government agencies that do things like making sure our food isn’t poisoned, or regulating the fat cats on Wall Street or anything else that prohibits corporations from running amok and protects the working class. What these talking heads like Moore of course ignore is we already got a full dose of trickle-down, regulation free economics from the Bush administration and we see how well that worked out for most of us. Some “spinach eating” for the wealthy and those who outsource our jobs is exactly what we need but the yappers in the media are going to keep up the drum beat that the have-lesses in this country who don’t want to sacrifice sufficiently are just somehow not patriotic or “serious” or “adults”.
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Scientists at University College London went poking around the noggins of a couple of MPs and 90 students and were surprised to discover that the brains of right-wing subjects were more prone to fear and anxiety and less so to courage and optimism when compared with their counterparts on the left. This being a small study done for the benefit of a radio show, one ought not to jump to conclusions. Also, because all of the test subjects were adults, the researchers could not determine if your brain makes you conservative or if conservatism shapes your brain. In other words, which comes first: the conservative or the coward? —PZS The Telegraph via Crooks and Liars : Scientists have found that people with conservative views have brains with larger amygdalas, almond shaped areas in the centre of the brain often associated with anxiety and emotions. On the [other hand], they have a smaller anterior cingulate, an area at the front of the brain associated with courage and looking on the bright side of life. Read more Related Entries December 28, 2010 Save Us From Our Devices December 28, 2010 A Reality Check for the GOP
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Moment of truth: Almost four and a half years after affair broke out, Tel Aviv District Court to deliver verdict Thursday in affair involving former president. Katsav, accused of rape and indecent assault, remains optimistic. ‘I believe the judges will reach the desired results,’ he tells his associates
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We’ll openly admit we never knew what African Blackwood was until Gresso started applying the stuff to its line of extremely luxurious cellphone mods , but now we can’t imagine a new product from the Russian company without the 200-year old timber making an appearance. And sure enough, the Gresso iPad’s rear is composed almost entirely of Dalbergia melanoxylon , broken up only by the insertion of an 18-karat gold Apple logo. Strangely, in spite of its extravagant constituent materials, this design is a very restrained, dare we say, classy , affair. It goes on sale on New Year’s Eve at an unannounced price, but you know what they say: if you have to ask or you have to work for a living, you probably can’t afford it. Gresso classies up the iPad with 18k gold logo and ancient wood case originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 18:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Archos 28, 32, and 70 now available, do not combine to form mythical Archos 130
December 29, 2010 No Comment
Archos’ line of inexpensive (dare we say “cheap,” at times) Android tablets aren’t necessarily on your wishlist, but for the budget-conscious, they’re hard to beat. And now three new models are on sale, including the 2.8-inch Archos 28 , the 3.2-inch Archos 32 , and the 7-inch (of course) Archos 70 . The first two will put you back $99.99 and $149.99, respectively, while the biggun’ comes in both 8GB ($274.99) and 250GB ($349.99) options. What are you waiting for? Honeycomb ? You’re adorable. Archos 28, 32, and 70 now available, do not combine to form mythical Archos 130 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 18:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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More than 40% of older Americans have multiple chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, and many also suffer from depression.
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