U.S Gov't Wants Hackers

YAHOO! - WASHINGTON – Wanted: Computer hackers.

Federal authorities aren't looking to prosecute them, but to pay them to secure the nation's networks.

General Dynamics Information Technology put out an ad last month on behalf of the Homeland Security Department seeking someone who could "think like the bad guy." Applicants, it said, must understand hackers' tools and tactics and be able to analyze Internet traffic and identify vulnerabilities in the federal systems.

In the Pentagon's budget request submitted last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Pentagon will increase the number of cyberexperts it can train each year from 80 to 250 by 2011.

With warnings that the U.S. is ill-prepared for a cyberattack, the White House conducted a 60-day study of how the government can better manage and use technology to protect everything from the electrical grid and stock markets to tax data, airline flight systems, and nuclear launch codes.

Interesting.

Spying On Your Computer?

TORONTO — A vast electronic spying operation has infiltrated computers and has stolen documents from hundreds of government and private offices around the world, including those of the Dalai Lama, Canadian researchers have concluded. In a report to be issued this weekend, the researchers said that the system was being controlled from computers based almost exclusively in China, but that they could not say conclusively that the Chinese government was involved.

The researchers, who are based at the Munk Center for International Studies at the University of Toronto, had been asked by the office of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader whom China regularly denounces, to examine its computers for signs of malicious software, or malware. Their sleuthing opened a window into a broader operation that, in less than two years, has infiltrated at least 1,295 computers in 103 countries, including many belonging to embassies, foreign ministries and other government offices, as well as the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan exile centers in India, Brussels, London and New York. - New York Times

The media loves to make us scared.

Windows 7

Yesterday at CES, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the public availability of the Windows 7 beta release. At PC World we've been running our own evaluations of the forthcoming replacement to Microsoft's much-derided Windows Vista for some time now, and we just couldn't wait to take this new version for a spin. Here's one editor's take on the latest Windows 7 user experience.

This being an early beta release, I won't get persnickety about the performance issues and minor functionality glitches I experienced during my first day with Windows 7. Let there be no doubt, however, that in the weeks and months to come the PC World Test Center will continue to put the new OS through its paces to see what it's made of. - PC World

Sounds exciting.

PC Magazine To Go Digital

The January 2009 issue (Volume 28, Issue 1) of PC Magazine will mark a monumental transition for the publication. It is the last printed edition of this venerable publication. Of course, as with any technology-related enterprise, this is not the end, but the beginning of something exciting and new.

Starting in February 2009, PC Magazine will become a 100-percent digital publication. So, in addition to our popular network of Websites, which includes our centerpiece, PCMag.com, as well as ExtremeTech, blogs like Gearlog and AppScout, and audio and video content that includes PCMag Radio, Cranky Geeks and DL.TV, we'll offer PC Magazine Digital Edition to all of our print subscribers. The PC Magazine Digital Edition has actually been available since 2002. So for thousands of you, the benefits of this unique medium are already clear. And those benefits will continue to multiply in the coming months, as we work hard to enhance your digital experience. - PCMag.com

Shucks! It's not like I actually read it though.

CG Opening Ceremony

If you watched the Opening Ceremony on Friday night, chances are you said something like, "no way that's possible" at least once. It turns out you were right.

London's Telegraph newspaper reports that some of the fireworks which appeared over Beijing during the television broadcast of the Olympic Opening Ceremony were actually computer generated. But -- hold on -- it's not necessarily as bad as you think.

The faked fireworks were actually set-off at the stadium, but because of potential dangers in filming the display live from a helicopter, viewers at home were shown a pre-recorded, computer-generated shot. It sounds dishonest, but I'm not sure it's such a terrible thing. - Yahoo! Sports

It doesn't really matter if you aren't there in person.

Nature Getting No Love

Washington—As people spend more time communing with their televisions and computers, the impact is not just on their health, researchers say. Less time spent outdoors means less contact with nature and, eventually, less interest in conservation and parks.

Camping, fishing and per capita visits to parks are all declining in a shift away from nature-based recreation, researchers report in Monday's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Declining nature participation has crucial implications for current conservation efforts," wrote co-authors Oliver R. W. Pergams and Patricia A. Zaradic. "We think it probable than any major decline in the value placed on natural areas and experiences will greatly reduce the value people place on biodiversity conservation."

"The replacement of vigorous outdoor activities by sedentary, indoor videophilia has far-reaching consequences for physical and mental health, especially in children," Pergams said in a statement. "Videophilia has been shown to be a cause of obesity, lack of socialization, attention disorders and poor academic performance." - Associated Press

I would much rather spend my time online than with mother nature. People as a whole need to cut down on time spent watching television (and going online...I guess). Hiking, biking, and fishing are all fun alternatives to the said "stay at home" activities.

Relating music to news:

"Once there were parking lots
Now it's a peaceful oasis
you got it, you got it

This was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daisies
you got it, you got it" - Talking Heads: (Nothing But) Flowers

HD Format War

Yet another shoe has dropped in the ongoing hi-def format war between Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD (which, at this point, means there's a pile of footwear approaching Imelda Marcos proportions lying around... and a growing need for air freshener), with Warner Bros. Entertainment and its associated labels (Warner Home Video, New Line, HBO) announcing that they are dropping their format neutrality and going Blu-ray exclusive, joining the ranks of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Lionsgate. Warner was the last major studio to remain format neutral, after Paramount/Dreamworks threw its lot in with the HD DVD camp last summer. Warner will continue to ship titles in both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats through May, after which, all new hi-def releases will be exclusively Blu-ray.

Market analysts say that, in terms of content, Blu-ray maintains about a 2-to-1 sales advantage over HD DVD. The installed base of players in the United States, including set-top boxes and hi-def capable gaming consoles, is estimated at 2.7 million to 750,000 in Blu-ray's favor, despite a lower average cost for HD DVD hardware.

So... for those of you who haven't been paying attention, here's how the sides stack up now, among the major content providers:

Blu-ray Disc: Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, Sony, Warner

HD DVD: Paramount/Dreamworks, Universal

Neutral: ...

Source: David Anderson

Thanks to David for being insightful and informative as always.