Tech-Savvy Cubans Build Their Own Private Internet

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Tech-Savvy Cubans Build Their Own Private Internet
		January 28, 2015 Because Cuba's government makes it difficult for all but a handful of Cubans to access the Internet, people in Havana and other parts of the country reportedly have linked thousands of PCs to create an informal network known as "StreetNet," or "SNet" for short. The network was built with commercially available equipment. The PCs are connected by WiFi antennae and Ethernet cables strung across streets and over rooftops. SNet's main uses appear to be sharing gossip and news, accessing popular TV shows and movies, and playing online games. [More...]

There's a GHOST in Linux's Library January 28, 2015 Patches for GHOST, a critical vulnerability in glibc, the Linux GNU C Library, now are available through vendor communities for a variety of Linux server and desktop distributions. Qualys earlier this week reported its discovery of GHOST, a vulnerability that allows attackers to remotely take control of an entire system without having any prior knowledge of system credentials. [More...]

SPOTLIGHT ON SECURITY POS Terminals Rich Vein for Gold-Digging Hackers January 28, 2015 Hackers are like gold miners. Once they find a rich vein for their malware, they mine it until it's dry. Point-of-sale terminals are such a vein, and it doesn't appear that it's one that's about to run dry any time soon. Following the success of the Target breach in 2013, the hacker underground was quick to rush more POS malware to market. [More...]

Oculus VR's Story Studio to Create Cinematic Virtual Reality Experiences

January 27, 2015

Oculus VR has announced Story Studio -- a project that will create cinematic virtual reality experiences. "This is an effort to create a tool that will ... help people see what is possible, so someone will create the definitive title for this hardware -- something that will have people champing at the bit to buy and use one," said tech analyst Rob Enderle. [More...]

Wikileaks Steamed Over Google's Lengthy Silence on FBI Snooping January 27, 2015 Google may have contributed to violating the First Amendment rights of three journalists working for WikiLeaks two and a half years ago, when it turned over to the FBI all their email, subscriber information and metadata. Google informed the journalists about its actions last month, saying that it had been unable to do so earlier due to a gag order. [More...]

Walk Like a Man: The DARPA Robotics Challenge

January 26, 2015

Atlas will be entered into the DARPA Robotics Challenge in June. The challenge aims at developing robots for use in disaster response, and participants will face conditions simulating a real disaster, such as degraded communications. "It isn't unusual to lose more lives after a disaster because of some problem with the rescue than were at risk in the first place," said tech analyst Rob Enderle. [More...]

Debian Forked: All for Devuan and Devuan for All? January 26, 2015 A group of developers made good on their threats to fork Debian Linux late last year, after the community's leadership voted to replace sysvinit with systemd, making systemd the default init boot process. The Debian Technical Committee's decision spurred several key Debian developers and project maintainers to resign. Some of them formed a new community dedicated to forking Debian. [More...]

OPINION
Microsoft's Windows Reboot Could Be Legendary

January 26, 2015

In companies filled with engineers, products tend to become science projects more than things for real people. Folks do things because they can -- because they want to see what will happen or simply because they want to showcase they have the authority. Satya Nadella's Microsoft is a very different company, though. People are working together again, and the product looks amazing as a result. [More...]

GADGET DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES
Gadget Ogling: A Microsoft Marvel, an Eensy Keyboard and an Ingenious Desk

January 24, 2015

Microsoft's HoloLens seems at once fantastical and feasible. It's a shame it looks like a motorcycle visor, since that will limit how many people will use it outside of their homes and offices, but at least it's far less obnoxious than Google Glass. I'll be especially eager to try it out once Xbox One starts using the technology in games. I'm all in, Microsoft. [More...]

Ford R&D Facility Rolls Into Silicon Valley

January 23, 2015

Its new Palo Alto research center "shows Ford's commitment to be part of the Silicon Valley innovation ecosystem -- anticipating customers' wants and needs, especially on connectivity, mobility and autonomous vehicles," said CEO Mark Fields. "We are working to make these new technologies accessible to everyone, not just luxury customers." Fields is pictured here speaking at CES earlier this year. [More...]

LINUX PICKS AND PANS Zenwalk Linux - A Walk on the Quirky Side January 23, 2015 The developmental path and sketchy developer website may cast an unfavorable impression about Zenwalk's trustworthiness as a serious computing platform. The ho-hum impression when first running the live edition does little to encourage users to take this Linux OS for a stroll. Zenwalk Linux becomes a bit more impressive once you get beyond the awkward first-time experience. [More...]

The Brave New World of Windows 10

January 23, 2015

Microsoft wants Windows 10 to be its most-loved OS release, and it appears to be off and running. Making it a free upgrade, for starters, is one way to curry favor. Windows 10 "will be our best enterprise platform ever, simplifying management and deployment for IT and working seamlessly with existing enterprise applications," said Terry Myerson, EVP of Microsoft's Operating Systems Group. [More...]

Quinn's Crash Override Combats Cyberbullying

January 22, 2015

Zoe Quinn -- the first target of #Gamergate's relentlessly brutal, obscene and murderous threats against women in gaming -- is fighting back with a new online community, Crash Override. The network is a safe haven for victims of cyberbullying, harassment and stalking, providing them with a means to relate their stories, as well as to seek help from a group of sympathetic professionals. [More...]