Duffy's Rant Netcast

From BoingBoing:

Reader pbump spliced together this fabulous video from NASA footage taken by the cameras mounted on Discovery’s two solid rocket boosters. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on here, so let me help you get oriented a bit:

We’re talking about the two big white rockets that sit on either side of the space shuttle’s orange central fuel tank. Each of these rockets has two cameras. One points down (from launch orientation), looking at the nose of the space shuttle. The other points up, looking at the underside of Discovery’s wings. All four cameras are represented in this video, with the down-facing ones (Right and Left Forward) in the top two squares, and the up-facing ones (Right and Left Aft) in the bottom squares.

You might think that the moment of launch would be the coolest part of this video. You’d be wrong. For maximum awesomeness, skip ahead to the point where the solid rocket boosters separate from the rest of the shuttle and fall back to Earth. There’s some great shots of tumbling through the void of space, and some exciting scenes of splash-down that must not be missed.

Rob posted footage from one rocket booster camera on a launch last August, but I think this four-way full view adds some nice perspective.

Here’s the link to Yahoo Broadcast: http://tinyurl.com/3ccpn

First iPad and iPhone, now Android.  Comcast released a version of their control app for Android.

Read all about it. http://tinyurl.com/4srlnhs

If you have Microsoft Security Essentials installed on your machine, Microsoft released a patch for the malware engine that is important.

All you need do is run an update and the patch will be installed along with the latest signature file.

If you don’t have MSE installed, WHY??!!???  Go to http://www.microsoft.com and search for Microsoft security essentials.

Here are three that I got from my SANS newsletter (See note at bottom):

–Security Update for Chrome 9
(February 9 & 10, 2011)
Google has issued a security update for version 9 of its Chrome browser
just days after Chrome 9 was released in its stable version.  The fix
addresses five vulnerabilities, three of which are rated high priority.
Chrome 9.0.597.94 also includes an updated version of Adobe Flash.
http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Google-releases-Chrome-9-security-update-1186749.html

http://www.esecurityplanet.com/features/article.php/3924161/Google-Refreshes-Chrome-9-for-Security-and-Flash.htm

–Adobe Fixes 42 Flaws in Reader and Flash
(February 9, 2011)
Adobe’s quarterly security update includes fixes for 29 flaws in Reader
and 13 in Flash.  The release marks the first update for Reader X, an
upgraded version of the PDF Reader that includes a sandboxing feature
in the Windows version to protect users’ systems from some attacks.
Most of the flaws in Reader are rated critical and two could allow
cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.  The updates bring Reader to
versions 8.2.6, 9.4.2 and 10.0.1 for Windows and Mac OS X.  An update
for Linux is expected to be available on February 28.  Flash is now at
version 10.2.152.26 for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9208819/Adobe_patches_42_bugs_in_Reader_Flash?taxonomyId=17

http://www.scmagazineus.com/adobe-issues-slew-of-patches-for-its-software/article/195984/

[Editor's Note (Schultz): I'm a huge proponent of sandboxing--it's good
to learn that Abode has incorporated this function in its upgraded
version of the PDF Reader.]

–Microsoft Patches 22 Flaws and Disables AutoRun
(February 8 & 9, 2011)
Microsoft has addressed 22 vulnerabilities in its monthly security
update for February.  Three of the 12 bulletins have been given maximum
severity ratings of critical, while the remaining nine have been rated
important.  The vulnerabilities addressed affect Windows, Internet
Explorer (IE) and Office.  The critical bulletins comprise a cumulative
security update for IE, and fixes for a flaw in Windows shell graphics
processing and the OpenType Compact Font Format driver that could allow
remote code execution.  Microsoft has also released an update that
disables AutoRun, which has been used to propagate malware like
Conficker and Stuxnet.  According to Microsoft, four of the top 10
malware families of the last quarter of 2010 used AutoRun to help them
spread.  The same update was offered two years ago, but it was optional
at the time.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS11-feb.mspx

http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/security-management/2011/02/09/microsoft-fixes-css-exploit-in-patch-tuesday-update-40091724/

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9208660/Microsoft_delivers_big_month_of_patches_quashes_22_bugs?taxonomyId=17

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9208858/Microsoft_cripples_USB_drive_worms_with_new_XP_Vista_update?taxonomyId=17

http://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/02/adobe-microsoft-wordpress-issue-security-fixes/

[Editor's Note (Honan): Given the prevalence of viruses which spread via
USB keys and other portable media, we may find by disabling AutoRun that
this will be one of the most important recent patches issued by
Microsoft.]

NOTE:

NOW.  you should have gotten the Microsoft patches automatically.  If you are not sure, startup IE (erk) and go to update.Microsoft.com and follow the directions.  you WILL have to reboot your machine after the patches are installed.  Don’t poopoo the Adobe patches.  They are finally on the bandwagon.

Activision gave the axe to “Guitar Hero”, one of it’s best known titles, and “True Crime”.

Could this be the inklings of trouble ahead?

how hard it was to lay out the first transatlantic cable?  How about the first fiber optic cable?

Thanks to Mike Masnick and Techdirt, here are the links to articles explaining both.  NOTE: The fiber optic one is long.

First transatlantic cable

First fiber optic cable

Shakeup at the top of management.

USA Today article

And this seems to be getting better and better once they decide to offer it for real.

Google Voice number porting?

NASA says that thunderstorms create antimatter beams!

USA Today article