Unholy trinity of flaws put Google users at risk
The Register
If you use Google to send email, organize photos or help administer your website, doomwatchers have cataloged three new ways to steal your data and compromise the security of your users.

Armani to launch mobile phone with Samsung
MSNBC
Device will be the size of a credit card and 10.5 millimeters thick.Italian designer Giorgio Armani has joined forces with Samsung Electronics to design a television and a mobile phone, along with other consumer electronics, the companies said on Sunday.

China’s own high-speed train due by year-end
Terra Daily
China’s first domestically developed high-speed train, capable of reaching 300 kilometres (190 miles) per hour, will roll off production lines by the end of the year, state media reported Monday.

Firefox Update Addresses QuickTime-triggered Vulnerability
Beta News
The Mozilla org released an update that addresses a vulnerability involving Apple’s QuickTime plug-in that appears to have been a very old, very open hole.

Amazon rolls out widgets for associates
Amazon’ Affiliate Blog
These new widgets are small, visually dynamic, easily configurable widgets and allow you to feature products from Amazon on blogs, websites and social networking pages.

Unreal Tournament III: Collector’s Edition with Bonus!
GameStop
The Collectors Edition will release about 1 week after the general release of UT3 and will contain the Collectors Tin box, Art Book, Bonus DVD with extras.

CrazyPC Hover Mouse, 100% frictionless mouse
Crazy PC
This is the world’s first 100% friction-less mouse. Utilizing advanced, patent-pending electromagnetic hovering technology, the Hover Mouse floats one centimeter above the mousing surface at all times.

Brandon Scott, a manger of a GameStop in Dallas, Texas has been suspended for refusing to sell video games to school kids with poor grades.

“He needs to be reading a book. He knows how to play Madden before he knows how to do his ABCs and 123s - that’s backwards,” said store manager Brandon Scott, who imposed a policy of refusing to sell games to school-aged children unless an adult would confirm the child’s good grades. As a result, he has so far refused about two dozen game sales, he said, although most of them had returned with proof of good grades to make their purchase.

Cont. - Linky

As a parent to a 12yr old son who is addicted to video games, I am in agreement with the man’s policy.  Being rewarded for bad grades will get you exactly nowhere.  Comments?

Season 4 opener for Atlantis is this Friday night, the episodes premise is: The team has escaped the Replicators, but now the city is adrift in deep space, running out of air, and losing power. What else can go wrong? Asteroids.

Very minor season 4 teaser/spoilers below:

Lead character Elizabeth Weir is out and Col. Carter is in, Teyla will be pregnant to handle the actress’ real pregnancy, we’ll get another episode of the McKay siblings, (dead?) character Dr. Carson Beckett makes at least one appearance in one show.

Technorati Tags: Stargate , Atlantis , Scifi

I never really cared for the term ‘Cracker’ as the ‘bad hackers’, so we’ll stick with my favorite : Black Hat Hackers.

In a major shift in policy and intent, the National Security Administration (NSA) is examining what it would take to in order to monitor and defend against the bad guys that want to hack into the networks controlling the American power plants, utilities, subways and any other system deemed vital to the safety and well fare of its citizens.

The problem with this is that the original charter for the NSA emphasizes that the National Security Agency shall not spy on its own citizens, but this very thing would be required since the bad guys are coming from inside the borders as much as they are from outside.

From the Baltimore Sun:

The plan calls for the NSA to work with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to monitor such networks to prevent unauthorized intrusion, according to those with knowledge of what is known internally as the “Cyber Initiative.” Details of the project are highly classified.

The NSA’s new domestic role would require a revision of the agency’s charter, the senior intelligence official said. Up to now, the NSA’s cyberdefense arsenal has been used to guard the government’s classified networks — not the unclassified networks that now are the responsibility of other federal agencies.

Potential cyberattacks are being discussed in chat rooms in languages that include English, Arabic, Russian and Punjabi. Terrorists and others already know many of the country’s vulnerabilities and are extremely concerned about the ability to hack into computer systems controlling nuclear power plants.

Link to the Baltimore Sun article.

Last week I discussed the details of NASA’s call for you to submit your application to join the Astronaut Class of 2009 for extended missions in space, possibly for the Moon.

Well here’s an incredible video produced by NASA to get you juiced for the space program again as their push for the Moon and beyond (Mars anyone?). The music jibes perfectly with the various technologies and phases of this proposed vision of Lunar Exploration.

Tip of the hat to the folks that produced this video, I love it!

Go NASA Go!