Perhaps
North Korea will go shopping?
Lizard
Squad hackers offer cyberattacking services for fee
…
The group’s website offers
interested buyers the opportunity to overwhelm a server and push it
offline — a somewhat common disabling method that’s been dubbed a
“distributed denial of service,” or DDOS attack, The Hill
reported.
…
“This booter is famous for taking down some of the world’s
largest gaming networks, such as Xbox Live, PlayStation Network,
Jagex, BattleNet, League of Legends and many more,” the Lizard
Squad said in its ad, The Hill reported. “With this stresser, you
wield the power to launch some of the world’s largest denial of
service attacks.”
The
group only accepts bitcoins, The Hill reported.
As
we become increasingly “global” it seems we want more
“Balkanization” at the
same time. Operate businesses globally to unite the world, but obey
the laws of every county, even those that kept their companies from
becoming global competitors.
Growing
European Issues Imperil U.S. Tech Business Models
From
Paris to Berlin and from Madrid and London to Moscow, the tech giants
find themselves in battles over data privacy, taxation, national
politics and other sovereign interests which are foreign to the
business environment in the United States.
To
say the primary issue is economics oversimplifies a range of
nationalistic issues that would usually be reserved for discussions
with other nation-states. The root of the emotions driving national
demands is a sense of being invaded, even “colonized,” and not
knowing where the invasion will end.
As
reported in the Wall
Street Journal,
France and Germany have recently acted to curb the business practices
of top U.S. tech firms, with overwhelming approval by the European
Parliament of a resolution which calls for actions aimed at possibly
breaking up Google.
…
Issues
exist in varying forms. England has recently announced a “Google
tax” targeting profits of U.S. tech firms reaped locally.
Russia
and Turkey, which demand censorship control over information Google,
Facebook and Twitter convey regarding “subversive” and selected
local political matters.
All
of this ultimately leads to the question of who controls the
information flowing through the Internet. Pressures on tech firms to
comply with nationalistic desires vary. Russia and others threaten to
block U.S. social media services if their demands are not met. Other
European countries want local data stored in local computer centers.
…
Bank
of America Merrill Lynch analyst Justin
Post recently downgraded Google shares, citing European
regulatory risk, stating that these clashes pose “one of the
greatest threats to U.S. technology giants since their emergence from
garages and college campuses over the past four decades.”
How
is this useful? If I create a game using stolen code I probably get
my joystick sued off. (On the other hand, I can do anonymous.)
Xbox
One leak could allow people to make their own games for the console
…
Xbox keeps the approval process for games locked down — developers
must register with Microsoft and be approved before posting games to
the Xbox’s official release channels. That protection will still
be in place, but the leak of the SDK could lead to the emergence of a
“homebrew” community, of developers making and sharing games for
the Xbox One through unofficial channels.
The
Internet and email are the most common tools. We don't teach
students how to use either to best advantage. (Landlines preferred
over cellphones)
Technology’s
Impact on Workers
“The
internet and cell phones have infiltrated every cranny of American
workplaces, and digital technology has transformed vast numbers of
American jobs. Work done in the most sophisticated scientific
enterprises, entirely new technology businesses, the extensive array
of knowledge and media endeavors, the places where crops are grown,
the factory floor, and even mom-and-pop stores has been reshaped by
new pathways to information and new avenues of selling goods and
services. For most office workers now, life on the job means life
online. Pew Research surveyed online a representative sample of
adult internet users and asked those who have jobs a series of
questions about the role of digital technology in their work lives.
This is not a sample
representative of all
workers. It covers online adults who also have full- or
part-time jobs in any capacity. The most recent survey data from Pew
Research in late 2013 shows that 94% of jobholders are internet users
and they work in all kinds of enterprises from technology companies
to non-technology firms; from big corporations to small proprietor
operations; and from those in urban areas, farms, and places in
between. Some
of the key findings are highlighted below…”
For
my students? Could be interesting but I don't know how many of my
students have Chrombooks.
Run
Linux In A Window On A Chromebook
It’s
now possible to run Linux in a window on a Chromebook. Google
evangelist François Beaufort revealed
how to do so in a Google+ post, detailing the various steps
Chromebook owners must take in order to run their favorite
Linux distros in a window.
Essentially,
you need to be running
Chrome OS in Developer Mode and install David
Schneider’s Crouton extension. You can then run Linux in a
separate window, saving you from switching between Virtual Terminals,
which previously was the only way to run
Linux on a Chromebook.
This
isn’t recommended for inexperienced users, but then they will
probably be happy using Chrome OS as is. Instead, this is for
existing Linux users who like
the Chromebook hardware but find Google’s operating system too
limiting.
(Related)
The
Best Linux Software
Linux
is full of awesome apps, both open source and proprietary.
We
have to start teaching these devices as well as the rest of the
Internet of Things cornucopia. An infographic.
How
Do Smartphones Compare To Supercomputers Of The Past?
Most
of us carry a smartphone
around in our pocket without really thinking twice about just how
impressive it is. These tiny little devices can do
so many things, and they can do them for a (relatively) low
price.
Have
you ever thought about what your smartphone can do when compared to
the supercomputers
of the past? At one point, these computers were the pinnacle of
power, and they required massive amounts of space to work. This
infographic breaks down how how the devices we have today compare
with supercomputers, and the results are truly something to behold.
Check
it out, and share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Via
FoneBank
For
my gamers. At least, for those with friends.
Free
Copies For Nuclear Throne Friends
Everyone
who currently owns a copy of Nuclear
Throne will get a free copy of the game to give away to a friend.
The giveaway will commence tomorrow (Jan. 1, 2015), with the idea
being to bring fresh blood into the community to enable the game to
grow and evolve.
As
Vlambeer, the developer behind Nuclear Throne, explained on YouTube,
“We need fresh eyes on the game, people that will still get
decimated by Big Bandit and that will complain about the ravens in
the scrapyard. We need to know how they feel about Nuclear Throne,
and we need your help to reach them.” If it’s free then I’m
in. Now, to find a friend who owns the game…
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