Ernesto's Blog about...Music, Tech, and VideoGames
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
PlayStation Breach Could Cost Sony $24 Billion, Plus Lawsuits
It's easy to imagine that the costs incurred by the recent PlayStation security breach could be staggering. With over 75 million users, and assuming that a large number of those people have purchased content from the PlayStation Store or Qriocity, Sony is probably lining themselves up for a severe financial burden. More precisely, data-security specialists The Ponemon Institute (via Forbes) say the number may be somewhere around 24 billion dollars. That's a whole lot of PlayStation 3's, Kevin Butler.
So how did the research firm come up with this figure? According to the group, the estimated cost of a data breach involving a malicious or criminal act averaged $318 per compromised record in 2010. Multiply that by the number of PlayStation Network consumers and suddenly this public relations nightmare is quickly turning into a financial catastrophe.
'Simply put, one of the worst breaches we've seen in several years,' commented Josh Shaul, chief technology officer for Application Security Inc., a New York-based data security company.
Of course, there's also the possible financial burden incurred directly by consumers if their data was in fact stolen. While no one has directly substantiated any loss at this time, lawsuits against Sony's handling of users' private data have begun to spring up this afternoon. Cnet reported that Kristopher Johns, an Alabama resident, has filed what may be the first (of what I can only assume will be many) lawsuit against the company for their handling of the data breach.
The lawsuit claims that Sony didn't take 'reasonable care to protect, encrypt, and secure the private and sensitive data of its users.' Furthermore, the Johns lawsuit claims that the company took far too long in notifying PlayStation users that their information (including credit card data) may have been stolen. He claims that Sony failed to allow consumers 'to make an informed decision as to whether to change credit card numbers, close the exposed accounts, check their credit reports, or take other mitigating actions.'
Rumors were circulating yesterday that Sony may have known about the breach as early as Friday, contacting banks to inform them of the possibly stolen credit card data. I called my own personal bank's corporate office, PNC, this morning and asked if the institution was aware of the situation. I was told by a corporate communications officer that they had, at this time, received no notification for the breach, and that this type of notice 'generally goes out to the card companies, such as Visa and Mastercard.' I have attempted to contact the credit card companies, and will report back if I find anything out.
Regardless of who's to blame, this situation is unfortunately going to cost quite a few people a great deal of money.
Lost Mayan City Found Hidden Under the Jungle [History]
Thanks to 3D mapping, archaeologists have found the ancient Mayan city of Holtun, or Head of Stone. It's been long known that something was there but because of centuries of jungle covering the area, it was nearly impossible to know exactly what it was. The 3D topographical map effectively 'erased' the rain forest growth and revealed a pyramid, an astronomical observatory, a ritual ball court, numerous plazas, and hundreds of buildings.
Monday, April 25, 2011
This Is Lifehacker, Episode Six: Turn an iPod into an iPhone, Extend Your Wi-Fi Range, and Open a Beer Bottle with a Piece of Paper [Video]
Episode six of Lifehacker is all about unusual and clever uses for your stuff. We're making smartphone car mounts from office supplies, transforming an iPod touch into an iPhone, opening a bottle of beer with a piece of paper, extending our Wi-Fi signal, and much more. Click here for More »
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
RC car runs on soda can rings, Doc Brown approves (video)
Many a future engineer was inspired by Back to the Future's Dr. Emmett 'Doc' Brown, and not just because he proved that unkempt eccentrics could truly change the world. No, he also pioneered Mr. Fusion, the coffee maker/cold fusion reactor that turned garbage into energy. And while we're still waiting for cold fusion and time travel to become a reality, today we're all one step closer to waste-powered cars. A pair of Spanish engineers have recently unveiled the dAlH2Orean (see what they did there?), a R/C car that runs on aluminum. Dropping a few soda can tabs into a tank of sodium hydroxide produces enough hydrogen to power the little speedster for 40 minutes - at almost 20mph. Hit the video above to see it in action, along with your daily helping of the Chemical Brothers. Fitting.
RC car runs on soda can rings, Doc Brown approves (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 13:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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dAlH2Orean Thursday, April 14, 2011
Comcast’s 105Mbps On Deck For National Rollout
Comcast is about to nationally roll out its 105Mbps (!) Internet service. The ISP hopes to have the service in several of its top markets, including Boston, Chicago, Denver, and Miami, bringing the total number of potential subscribers up to 40 million. Considering so much of legitimate media consumption these days is based on streaming, having a super fast Internet connection will only help to a point.
I remember when I ordered Cablevision’s 101Mbps service two years ago, and the tech that installed it told me flat out, “You’re going to be faster than the services you’re trying to tap into.” YouTube was still dog slow, for example. In fact, the only time I’ve regularly topped out the connection, which costs $99 per month (to Comcast’s $105 per month), is when using BitTorrent or Usenet.
Comcast says a 4GB iTunes download takes about four minutes with the service. That sounds about right, given my own experience.
The only issue, of course, is if Comcast decides to implement bandwidth caps. What’s the point of having a 105Mbps connection if you’re given a ceiling?
Gmail Themes Now Fully Customizable with Your Own Backgrounds [Customization]
If you've ever wanted to make Gmail look just so for your personal tastes, today is your lucky day: Gmail has added a new 'Create your own theme' option and tool where you can select background images and then choose your theme's colors. More »
Android 2.3 Gingerbread with Sense UI Leaks for HTC EVO 4G
A few days after hearing the EVO 4G is included in HTC’s plans for devices receiving the Android Gingerbread update, what appears to be an official build with the Sense UI layer on top had leaked. The leak comes in the form of a system dump that the boys over at XDA Developers are already hard at work crafting into an easily flash-able ROM for installation.
While the timing of the leak is no true indicator of when we might see the update sent out to owners of the EVO, it is a good sign that development is moving along. Speaking of development, expect some new custom ROMs to be cooked up based around the release.
"New Nintendo Console Debuting At E3 This June, Launching In 2012, More Powerful Than Xbox 360 and PS3 [Republished]
Nintendo's next console will debut at E3 in June, moving the maker of Mario and Zelda into the HD era. The news, first reported by Game Informer today, confirms rumors that have been swirling for months in the wake of slowing game releases from Nintendo.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Jim Jones - Let Me Fly (Featuring Rell) (Produced by MarvinO BeatS & Sha...
Episode 041 – Record Your DJ Mix in Ableton Live
HD Download: Episode 041 | Subscribe on iTunes or by RSS
Record your DJ Mix in Ableton Live
This video tutorial goes through the three step process of recording into ableton:
1. Configure your audio input preferences
2. Select and input on the channel you will record to and enable recording to the channell
3. Enable global recording and press play
How to #Win at SoundCloud
"SoundCloud is quickly becoming the hip new community for audio creators, especially electronic artists. Even though they recently started cracking down on copyright violations, the site remains an excellent place to promote your remixes, productions and get DJ gigs as a result. Here are a few steps to #winning! @ SoundCloud, taking full advantage of...
[CLICK HERE TO READ MORE]