IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (Ars Technica) 30/12/2010

PS3 hacked through poor cryptography implementation

A group of hackers called fail0verflow claim they've figured out a way to get better control over a PlayStation 3 than ever before. After they worked through a number of Sony's security measures, they found the keystone to gaining access to the system's innards was the PS3's poor use of public key cryptography.
At the Chaos Communication Conference 27C3, the team gave a 45-minute presentation on the methods they used to work through the PS3's various security levels, which include a chain of trust, a hypervisor, and signed executables. Their primary goal was to restore the capability to run Linux, something that was forcibly removed from the original PS3 and never possible on the PS3 Slim.
After beating several other security measures, the group came down the the PS3's ECDSA signature, a private cryptographic key needed to sign off on high-level operations. Normally, these kinds of keys are difficult to figure out, and require running many generations of keys to crack.
But when fail0verflow worked backwards from generated keys, they found out that a parameter that should have been randomized for each key generation wasn't being randomized at all. Instead, the PS3 was using the same number for that variable, every single time, making it easy to work out acceptable keys.
If this really works, it's a big slip on Sony's part. While PS3s are no stranger to software updates, this seems like it might affect operation on too many levels to be an easy fix. Fail0verflow's presentation is available in three parts on YouTube, and they also plan to put up a demo of their methods on their website.
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Nintendo Japan says no 3DS for kids under six

Consumer electronics companies are betting that 3D is going to be the next big thing, and several are heavily promoting the latest 3D televisions. But the advent of consumer-level 3D has been accompanied by concerns about what effect the hardware might have on the human visual system. Although there's no evidence of harm, most of these companies have issued disclaimers warning against the use of this hardware by children. Now, Nintendo Japan has joined them, warning against the use of its upcoming 3DS system by anyone under the age of six.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the company posted the warning on its Japanese website in advance of an event promoting the device's February release. According to its translation, the company is warning that, "For children under the age of six, looking at 3D images for a long time could possibly have a negative impact on the growth of their eyes."
We'll hope that the "growth of their eyes" bit is just a bad translation. Concerns about the impact of 3D are based on the fact that, outside of holograms, no system is actually capable of generating an actual 3D image. Instead, various systems work by creating the illusion of depth by carefully manipulating the information received by the human visual system. In effect, 3D involves playing tricks on our ability to perceive depth.
None of this will harm the actual eye itself, much less any growth it undergoes during childhood. The concern is that the portions of our visual systems that reside in the brain are adaptive; they adjust to the information we receive, and can remap connections in order to operate more efficiently on a typical input. This is especially true in infants, as the visual system is still developing at the earliest stages of life. This ability to rewire our visual system on the fly is behind the 3D health concerns. If our brains are fed a heavy diet of 3D, they might start adjusting to process it more efficiently, and that process could come at the expense of regular vision.
As of now, however, there is no research indicating that there's a anything to these worries. The last time a 3D panic occurred—and they seem to occur every few years—we did an extensive literature search, and checked papers that people had pointed to as evidence of the technology's harm. Most addressed other topics, and the few studies that were relevant were small and involved short-term disorientation in adults. In short, Nintendo's warning may be reasonable and cautious, but it doesn't reflect a known health risk.
So far, factors other than health worries seem to be affecting the sales of 3D televisions, and it's probably safe to say that the sales of the 3DS will also be driven by the hardware, the price, and its game library.
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US science funding boost faces uncertain future

Despite coming under attack by Congressional republicans, federal science funding has received a major and mostly overlooked boost. The America COMPETES Act, passed by Congress shortly before Christmas, calls for $46 billion in science and technology research funding over the next three years. Final approval awaits the signature of President Obama, who in a recent speech framed the need for continued research support.
“Our generation’s Sputnik moment is back,” he said, referring to the 1957 Soviet satellite launch that catalyzed the US space program and accelerated the development of American technology.
The Act was overshadowed by the Democrats’ other legislative victories after midterm election losses and the successful Republican defense of tax cuts for the wealthy.
Legislation on gays in the military, food safety, health care for 9/11 first responders and additional economic stimulus spending all had higher profiles than science funding, leaving the passage of America COMPETES covered mostly by press releases and trade publications.
As Eli Kintisch noted for ScienceInsider, President Obama declined to mention the Act during the week before Christmas. That omission may signal trouble, as passage of the Act doesn’t guarantee its funding.
In January and February, Congress will decide how much money will actually be spent on it. House Republicans have made the National Science Foundation a symbol of wasteful spending, so America COMPETES may still lose.
It fell to Presidential science advisor John Holdren to celebrate the Act’s passage on the White House blog.
“Full funding of the COMPETES Act is among the most important things that Congress can do to ensure America’s continued leadership in the decades ahead,” he wrote.
The Act calls for a total of $7.4 billion above 2010 funding levels, directed towards a host of agencies including the Department of Energy, the National Institute for Science and Technology and the National Science Foundation. It shifts funding away from basic research and towards applications, and calls for regular X-Prize-style competitions to solve engineering problems.
The Act is rooted in a 2005 National Academies report, entitled “Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America,” and its sequel released in September.
America’s “vitality is derived in large part from the production of well-trained people and the steady stream of scientific and technical innovations they produce,” concluded the first report. “Without a renewed effort to bolster the foundations of our competitiveness, we can expect to lose our privileged position,” warned the latter.
During its crafting in Congressional committee last spring, America COMPETES received bipartisan support. It was held up, however, by Representative Ralph Hall (R-TX), formerly the ranking Republican member of the House Committee on Science and Technology.
Hall’s objections failed to stop the Act, but he is now the science committee’s incoming chair.
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Only one of over 7,000 Batman XXX P2P defendants remains

Holy downloads, Caped Crusader—the judge that has been kneecapping copyright troll suits right and left has done it again. This time, West Virginia United States District Court Judge John Preston Bailey has "severed" 7,097 out of 7,098 Joe Doe defendant subpoenas in a lawsuit alleging that they illegally downloaded copies of Batman XXX: A Porn Parody.
Bailey's reason for the dismissal? Same as the massive smackdown he dealt to a host of porn movie infringement suits earlier this month. Bunching them all together in one big case made no sense, since the defendant's actions weren't related to each other.

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Holiday PSA: Googlers, get a privacy screen for your laptops

If you're one of the millions of Americans flying (or, rather, attempting to fly) this holiday season, don't be like the senior Googler who spent part of his or her cross-country flight reading confidential company e-mails about pay increases and Lucasfilm settlements on a giant laptop screen with a tech journalist looking over his or her shoulder.
I won't say who the Google employee was, but the journalist was me. The Googler (I'll just use the masculine pronoun for convenience's sake) was sitting with his seat back up, while his neighbor's seat was leaned all the way back. This left a huge gap in between the seats, so that merely by looking straight ahead and turning my eyes slightly to one side I could see almost all of his laptop screen.
Not being one to pry (this is a deficiency I have as a journalist), I felt dirty just looking at what was right in front of me, especially when it was marked in big, bold letters: "CONFIDENTIAL." But I was also thinking, "am I really seeing this? This person should know better. Do they really not have some kind of policy about this at Google?"
When I got back to San Francisco, I contacted Google PR to ask if they had any sort of policy about this. I got no response, so I'm assuming that they don't. In which case, they should get a policy, and quick.
This kind of incident, in which a tech journalist gets a great view of an insider's screen on a flight out of SFO, can't be all that rare given the demographics of the Bay Area. Fortunately for both Google and myself, I didn't see anything incredibly juicy, thereby saving me from any sort of internal struggle I might have over the idea of reporting information gotten in this manner.
The gift-giving part of this holiday season is over, but consider this little reminder about the virtues of good privacy practices as our gift to corporate types everywhere. Googlers in particular should take some of that pay increase that corporate e-mailed you about last week and buy a laptop privacy screen. Because the next time, it might not be a journalist reading those confidential emails—it might be far worse.
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A year in Law & Disorder: 2010's most popular stories

Fast Internet, TSA patdowns, and piracy were on readers' minds during 2010. Here's a rundown of the most popular stories from Law & Disorder.
Your fastest Internet in the world is found in Berkeley, CA: Three US cities sweep the podium when it comes to highest average Internet speeds in the world, but every US city on the list shares something in common: a major university. If you like fast Internet, school is the best place to go worldwide.

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65 percent of internet users have bought content online

About 65 percent of Internet users have paid for some kind of online content, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. Pew found that digital music and software are the two most common purchases, yet almost half of the users have only bought one or two kinds of content, and most have only used one method of access, such as streaming or downloading.
Of the 1,003 people surveyed, 75 percent were Internet users, which is consistent with the general proportion of Internet use in the U.S. While previous surveys had looked at online purchases in general, the goal of this one was to isolate purchases of content only, rather than physical items. Of the people who where online, less than two thirds had ever used it to buy some kind of content.

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New poll: 1 in 5 of Americans want 'Net regulated like TV

The old adage that you can get the answers you want if you ask the right questions was reconfirmed this week via a new opinion poll on "Internet neutrality." But the real story may be a bit more complicated.
"American voters believe free market competition will protect Internet users more than government regulation and fear that regulation will be used to push a political agenda," proclaims the Rasmussen Reports group, following a telephone survey of 1,000 "likely voters."

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Skype brought down by double whammy of overloaded servers, client bugs

Skype's substantial period of downtime last week has been traced to overloaded servers triggering a bug in the most widespread version of the Windows Skype client, the company has reported on its blog. At the height of the problem, only a few hundred thousand users were showing up online; normally, the voice and video chat boasts in excess of 20 million online users.

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A year in Open Ended: 2010's most popular stories

Judging strictly by the pageviews, you guys were really interested in 2010's two Ubuntu releases—along with the decision to move away from so much brown. We've got 2010's most popular stories from Open Ended.
Lucid dream: Ars reviews Ubuntu 10.04: Ubuntu 10.04, codenamed Lucid Lynx, is an ambitious update of one of the most popular Linux distributions. It delivers a bold new look, some compelling usability enhancements, and tighter integration with the cloud. In this comprehensive review, Ars takes you on a deep dive into the heart of the beast.

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White spaces could expand beyond unused TV spectrum

Amidst all the hubub over net neutrality, bill shock rules, and other high profile controversies, the Federal Communications Commission has quietly released a Notice of Inquiry full of proposals that could radically transform who gets to use the radio spectrum bands and how. Among the ideas being considered is an expansion of the FCC's white space device service from the television bands to other license regions as well.
"Commenters should address whether they believe this concept is practical for other bands," the NOI asks. "If so, they should identify in which bands they believe such a system could work and provide details on how it would work."

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Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has renewed his patent fight with a large contingent of the tech industry this week. Per a federal judge's orders, Allen's Interval Licensing LLC filed an amended patent infringement suit on Tuesday which spells out how Apple, Google, Facebook, and eight other online companies violate its patents.
Interval originally filed a patent infringement lawsuit in late August, zeroing in on companies that make use of three main concepts: browser use for navigating through information, managing a user's peripheral attention while using a device, and alerting users to items of current interest. The four related patents asserted by Interval collectively address the general concept of presenting searched-for information to a user along with related news articles, media, status updates from friends, or other data. For instance, Apple's iTunes allegedly infringes on the patents in question with its system for recommending other songs and artists that a user might like that are comparable to the currently displayed artist or album.
The patents were originally awarded to Interval Research, a tech R&D firm founded by Allen and former Xerox executive David Liddle in 1992. The firm was folded in 2000, and the patents were later transferred to Interval Licensing.
Before the merits of the patents in question were ever examined, the lawsuit was dismissed earlier in December by US District Judge Marsha Pechman. Judge Pechman cited procedural issues with the original complaint, because it did not identify specific products that Interval believed violated its four patents. Interval was given a December 28 deadline to file an amended complaint, and it met that deadline yesterday.
Analysis of the amended complaint by FOSS Patents reveals that Google's Android operating system is directly targeted by the lawsuit. In particular, Android's innovative notification system for texts, Google Voice messages, e-mails, and other alerts displays information "to a user of a mobile device in an unobtrusive manner that occupies the peripheral attention of the user."
"If any of those infringement assertions against Android [are] true, this can spell trouble for makers of Android-based devices, and for Android application developers," wrote FOSS Patent's Florian Mueller. "Patent holders can choose to sue Google, device makers, application developers, users, or any combination of the foregoing options." Also, Mueller said, "[s]hould Google be served an injunction as a result of Interval's suit, owners of Android phones would experience a very significant degradation of the user experience."
While Apple's iTunes Store, App Store, and Apple TV are targeted in the lawsuit, iOS was notably not named as infringing Interval's patents.
Along with Apple, Google, and Netflix, the lawsuit also names AOL, eBay, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo, and YouTube.
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Is there a limit on the number of proteins a cell can use?

The first genomes sequenced came from bacteria. These models of compact efficiency typically stuffed about 3,000 genes into a genome that was only a few Megabases (millions of DNA base pairs) long. The expectation was that, when we moved onto vertebrates and their genomes, which measure in the Gigabases, we'd find a corresponding increase in genes. It hasn't happened that way. Most vertebrates seem to have gene counts under 30,000. Even a humble single-celled ciliate has about the same number of protein coding genes as a human. Why do humans, which are just a wee bit more complex than bacteria and paramecia, get by with so few proteins?
One possible answer came out of a computer study of protein-protein interactions released this week by PNAS. Most proteins don't operate in a vacuum; instead, they exist as parts of large complexes of proteins (like the ribosome) or influence the activities of other proteins through transient interactions. In short, protein-protein interactions are essential to the function of the cell. The new paper looks at the energetics of these interactions, and concludes they might set a limit on protein complexity.

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Verizon's 4G LTE network gets first 4G smartphone

A smartphone manufacturer is finally making good on the LTE 4G network Verizon turned on earlier this month. The Android blog Droid Lite tracked down HTC's newest piece of hardware, the HTC Thunderbolt. It's a smartphone that resembles Sprint's Evo 4G in many ways, especially in its massive screen size.
Verizon's LTE network has been up and functional for nearly a month, but the only devices made available to sail the 4G sea have been a couple of new USB modems aimed at business customers. With the Thunderbolt, Verizon will be opening up access to more consumer-level activity.
Details on the Thunderbolt are slim, aside from physical features it shares with the Evo, like the 4.3-inch screen and back kickstand. HTC previously referred to the phone by the code name "Mecha," and set up a teaser site for it alongside the Evo and the T-Mobile G2.
According the site, HTC plans to reveal the Thunderbolt on January 6, the first day of CES. Stay tuned for our impressions of it and many other gadgety treats as we descend upon Las Vegas next week.
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Friday, December 31, 2010

IT News HeadLines (Ars Technica) 30/12/2010

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