Last summer, try as we might, we couldn't get too much out of Microsoft's creative director for Kinect Games, Kudo Tsunoda, about what's next from the interactive peripheral. More recently, in an interview with Venture Beat, Tsunoda was a little more verbose about what he thinks the next big thing in Kinect is -- and it isn't a Kinect 2. The good news is, he believes that no new hardware will be required, and the innovations will likely come from developers, as they better understand and utilize the capabilities. A combination of voice, tone and facial recognition along with motion detection will likely be the tools that push the experience into the next era -- such as allowing users to participate in a game's story like an actor. Hit the source if you want to read the full interview, but you can be sure we'll be at E3 again this year to beat him, and others, with the question stick once more.

Kudo Tsunoda: 'Waiting for the next big thing isn't about waiting for the Kinect 2' originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 10:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink GamesIndustry  |  Venture Beat  | Email this | Comments

NEW YORK— Yankees manager Joe Girardi announced at a press conference Tuesday his plans to give the pitching mound a few days of rest to fully recover from enduring eight grueling innings of hurler CC Sabathia. "A long outing of Sabathia r...

An anonymous reader writes "Low-power processor maker ARM Holdings is stepping up rhetoric against chip rival Intel, saying it expects to take more of Intel's market share than Intel can take from them. With Intel being the No. 1 supplier of notebook PC processors, and ARM technology almost ubiquitously powering smartphones, the two companies are facing off as they both push into the other's market space. 'It's going to be quite hard for Intel to be much more than just one of several players,' ARMs CEO said of Intel."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Sulley as the Hulk and the Incredibles as Captain America and Black Widow? Wonderful. But seriously, mashing up Pixar characters with The Avengers is beautiful. J. M. Walter created this Pixar/Avengers combo and I've decided that it'd be the funnest superhero movie ever. Or best cartoon I've ever seen. [Cartoon Brew via Buzzfeed] More »

An anonymous reader writes "The United States has pursued Bradley Manning with full force for his role in supplying classified documents to WikiLeaks, in part because of the substantial difficulty in going after the organization directly. Criminal statutes generally deployed against those who leak classified government documents--such as the Espionage Act of 1917--are ill-equipped to prosecute third-party international distribution organizations like WikiLeaks. One potential tool that could be used to prosecute WikiLeaks is copyright law. The use of copyright law in this context has rarely been mentioned, and when it has, the approach has been largely derided by experts, who decry it as contrary to the purposes of copyright. But a paper just published in the Stanford Journal of International Law describes one novel way the U.S. could use copyright to go after WikiLeaks and similar leaking organizations directly--by bringing suit in foreign jurisdictions."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Our hopes of taking the Fisker Atlantic for a spin next year just got dampened considerably: a big document leak has revealed that the more reasonably-priced alternative to the Karma won't be rolling off the production lines en masse until mid-2014, a year later than we'd expected. Thanks in part to a factory overhaul, the only Atlantics rolling on their hybrid-powered wheels in mid-2013 will be prototypes. On the upside, we've learned more about the car itself, including a fairly brisk 0-60 time of 6.5 seconds courtesy of a 300HP-equivalent motor. Green drivers who thought that the promised lower price would put it into entry-level luxury will nonetheless get a reality check with that $50,000 to $60,000 target, even if it's still a big savings over the six-digit Karma. There's still a huge amount of leeway for things to change, but with our compatriots at Autoblog having confirmed that the documents were real and "highly confidential," they may be a sign that the Tesla Model S will have free rein in the green luxury sedan world for a good year or more.

Fisker leak shows Atlantic production delayed to mid-2014, 0-60 in 6.5 seconds originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 09:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Autoblog  |  Inside EVs  | Email this | Comments

Last summer, Hifijohn successfully turned a giant jawbreaker on his lathe, making a beautiful, striped and striated shot glass (or egg cup) out of it: "My third attempt at turn a giant jawbreaker. I put some of my guitar playing songs to make the video a little bit more enjoyable."

new jawbreaker video

(via JWZ)

Reports from many inner city hospitals show they are now having to treat hundreds of people turning up at A&E suffering from food poisoning. The reason is thought to be directly linked to soaring food prices in the high streets with many starving...

theodp writes "A day after taking Facebook public, CEO Mark Zuckerberg changed his Facebook status to 'married' after wedding longtime girlfriend and recent med school grad Priscilla Chan on Saturday. No word if Zuckerberg heeded Donald Trump's prenup advice."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A spokesman for the Police Federation has called for the immediate withdrawal of the recently introduced Clockwork Taser. ‘Although this was clearly a well intentioned move,’ explained Alan Renwick on behalf of the Met’s 31,000 officers ‘in practice the officers have found these unsuitable for their day to day law enforcement and over-reaction duties.’ The [...]

By Sethward Allison  Published: May 20th, 2012 

By CRACKED Readers  Published: May 20th, 2012 
We've all given and received gifts that left us disappointed, but it takes a special combination of bad luck and shortsightedness to give a memorably bad gift. We asked you to show us the gifts given to notable figures that would have either ruined t

By Seanbaby  Published: May 20th, 2012 
Earlier this week, after more than a decade of waiting, gamers around the world sat down to enjoy Diablo III. Most of them had already downloaded it the week before, but they weren't allowed to actually play it until the day it physically arrived in

By Jacopo della Quercia  Published: May 20th, 2012 
Other websites like to tiptoe around the issue, but we've never hesitated to come out and just say it: The Nazis were bad. And the thing is, the Nazis weren't strictly about tearing Europe down brick by brick and the Holocaust. They actually had tons

An anonymous reader writes "More than 5000 people die each year as a result of being distracted while driving, and a new study indicates that teens and cell phones make for the most volatile combination. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that of all drivers under 20 involved in fatal crashes, 16 percent were distracted — the highest proportion of any age group. 'Shockingly, texting drivers took their eyes off the road for each text an average of 4.6 seconds — which at 55 mph, means they were driving the length of a football field without looking,' said David Hosansky."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Scotland - Archaeologists are playing down reports that the 25cm diameter artefuct is the legendary 'Cursing Stone of Scone' used by generations of monarchs during the Coronation Oath.

It was found at an old graveyard on the partially inhabited is...

Run Android on a PC? Yes you can!

Android is taking over the smartphone world as the only viable competitor to Apple's iOS. Google's Andy Rubin recently announced that 850,000 devices are activated every day, which makes it a fantastic platform for development and experimentation.

And while Android and iOS have many similarities, there's one big difference: iOS is proprietary, while Android is open source. That means anyone can grab the code to Android and do what they want with it.

Google is responsible for nearly all Android development, and is likely to continue working in this way, but it's committed to releasing the source code for its work using a free software licence (mostly GPLv2 and Apache) under the banner of the Android Open Source Project.

So far it's made good on its word, and has released the code to each successive version. This happened most recently in November 2011 with Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich. Anyone can play with it, change it and build their own versions, which is exactly what many Android vendors are doing with their hardware. And now you can too.

Releasing the source code is one thing - getting it to run is another. The main challenge is that most Android devices run on ARM processors, and porting it to run on anything else is a big challenge. Google does provide tentative support for the x86 architecture within the codebase, but it wouldn't be possible at all without the existence of a project that pulls all this together with a considerable library of patches to create a build of Android that mostly works on x86.

That project is Android-x86. It's been able to make earlier releases of Android run fairly stably on the x86 platform, including networking and mouse support. But Ice Cream Sandwich in particular is still highly experimental, and it was only in the first weeks of 2012 that a semi-usable x86 version became viable.

As a result, running ICS should be considered a proof of concept, and a useful test to measure how quickly x86 development is progressing.

Before we get to the experimentation, we're going to cover installing a version of Android that might be a little more useful.

Android 2.2.1

The Android-x86 project provides pre-built versions of Android that can be used on a variety of hardware, including the EeePC and a couple of x86 touch devices. Older versions of Android have been built and shown to work on generic PC hardware, and live images of those distributions can be downloaded, run, and installed from the x86 website, but at the time of writing, there's no official version of ICS that works on a generic PC.

You can build your own, but as with any compilation of a Linux kernel, it takes a lot of time and effort. Previous releases have also suffered from lack of mouse control and networking, both of which needed source code patches to the kernel to fix.

We'll take our first foray into Android by running an older version in a virtual machine environment. This is safe, maximises functionality and walks a well trodden path. If you like it, you can move onto a newer version later.

We used VirtualBox, installed on an AMD Linux system running Arch. Android works better on Intel hardware due to modifications in the source code, but we saw no difference on our AMD machine other than a couple of warnings. The same isn't true of ICS, which currently only runs on Intel x86 hardware.

Running the OS

We've had the best experience with the nightly build of Android 2.2, which you can grab from http://android-x86.moonman.dk. With the ISO downloaded, launch VirtualBox and click on the 'New' button. In the wizard that appears, set the operating system to 'Linux', and set 'Other Linux' as the version. We gave our machine 512MB of memory, and a 2GB hard drive as a VDI disk image.

After the new machine has been created, select it in the machine list and open the settings window. On the system page, switch to the processor tab and make sure 'Enable PAE/NX' is active for your CPU.

Now click on the 'Storage' page. VirtualBox defaults to IDE emulation rather than SATA, and we need to add a second device to attach to our ISO image. If the device doesn't exist, click on the controller followed by the 'Add a new attachment' icon (which looks like an optical disc). A small window should appear asking you to choose a disc image, and you should point the resulting requester at the Android 2.2 image.

If an optical drive already exists, select it in the storage tree. Use the disc icon on the far right to display a dropdown menu, then select 'Choose virtual CD/DVD disk file'. Now that everything is configured, click on 'OK' in the Settings window, followed by the green 'Start' button in the main interface. Android 2.2 will boot within the virtual machine.

You'll see the boot menu, from which you should choose the first option. HDPI and MDPI refer to the screen resolution of the output device, which you can ignore when running on anything other than a tablet. If you're trying this boot on real hardware, then the third option avoids graphics drivers by using the VESA mode. This is useful if you run into compatibility problems.

If you like what you see with Android, the final option will create a permanent installation on a spare drive partition. A few moments after making your choice, you'll see Android's unlock screen.

The final hurdle is overcome by pressing the right [Ctrl] key and selecting 'Disable mouse integration' from the Machine menu. When you now click on the virtual machine, you should see the mouse and be able to slide the padlock icon up to enter the OS.

Netbook Android

Hopefully you've now played with Android 2.2 and want to upgrade to the latest version. The missing generic build of Ice Cream Sandwich is likely to be a sign that there are problems with the codebase that make the platform highly unstable.

For that reason, any version of ICS you get running will have problems. We've tried native hardware, virtual machines and netbooks, and surprisingly it was the last category that gave us the best experience. If you have a netbook handy, you can get a fully fledged x86 version of ICS running with little difficulty.

We downloaded the ISO image of 4.0.3 built for the Asus platform (android-x86-4.0-asus_laptop-20120101.iso). Either this image or a later version should work with most netbooks, and maybe other laptops and PCs, but even our Samsung NC10 ran the image well, albeit without wired or wireless networking.

Booting Android

As these devices don't have an optical drive, the ISO image needs to be written to a USB stick, which can then be booted on the machine. The tool for the job is Unetbootin, which can be installed within Linux from your distribution's package manager. Versions are also available for OS X and Windows, and they all work the same way.

First, insert your USB stick - 1GB will do. All the data will be lost, so make sure there's nothing on there you want to keep, then launch Unetbootin. The top half of the window is used for selecting a Linux distribution, which can be downloaded and installed automatically.

We want to use the bottom half to locate the ISO and ensure the correct USB device has been selected. If everything is correct, click 'OK'. This will start the conversion and begin to write the bootable data to your USB stick. It should complete in a few minutes.

Like a live Linux distribution launching from a USB stick, Android can now be booted by turning on your machine with the USB device inserted. As long as the BIOS or boot menu is configured to probe USB devices first - and most are - you should see the Android boot menu.

This has three options, with 'Default' being added by Unetbootin. Choose the first, 'Run Android x86 without installation', to test the OS. If everything works, you can choose to install at a later time.

Android takes a few minutes to boot, and will probably complain that your machine isn't an Asus product. After the Android logo, you'll see the starter wizard. This is where, on a real device, you sync the hardware with your Google account, but without network connectivity it makes no sense. Just click through the options to get to the OS quickly.

You'll now see the start page of Android. This adds a few prompts to help you get started, but Android is easy enough to use without any prior experience, especially if you tried version 2.2.3 earlier. The main differences are in the transitions and how the display looks, but all that can be changed too.

Applications are launched from the small matrix icon on the top right, and you can use the arrows in the bottom left to move between what Android calls 'activities'. In Linux terms, these are virtual desktops.

Configuration

Playing with the settings is the first thing you should do. You can get to the Settings panel by clicking on the clock in the bottom right of the display, then on the text that says 'No internet connection'.

Clicking the Wi-Fi icon will turn it on, and hopefully you'll be able to scan for networks with the 'Scan' button at the top of the screen. This didn't work for us, but there are reports of it working with other hardware. We got some connectivity by using a Bluetooth PAN connection to a machine that was sharing its internet connection over Bluetooth. Ensure your laptop supports this feature, and that it's enabled.

After pairing your Android device and your laptop, you should have network connectivity. Android x86 is in a state of rapid development, so there's a very good chance networking will have been fixed.

Does the word ReRAM ring a bell? No? Well, the key point is that it's much faster than NAND memory, and it's making its way into chips from Elpida, Sharp and Panasonic. Further proof that ReRAM is on the up and up? Researchers at University College London have used this technology to make a chip that operates at 100 times the speed of standard Flash memory. The device is composed completely of silicon oxide, which improves the chip's resistance, and it doesn't require a vacuum to work (which makes it cheaper to produce). But this new chip is more than just a faster alternative to Flash; its ability to move between different states of conductivity means it can be configured as a memristor, or a device that handles both data-processing and storage tasks. In the long term, researchers hope this technology can pave the way for silicon oxide CPUs -- and UCL is already using this design to help develop transparent memory chips for mobile devices. Need to know more? Feast your heart on the gritty details via the link below.

Researchers develop silicon ReRAM chip, send warning shot to Flash memory originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 06:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Phys.org  |   | Email this | Comments

The Guardian newspaper, which now supports the Liberal Democrats, and the long standing Tory-supporting Telegraph Group have had preliminary talks on a possible merger, it has been revealed. Looking to be the progressive media outlet of choice for the majority of the country, both are now thought to be seeking an efficient, well-led vehicle which will retain the confidence of the crucial newsagent market.

7 technologies we wish they would invent

Hurrah for science: boffins in France have invented anti-Wi-Fi wallpaper that looks and works like normal wallpaper but blocks Wi-Fi signals.

It's even cleverer than it sounds, because while it blocks the frequencies on which Wi-Fi operates it doesn't block others, so it could prevent the neighbours piggy-backing on your wireless network or their router interfering with yours without ruining your mobile phone signal.

That's got us thinking: what other simple ideas could make the tech world a better place? Here are our nominations. What are yours?

1. Portrait Video Refuser

The rise of the smartphone has led to a rise in something that drives us doo-lally: videos shot in portrait mode. The only time they work is when they're being played back on a phone; if you watch them on something a bit larger, whether it's a tablet or your enormous flat screen TV, the majority of your screen is blank.

Most smartphones know whether they're being held upright or sideways, so this one would be easy: a bit of code in every camera app that refuses to record video in portrait mode. You'll thank us for it one day.

2. Sonic Shusher

You're on the bus. Tukka-tsssh! Tukka-tsssh! Tukka-tsssh! Tukka-tsssh! Tukka-tsssh! The Sonic Shusher would use noise cancelling technology to analyse the too-loud tune emanating from your fellow passenger's headphones and would generate a negative wave that cancels it out, leaving the bus in silence.

Even better, you could hack it to play the infamous and probably mythical "brown note" to wreak terrible revenge.

3. No-tweet Seat

Perfect for conference rooms, restaurants, pubs that run quiz nights and even the family dinner table, the No-tweet seat contains a signal jammer that operates on all mobile phone and wireless internet frequencies to ensure that the people you're sharing a room, table or friendly rivalry with can't get onto Twitter, Facebook or Wikipedia.

4. Techalyser

It's a breathalyser, but for tech: sensors scan your breath for booze, and if you're clearly three sheets to the wind you won't be able to post something appalling on Facebook, buy a helicopter on eBay or send a photo of your unmentionables to your boss.

5. SMS Airbag Inflator

If you've ever seen the terrifying sight of someone texting as they get closer and closer in your rear view mirror, you'll appreciate this one: a steering wheel airbag that can detect whether you're texting while moving and if you are, inflates in your big stupid face before you kill somebody.

6. Tablet Location Awareness

Try as we might, we can't stop ourselves from being annoyed by people filming stuff with tablets - especially when we know the optics in their tablet would embarrass a five-quid webcam. There's only one reason for filming in public with a tablet, and that's to say "look at me! I have a tablet!"

What should happen, other than a mighty hand coming from the sky and giving the offender a clip round the ear, is that the app uses GPS to work out whether you're on the sofa or not, and if you aren't, it refuses to load the camera app and tells you you're a dork.

7. Apple bullshit detector

"CONFIRMED EXCLUSIVE! Is this the iPad 5?"

BEEP

NO

As much as we're familiar with mobile device torture tests, they're normally inflicted by us or otherwise not-so-voluntary. Nokia, however, has stepped up to the plate and doled out the abuse to the Lumia 900 itself with a hammer and nail, all based on a wager that the Windows Phone's use of Gorilla Glass would hold up to Sonim-level punishment. The company's Chris Ruble and Mike Meyers (not that Mike Myers) used a Lumia 710 as a dry run before an on-camera demo that not only saw the 900 assaulted with the hammer, but used as a blunt instrument itself -- all without a crack or scratch. We imagine that other toughened-glass phones would survive the hit, and there's every possibility that smacking the polycarbonate plastic would leave more than a scuff mark. Nokia's test still proves that its pride and joy can withstand more than just a casual roughing up, and you can see the slightly cringe-inducing test in the video below.

Continue reading Nokia uses Lumia 900 as a hammer in a torture test, makes us wince (video)

Nokia uses Lumia 900 as a hammer in a torture test, makes us wince (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 04:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WMPoweruser  |  Nokia Conversations  | Email this | Comments

Adobe Illustrator has long been the choice for illustration professionals, designers and anyone who wants to work with infinitely scalable vector graphics.

Over the years it's gained some highly impressive features, such as mesh tools for drawing photo-realistic objects, perspective tools for taking the pain out of vanishing points and much, much more. So, what can CS6 bring?

Before we get onto features, let's talk about the interface and the tuning that's gone on under the bonnet.

Darker surroundings

The interface, like Photoshop's by default, is now charcoal grey. It gives Illustrator a more refined, professional feel. If it's a little much, you can change the interface colour via Preferences (unlike Photoshop's theme-based approach). It's a minor, but lovely touch.

But the real thing you notice about Illustrator is its speed. It's blazing fast. Mainly thanks to the Mercury Performance System and native 64-bit support, complex documents with meshes, gradients and many points can be manipulated with relative ease. Redraw certainly seems snappier as well.

Beyond the speed improvements, Illustrator does bring some new and improved features to the table. The most notable is undoubtedly the new pattern creation tools. Creating a tiled pattern and editing it is now extremely easy: open up or draw your object that you want to be repeated and then go to Object>Pattern>Make. Your object then repeats on the art board.

The Pattern Options panel enables you to control the pattern, with a really handy slider enabling you to dim your instances so you can work on and edit the original object. As you do edit it, the repeats update. The pattern is automatically added to the Swatches panel and updates when you hit Done in pattern creation mode. You can choose to save a copy to add another swatch to the Swatches panel.

But the best thing? Double-clicking the swatch in the Swatches panel enables you to go back to edit the pattern. When you update it, it updates any object the pattern is applied to. It's quite brilliant and textile artists, designers and illustrators who use patterns in their work will absolutely love it.

The other 'big' feature is the removal of Live Trace - being replaced with a new bitmap tracing engine called Image Trace. Now, don't expect this to magically turn any photos into vector artwork, but it does a pretty good job. And there are more options for tracing than ever before.

The tool is controlled by the context-sensitive Control Panel or the new Image Trace panel, and you can apply presets or tweak settings manually. Whilst you won't always use it, Image Trace is a powerful replacement for the often hit-and-miss Live Trace, and when you do need it, it'll come in very handy.

The final addition of note is being able to add gradients to strokes. We don't know why this wasn't in previous versions, but it's a welcome addition - especially for those designing photo-realistic vector artwork.

There's also some tweaks to the Gaussian Blur effect and minor panel updates, including a Scale Strokes & Effects checkbox added to the Transform panel.

Illustrator remains hugely powerful, and a tool that is reliable, fast (as long as you have a good amount of RAM) and pretty much vital to any creative pro. The new pattern creation features are a joy to use, and the speed of this version alone will impress any daily user of the app.

arisvega writes "At a first level (the lowest court level in the Greek judiciary system) an order has been issued (article in Greek, Google translation is fair enough) for a 'plan on behalf of Internet Service Providers regarding he implementation of technological measures to deny access to internet users for webpages through which illegal copies of copyrighted work are being distributed.' The order seems to be general and descriptive, and is a manifestation of the implementation process for an even more general and vague larger-scale EU directive, which is the common source that caused the rulings recently posted on slashdot regarding the UK, the Netherlands and Finland. This appears to be one of the reasons that prompted Anonymous to launch defacing attacks on Greek government websites some three months back."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

How to uncover hidden PC activity

We recently looked at various techniques you can use to hide data in Windows, from simple filename tricks to complete encryption of the OS. Now we're going to turn the tables and discover ways to uncover hidden activity.

There are plenty of reasons why someone might not want you to know that your security has been breached. The most obvious is infection with malware. If you believe others may be using your PC without your consent, the issues can become serious. What are they doing? Will people assume it was you?

Luckily, finding out is easier than you might think, and you can even monitor your computer from your inbox.

Exploring Explorer

How you can tell if someone has modified or even added a new file to your computer?

The easiest method is to open Windows Explorer in an account with Administrator rights over the system. Now click 'Organise > Folder and search options'. Click the 'View' tab and in the advanced settings, ensure that 'Show hidden files, folders and drives' is selected. Click 'OK'.

Now click the search box in Windows Explorer. This will reveal several search criteria, including 'Date modified'. Click this and a calendar appears along with some interesting options, including 'Earlier this week'. Click one of these and press [Enter]. All the files modified since this time, including hidden ones, will be listed. Is there anything that you don't like the look of?

Of course, much of today's malware is capable of faking the modify time on a file to hide from this search. The worst malware, the rootkit, maintains its anonymous presence by not only faking modification times, but also ensuring it fools the OS into returning results that make everything seem okay. The rootkit can then allow other malware, like a keylogger, to run.

To uncover this kind of infection, we need a way of examining the disk while Windows sleeps. Read a sleeping PC The easiest way of achieving this is to boot a Linux live CD, mount the disk and have a look around.

What are we looking for? Luckily, we needn't know. Several security vendors distribute Linux live CD discs designed to simply run a Windows antivirus scanner. Without a subverted Windows system getting in the way, all malware is naked and visible.

One such disk is the Avira Rescue CD. You can download the ISO file and burn it to a bootable disc using your favourite software, but there's another option. If you download and run the EXE version, you'll find that it contains burner software. You'll be asked to insert a DVD, after which the ISO will be unpacked and burned to disc, ready to boot.

If you're using a wireless network card, you'll have to plug your PC into your broadband router with a cable if Linux doesn't contain a driver for your wireless card.

When you boot the rescue disc, you'll be met by a boot menu. Press [Enter] to continue booting. The Avira scanner will load and run.

The software has four tabs. Click 'Update' and then click 'Yes' in the window that appears asking if you want to update the malware definitions. Once complete, click the 'Configuration' tab. Ensure that in the Scan Method section, the option selected is 'All files'. Also ensure that you select the tick boxes for joke programs, security privacy risks and runtime compression utilities. This last option is important because some malware stays securely compressed until it's run, thereby obscuring its purpose.

Finally, click the 'Virus scanner' tab and click 'Start scanner'. Once the scan is complete and any stealthy infections have been identified and hopefully fixed, you can click 'Shut down' and either shut down the computer or reboot. Once Linux has shut itself down, you can remove the DVD and boot into Windows.

Tracking activity

Another major problem, especially if you have to leave your PC unattended for a while, is an interloper using it without your permission. If someone really wants to read your hard disk, booting a Linux live CD will allow them to mount your disk and read whatever they like.

If you don't want to encrypt your entire OS as we demonstrated last issue using TrueCrypt, you can thwart their attempts to even boot the computer by setting a password on your BIOS.

The BIOS contains the first software to be run when your machine powers up. Because there's no way to stop this, telling the BIOS to ask for a password at boot time will stop most would-be hackers dead. What's more, modern BIOS implementations allow for several different passwords that perform different jobs, and newer hard disks can be made to work in conjunction with the BIOS to prevent secrets being revealed.

To set a BIOS password, you need to get into its setup mode. Most modern BIOS implementations respond to holding down [F2], [F10] or [Delete]. Your PC's manual will tell you which. Hold this key immediately after power on in cases where the BIOS screen flashes by too quickly.

Different BIOS types have different interfaces, but in general there'll always be a security or password screen. There may be different types of password you can set.

When you boot the computer, the password you're asked to enter is the user password. However, what's to stop someone going into the BIOS and removing it? That's the job of the supervisor password. If you set this, then even entering the BIOS becomes problematic for a hacker.

Because there are techniques for overriding BIOS passwords, laptop BIOS implementations also have an HDD password. This is stored in the hard disk controller and must be supplied before the disk gives up one byte of access.

Evidence gathering

If you think someone is using your PC without permission, sometimes the best thing is to gather evidence, then either confront them or take steps to ensure you have a legitimate reason why they can't continue to use it.

One method of doing this is to install a keylogger. Keyloggers aren't always used illegally. In some situations they can be used to check that personnel are only doing what they're supposed to and not abusing their position.

A word or warning first: Never be tempted to install a keylogger or any other piece of spyware onto a computer that you do not personally own. If you're caught and the case goes to court, you could be liable under the Misuse of Computers Act, and receive a prison sentence and a fine of up to £5,000.

There are many free Windows keyloggers. We'll use iSafe from iSafeSoft. The trial version will last for seven days, which should be enough to discover unauthorised use of your PC. Download the executable to the PC you wish to monitor (which we'll call the target) and run it.

The installation process consists of simply accepting the licence agreement and the defaults. Once installed, press [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Shift]+[X] and enter the default password 123 to open the keylogger's user interface.

Each part of the system that can be logged has its own icon. At the top of each icon is a number, indicating the records that have been collected. To stop your activity being logged, click the green button marked 'Stop now'.

With iSafe logging events, try opening a web browser and entering a search phrase. Surf to a few sites and then go back to the iSafe user interface. Click 'Log' at the top of the screen. In the left hand panel, expand the username that did the surfing and select the 'Website' category.

In the right-hand panes you'll see the dates and times of each element of surfing activity, along with the site involved. Select one and the lower panel shows the details. Select the 'Keystroke' category in the left hand panel and click an entry from the web surfing traffic you just generated. The lower pane shows the exact keystrokes (including deletions and other edits), and the text entered.

Another valuable feature is the Screenshot category. Screenshots are taken at regular intervals, and are a powerful piece of evidence when looking for untoward activities by others. Back on the main iSafe interface, click the 'Screenshot' tab on the left to access the settings.

By default iSafe makes a capture every minute, but this could soon fill your hard disk. It's more useful to take a shot of the active window. You can further reduce the amount of space taken by each shot by selecting the capture quality. To compress the shots (and protect them), select the option to compress them into an archive. This is protected by the iSafe password.

iSafe won't take screenshots when the computer is idle (in other words, when the suspect isn't using it). To keep taking snaps anyway, click 'Setting', then click 'Screenshot' on the resulting right-hand pane. Untick 'Don't take screenshots when user is idle.'

One excellent function of the screenshot facility is the ability to start taking shots as soon as iSafe detects that the user has entered one or more specified keywords. On the Screenshot tab, click 'Enable Smart Sense' and associated buttons become active. Enter a keyword and click 'Add' to add it to the list. To remove it, select it and click 'Delete'.

More settings

The default password is insecure, so click the 'Settings' tab and then click 'General'. To the right, enter the old 123 password and a new, longer one. Click 'Apply' to change it. The setting allow you to set many other useful options. For example, you can hide the use of iSafe by changing the hotkey sequence from the default of [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Shift]+[X].

You can also set the parameters for the Stealth mode. These include becoming invisible in Task Manager. Click the 'Users' category and you can specify the users you want to monitor. This enables you to narrow down your evidence gathering to just those people or accounts you suspect.

You can also have relevant data emailed to you. Select the Delivery category and set 'Deliver logs to email' to 'On'. Enter your email address and set the options. Emailing yourself the information captured by iSafe will enable you to monitor activity when your suspect believes they're safe. Provided you can get to your inbox, you can still see what they're up to.

Sifting the evidence

Rather than having to plough through every keystroke, screenshot and other piece of information, you can target a specific date range.

On the main iSafe interface, click 'Log'. Select a date and click 'View log'. Only the entries for that day are shown. You can also select the previous seven or 30 days, or define a custom range. Click the 'Custom' button at the top of the screen, then enter the start and end dates before clicking 'OK'.

You can delete the logs and other collected information using the buttons at the top of the log view. You can also delete a date range or all data here to save on disk space.

Uninstalling iSafe after you've finished is as simple as clicking the 'Uninstall' icon at the top of the interface.

Excited for Nintendo's new tablet-esque controller? So are the kids in TT Games' QA department. An over-excited tester tweeted out an image of a slightly different Wii U slab than the one we laid hands on at E3 2011, teasing "look we what we have at work!" Answering the call does indeed reveal something worth looking at -- a somewhat wider looking Wii U slate featuring two full-sized analog sticks (as opposed to 3DS-like circle pads), a pair of unmarked button-like squares, and a new starboard home for the controller's plus and minus buttons.

The tweet was summarily pulled, of course, but not before our friends at Joystiq nabbed a screenshot. Naturally, the rumor mill started right up, churning out speculation of developer specific slabs, early prototypes and late redesigns. The truth? We'll probably need to wait until E3 to find out, but we reached out to Nintendo for a comment all the same. We'll let you know if we hear anything more than the usual "Nintendo doesn't comment on rumors and speculation" line.

Alternative Wii U controller design makes brief appearance on Twitter, goes into hiding originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 02:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Joystiq  |  Twitter  | Email this | Comments

Earlier today Gareth Branwyn had the idea that we should run an image gallery of the great clothes worn by people who come to Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 (taking place now). So Gar and I went out and snapped some photos of folks wearing interesting outfits. We'll post another gallery later, because there are so many great outfits here at the Faire!

See the Maker Faire Fashion Photo Gallery

symbolset writes "CNET is reporting that China has approved Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility. Previously approved by regulatory authorities in the U.S. and Europe, China was the last holdout. The deal will now reportedly close 'within days.'" I wonder what conditions Google may have faced from the regulators, and whether they include any exceptions to the "don't be evil" guideline.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Think the Wii has the market cornered on gaming rehab? Think again -- neuroscientists at New Castle University are developing a series of motion controlled video games to make stroke rehab more fun and accessible. The team's first title, dubbed Circus Challenge, lets patients digitally throw pies, tame lions and juggle to help them build strength and regain motor skills. As players progress, the game ratchets up its difficulty, presumably to match pace with their recovery.

Although Limbs Alive, the game's publisher, has only described their motion controller as "next-generation," it affirms that the game will be playable on PCs, laptops and tablets later this year. In an effort to lower costs and provide at-home therapy, the team hopes to leverage a £1.5 million award from the UK's Health Innovation Challenge Fund to build a system that will allow therapists to monitor patient progress remotely. The whole enchilada still needs some time to bake, but you can hit the break for a video and the full press release.

Continue reading Neuroscientists develop game for stroke rehabilitation, give the Wii a run for its money

Neuroscientists develop game for stroke rehabilitation, give the Wii a run for its money originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 00:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET  |  Newcastle University, Limbs Alive  | Email this | Comments

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from is from Warren, who wants to find an electrical moped within his budget. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"What's the cheapest two-wheeled electric vehicle that goes over 45mph available in the US? I looked at the Gas-powered $2,500 Sym Symba, but as far as I can tell, I'd have to spend four times that much for an electric equivalent. Am I missing something? Thank you!"

Unfortunately, you are. The biggest barrier to joining the EV parade is the price of batteries, which are often more expensive than the vehicles they're situated inside. For example, even a motorized bicycle like the Grace One is $6,000 -- but that's as far as our knowledge goes on the subject. Perhaps there is a solution out there, all it needs is for one of our friendly commenters to tell all in the river of text below.

Ask Engadget: Electric commuting on the cheap? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 May 2012 22:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

ananyo writes "California lawmakers are weighing a bill aimed at protecting their state's citizens from surreptitious genetic testing but scientists are voicing their growing concerns that, if passed, such a law would have a costly and damaging effect on research. The bill, dubbed the Genetic Information Privacy Act, would require an individual's written consent for the collection, analysis, retention, and sharing of his or her genetic information—including DNA, genetic test results, and even family disease history. The University of California has submitted a formal letter objecting to the bill, estimating that the measure could increase administrative costs by up to $594,000 annually — money which would come out of the cash-strapped state's General Fund. The university has also expressed concern that its researchers would suffer competitive losses in obtaining research grants."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.