RichardBell.me: 2004

Friday, December 31, 2004

Windows XP users Phelled by new Trojan | The Register

By Ashlee Vance in Chicago
Published Thursday 30th December 2004 19:56 GMT

A new Trojan horse - named Phel - that punishes users of Microsoft Windows XP operating system is in the wild.

Security software firm Symantec has issued a bulletin warning Windows XP users to be on the look out for the program, which is distributed as an .html file. The malicious code can attack systems running XP Service Pack 2. The vuln was first found in October, and Microsoft is busy trying to catch up to it.

"Microsoft is taking this vulnerability very seriously, and an update to correct the vulnerability is currently in development," the company told ComputerWorld. "We will release the security update when the development and testing process is complete, and the update is found to effectively correct the vulnerability."

Symantec warns that users will see two Internet Explorer windows pop up when an .html file with Trojan.Phel.A is opened. If the code does its worst, the Trojan will automatically be executed every time a Windows user turns on his machine.

Microsoft revokes Passport service | The Register

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Go-faster tweak for Firefox

Cory Doctorow: Here's a great go-faster tip for Firefox, the free, rock-solid, secure browser from the Mozilla Foundation:
1.Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries:
network.http.pipelining network.http.proxy.pipelining network.http.pipelining.maxrequests

Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.

2. Alter the entries as follows:

Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives.

If you're using a broadband connection you'll load pages MUCH faster now!
Link (Thanks, daede!)
Update: Ole sez, "Enabling pipelining in Firefox can speed up complex page retrievals, as you note, but it can also break Flash. This is a Macromedia thing not a Firefox thing but that’s why the app defaults to pipelining disabled."

Update 2: Gav sez, "There are reasons why Firefox isn't configured like that out of the box. Asa at Mozilla.org explains why.

Related...

[Boing Boing]

Toilet night-light motion-sensor glows red if the seat is up

Cory Doctorow: The Arkon LavNav is a nightlight that clips onto your toilet seat. It senses your approach in the night and glows gently (no blinding 100w bulb at 2AM) -- green if the seat is down and red if the seat is up. Link (via Wired Test)

Related...

[Boing Boing]

World's largest solar power site goes live

Xeni Jardin: The 30-acre installation was installed in Germany recently by Powerlight, a company based in Berkeley, CA.
PowerLight's three Bavarian solar parks, consisting of 57,600 silicon-and- aluminum panels, will generate 10 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power 9,000 German homes. The amount of electricity produced is much less than power plants fueled by coal or natural gas, but with very low operating costs, the solar project is expected quickly to turn a profit while emitting zero pollution. Schroeder's left-of-center Social Democrat-Green coalition has turned Germany into the world leader in renewable energy since it took office in 1998. Billions of dollars have been spent on wind and solar projects, and Schroeder, in a politically risky move, has sharply increased taxes on petroleum products in an attempt to reduce consumption of conventional fuels.
Link (Thanks, Wayne)
Related...

[Boing Boing]

Tsunami Death Toll Jumps Over 120,000

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - The death toll in the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster soared above 120,000 on Thursday as millions scrambled for food and fresh water and thousands more fled in panic to high ground on rumors of new waves.
Related...

[Reuters: Top News]

Spam punishment doesn't fit the crime | The Register

Tsunami Death Toll Rockets To 114,000

Relief supplies clogged airports as officials struggled to get aid to tsunami survivors. The death count soared past 114,000, as Indonesia released new figures. Video: Michael Pomeranz reports. Photo Album: Tsunami Damage.
Related...

[WCBS 880: Top Stories]

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Mars Rover Inspects Its Own Debris

Monday, December 27, 2004

WD ups Caviar HDD capacity, lowers thermals | The Register

Hotmail ditches McAfee for Trend | The Register

Everything looks clean and white... Sounds slightly muffled... and I get to look at it out my window, why couldn't it snow on Friday so that I could be outside enjoying it? First real snow of the winter and I have to work... some things are just not fair!

Sunday, December 26, 2004

This is the new car. We just drove home and it did clear the car off, All this accumulated just while I went in to get the camera... I love snow!!!

with the blue of the moon shining down, the Old Saturn (just turned 100,000 miles on last weekend) is under an inch of snow and more is still falling!!!

This is the walkway to our front door. I just installed the lights last weekend...

First Snow!!!

It finally happened while I was at the 7:00 showing of The Aviator A great movie BTW! I will post a few pictures next of the snow. Simmy and I had a quick snowball fight and then I snapped a few shots in the dark. Please forgive the focus... If the snow lasts the night I will try for more tomorrow.

Our first snow!!!

Finding the time

Trying to find the time to keep this blog updated with personal entrys. We are still unpacking from the move in early November and getting things in place for the future. There are more pictures coming and more things to talk about, but all in due time...

Still waiting for the snow...

and then there were the apples... one large, cut when you order, apple in a cup covered in warm caramel and chopped mixed nuts... YUM!!!

and who made them

This is also from back in October... The Warwick, NY Seafood Festival. What y9ou see are the best crabcakes I have ever tasted. 100% real crab meat, grilled and placed on a bun...

Rockefeller Center back in Oct as they where setting up the ice rink... was cold enought until the last few weeks for ice skating

just in case the link doesn't stay the same... here's a snapshot of the radar... waiting for the snow...

Waiting for the snow...

waiting for the first real snow of the year... we had a dusting about a week ago, but this will be my first snow fall in our new place and with Simmy here. Just excited about seeing everything blanketed in a layer of white. I even put out extra bird seed and squirrel cob yesterday to help my woodland friends, may throw a little peanut butter out today as a treat for them. No flurries yet... waiting for the snow... temp is 28... sky is just lighting up enough to see the grey clouds... waiting for the snow... It's getting closer... a few more minutes... a few more hours... but it will happen to today! just waiting for the snow...

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

'Satan' to Test New Mini-Cosmodrome in Russia

Delta 4 Heavy - The USA has a new rocket!

Image Display

Opportunity Rover to Prowl its Entry Debris for Mars Secrets

BOFH gets into the Xmas spirit | The Register

Rosy future for Sprint-Nextel marriage | The Register

Property tycoon buys fantasy island | The Register

The BitTorrent P2P file-sharing system | The Register

Friday, December 17, 2004

Microsoft halted in phonetic domain crusade | The Register

It came from the vaults! Google seeks to open the library | The Register

Dave Letterman's Assisitant website

Clips: EW

Dave Letterman's Grindergirl

Grindergirl :: Home

ever wonder about the strange girl that sparks?

Kodak EasyShare DX7590 | The Register

Kodak EasyShare DX7590 | The Register: "Kodak EasyShare DX7590"

Intel confirms dual-core desktop 'Smithfield' | The Register

Intel confirms dual-core desktop 'Smithfield' | The Register: "Smithfield "

I can't give you any more Captain... but could he?

Dutch 'anti-social' net reality show cancelled | The Register

NCD to 'cease operations' | The Register

The death of thin client... now this is really sad...

Monday, December 13, 2004

eBay Ad Lists Manhattan Judge for Sale

BOFH and the serial killer | The Register

Southpaws thrash righties: study | The Register

Tinsel knocks out Brighton wireless network | The Register

Probably the simplest phishing trick in the world | The Register

The American way of spying gets a makeover | The Register

The American way of spying gets a makeover | The Register Sometimes we need to see just how the "other" see us...

Disney backs Blu-ray | The Register

Flashing Xmas lights down DSL connection | The Register

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

BOFH: Et tu, PFY-us? | The Register

Speed camera clocks motorist at 406 mph | The Register

Speeding motorist says aliens to blame | The Register

0wn3d in 200 seconds | The Register

Friday, December 03, 2004

Mobile fingers UK's thickest armed robber | The Register

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Youth jailed for court camera phone pics | The Register

Kazaa trial opens with 'massive piracy' claim | The Register

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Entertainment News Article | Reuters.com

Entertainment News Article | Reuters.com "King of the Monsters" gets Star!!!

Boing Boing: Genetically engineered plants detect land mines by changing color

Boing Boing: Spongebob Swipedpants

Brighthand � Sony Introduces Line of Tiny Removable Hard Drives

Brighthand | Sony Introduces Line of Tiny Removable Hard Drives

Monday, November 29, 2004

Boing Boing: Pink Floyd's student choir sues

Lycos screensaver to blitz spam servers | The Register

Woman blows $950k on Amex card | The Register

Woman blows $950k on Amex card | The Register uhhh... U shouldn't have let me...

Smart phone predicts owner's behaviour | The Register

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Falk statement on Bofra attack | The Register

Sigourney Weaver books flight with Virgin Galactic | The Register

Gatwick.com owner wins WIPO battle | The Register

Monday, November 22, 2004

Friday, November 19, 2004

The Terminator Tether Aims to Clean Up Low Earth Orbit

Google Brings E-Mail Client Access to Gmail

BOFH: The hostage's guide to lift imprisonment | The Register

Thursday, November 18, 2004

NASA 'Scramjet' Soars at Almost 7,000 MPH

NASA 'Scramjet' Soars at Almost 7,000 MPHAbout time there was a major advance in flight once again. Space is being conquered... But now what about the sea?

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

our very small kitchen... but we are expanding it currently

the living room with fireplace (oh yeah its been getting a lot of use since we moved in)

the other side of the front room

here are a few of our new place.... this is the front room looking from the center of the living room

other then the front clip the car appears to have survived completely. The only thing that seemed out of place was the sunroof that was closed but as the stress and twisting of the accident openned slightly. I would buy another ION in a heartbeat!!!

everything just folded back an down as it was suppost to...

Saturn built a great car with the ION... the dash is completely intact and only dropped 1/4 inch in the center. Simmy walked away without any injuries to her legs ;->