Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. (Philip K. Dick)
I was revisiting some of the world music that caught my attention in the late 80’s and early 90’s when I “rediscovered” the Djam Leeli album by Baaba Maal. As Chris Blackwel (from Island Records) was trying to find an African Bob Marley Baaba Maal was the first choice. It was initially between Baaba Maal and Youssou N”Dour as to being Senegals greatest musical export,
It looks like there will finally be a general introduction in Android of being able to see the battery status of any connected Bluetooth devise. This has been available in custom and manufacturers for a while, and plenty of options in the app store, but up until now this has been the landscape. An article on XDA finds that “we can see that Google will add a new method in the Bluetooth Device class called getBatteryLevel() ” in the proposed new Android Open Source Project (AOSP) release.
An interesting article on Bleeping Computer on a claim from a Brickerbot Dev that hey have bricked 60.000 modems and routers in Indian blocking subscribers on Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) form accessing the internet. The obvious path of attack: default usernames / passwords exposed to internet. The joy of our IOT world continues!
As the pending new Spielberg movie based on Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One is rapidly approaching launch I picked up my copy of the book to re-read and see if I can remember why I liked the book so much. I remember lying on a beach and reading it in one session, and loving the whole thing.
It is a more PC take on the core of Cyperpunk, as originally crafted by William Gibson. A dysfunctional world ruled over by a corrupt company (IOI in Player One) with only a virtual reality world as an escape. This time there is a way out, the creator and owner of the virtual world dies and lays down a 3 part riddle / challenge with the ownership of the company as the prize to the winner.
eMakerter analyst Paul Verna has had a look at this years trends and volumes in the connected TV space in the US. He highlights the impact of a higher than expected sales figures, and also looks at the current HW clients and their prospects. Apple TV in particular is given a dim future, again highlighting the price combined with very little exclusive content being offered by Apple.
The British Library has digitized a collection of loose pages of notes written and drawn by Leonard da Vinci to make a notebook which is known as The Codex Arundel. The loose thoughts and ideas from a master. Remember his habit of writing in left mirror (the wrong way). Also all in Latin, but even without knowing the language it is a fascinating thing to explore.
An interesting article on Business Insider quotes the American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC for short) on Tuesday : “ICOs” (Initial Coin Offerings) can sometimes be considered securities – and as such are subject to strict laws and regulations”.
Are the hay days of digital currencies over and will the world follow the Chinese approach of semi-regulating?
Kris Bathgate has made a modern take on an ancient Japanese carpentry tradition Netsuke into the 21st century by designing and making a fully functional Steel version. Satisfactory steam punk approach, wonderful outcome. Limited edition sale of 50 pieces starts on Kris’s blog from 28 July.
Brian Krebs has posted an interesting and moderately detailed rundown on how the FBI managed to track and capture the creators of the Citadel Trojans. The fact that the authors decided to crowd source the support of the Trojans to it’s customers and the subsequent fallout speaks volumes about the issues related with the commercial distribution and support of Dark Net services.
Another example of the perils of trying to help companies keep their website safe. The 18 year old Hungarian found a gaping hole in the security for Budapest’s Transport Authority. The resulting arrest enraged the Hungarian public, and the way the company handled the issues is a 101 course on how not to respond to public outrage. For those that want an English summary, here is an article on The Register.