Month: April 2012

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From Ars Technica: Flashback trojan reportedly controls half a million Macs and counting


Variations of the Flashback trojan have reportedly infected more than half a million Macs around the globe, according to Russian antivirus company Dr. Web. The company made an announcement on Wednesday—first in Russian and later in English—about the growing Mac botnet, first claiming 550,000 infected Macs. Later in the day, however, Dr. Web malware analyst Sorokin Ivan posted to Twitter that the count had gone up to 600,000, with 274 bots even checking in from Cupertino, CA, where Apple’s headquarters are located.

We have been covering the Mac Flashback trojan since 2011, but the most recent variant from earlier this week targeted an unpatched Java vulnerability within Mac OS X. That is, it was unpatched (at the time) by Apple—Oracle had released a fix for the vulnerability in February of this year, but Apple didn’t send out a fix until earlier this week, after news began to spread about the latest Flashback variant.

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From Ars Technica: Judge spares Amazon from Colorado sales tax reporting scheme


A federal judge has ruled that Colorado ran afoul of the US Constitution when it passed legislation forcing out-of-state retailers to report their customers’ purchases to the state’s tax authority.

Two decades ago, the US Supreme Court ruled that a state cannot require mail-order retailers to collect sales tax unless the retailer has a physical presence in the state. Under the commerce clause of the US Constitution, only Congress can regulate interstate commerce, and the Supreme Court ruled that forcing retailers to collect out-of-state sales taxes would create too much of a burden on interstate commerce. The courts left the door open for Congress to establish an interstate sales tax collection system. But while Congress has discussed the possibility, no legislation has been enacted so far.

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From Ars Technica: Farm-fresh infringement: Can you violate a patent by planting some seeds?


Can a farmer commit patent infringement just by planting soybeans he bought on the open market? This week, the Supreme Court asked the Obama administration to weigh in on the question. The Court is pondering an appeals court decision saying that such planting can, in fact, infringe patents.

In 1994, the agricultural giant Monsanto obtained a patent covering a line of “Roundup Ready” crops that had been genetically modified to resist Monsanto’s Roundup pesticides. This genetic modification is hereditary, so future generations of seeds are also “Roundup Ready.” Farmers had only to save a portion of their crop for re-planting the next season, and they wouldn’t need to purchase new seed from Monsanto every year. The company didn’t want to be in the business of making a one-time sale, so when Monsanto sold “Roundup Ready” soybeans to farmers, it required them to sign a licensing agreement promising not to re-plant future generations of seeds.

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From Ars Technica: Extreme pressure could force hydrogen into a high-temperature superconductor


Superconductivity typically demands very low temperatures, requiring liquid helium or similar means to bring the temperature down to where electrical resistance is zero. Even the high-temperature superconductors have yet to come anywhere close to room temperature, topping out at approximately 110 degrees C above absolute zero (which is still 163 degrees below freezing). However, physicists have postulated that certain hydrogen-rich compounds may exhibit significantly higher transition temperatures.

A new simulation by Hui Wang et al. suggests that a calcium hydride compound (CaH6) could have a critical transition temperature as high as 235 K (-38° C). The catch: the material must be subjected to pressures of approximately 150 gigapascals (150 GPa, or approximately 1.5 million atmospheres), pressures more typical of geological processes. The key to the pressure-driven transformation is the formation of a clathrate, or cage-like structure in the crystal lattice. The predicted electronic structure may allow the coupling between vibrations of the atoms (phonons) and electrons, leading to superconductivity.

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From Autoblog: New York: Delorean Electric surprises in New York, will cost $95,000 in 2013

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First announced last October, the reborn, all-electric Delorean has made a surprise appearance at the New York Auto Show this year. It’s a surprise because not even Delorean Motor Company president Stephen Wynne knew he was going to be here until a few weeks ago, when show organizers called with an invite.

With a prime spot near the EV ride along track – the DMCev is sadly not involved – Wynne said he’s been getting good attention, even though said track is in the basement. We asked Wynne what’s been going on with the car since last fall’s announcement and the short answer is that this is one EV concept that’s going into production.

The target date for fans to buy the DMCev is early 2013, but a lot has to happen between now and then. Right now, all the company has is the converted DMC-12 to show off the technology. To create this, the designers had to add 200 pounds of stuff, and the production version is going to be either the same weight as the gas version, or a few pounds less, in order to improve both performance and range. The car is powered by a 32-kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack and has a 125 mile per hour top speed with a range of 100 miles. Published specs claim a 0-60 time of 4.9 seconds, but Wynne said the target is now under six seconds. Price for all this fun? $95,000.

DMC will assemble the car in Houston, TX with a lot of help from Louisiana’s Epic EV, the company working on the Torq and Amp vehicles (not the Amp conversions). These two companies are testing different motor/inverter combinations for the electric Delorean, and Wynne said they are looking for a “proven product” from a company that has at least “several hundred” units on the road. The current prototype also uses a DC motor, but the production will use AC for better range, performance and regenerative braking ability. The old-school dashboard is also due for an upgrade

Those are the details we could glean in New York. Can you believe we made it through this entire post without a Back To The Future reference? The DMCev can’t do it, though, with a license plate that reads “Gas? Where we’re going we don’t need gas” and a battery that carries the “Flux Power” nickname. For more, you can watch a video of Translogic going for a ride in the DMCev down below, where you’ll also find a related press release.

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From Engadget: Terrafugia Transition production prototype completes first flight, set to land at NY Auto Show this Friday

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Terrafugia’s Transition could finally be making its way to the production line. The “flying car” has journeyed far beyond the concept phase, achieving its compulsory nod from the DOTlast summer, and now reaching production prototype status. On March 23rd, the latest Transition flew past one more hurdle, completing its first airborne trial. The hybrid vehicle rolled down the runway at Plattsburgh International Airport in New York before ascending to 1400 feet — the entire flight lasted a mere eight minutes, and marks the first of six planned phases of flight testing during the aircraft’s voyage past experimental stage. There’s still no word on when the Light Sport Aircraft will be making its way to soon-to-be Transition owners, but those hankering for a preview can catch a glimpse of the craft at the New York Auto Show from April 6th through the 15th. You can also taxi past the break for a tail-level view of the test plane’s trek to takeoff.

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From Ars Technica: Apps bar users from Internet, Facebook—and prove surprisingly popular


Fred Stutzman, a post-doctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, has written two programs that allow users to block their own online activities. At first blush, they seem like the answer to a question nobody’s asking. But that has turned out not to be the case.

Stutzman, who researches social media at the university’s Heinz College, has released two apps, Freedom and Anti-Social. Freedom, which banishes a user from his or her Internet connection for up to eight hours, has been downloaded 350,000 times. Anti-Social, which blocks access to social networks like Facebook, has been downloaded by 125,000 users.

More surprising is that Freedom costs $10 and Anti-Social $15 (there are trial versions available with a limited number of uses). To a slightly higher degree than most apps, arguably, you have to really want what they offer. That is, the elimination of distraction.

“Freedom enforces freedom,” the app’s site 1984ishly proclaims. “You’ll need to reboot if you want to get back online while Freedom’s running. The hassle of rebooting means you’re less likely to cheat, and you’ll enjoy enhanced productivity.” The app has been praised by writers from Dave Eggers to Nick Hornby to Zadie Smith.

But Freedom might be too much for those who need online access for their work. “Anti-Social solves this problem,” Stutzman says, by “allowing you to do your online work, while preventing you from accessing top social sites.”

These apps, marketed by his company Eighty Percent Solution, may be indicators of a larger trend. Stutzman seems to think so.

“I think people are starting to pull back and realize how the time we spend online impacts their work, the quality of their work, and their ability to hit goals,” he told Ars.

“Freedom, and Anti-Social, are ways to get this time back—to turn off the constant social obligation of social networks, to better compartmentalize work time and play time. As a technology researcher, I am very positive on the impact of technology, particularly social technologies, on our lives The net effect of a lot of these technologies are positive. However, just because technology can be seamlessly integrated into our lives, does not mean that we need to engage with these technologies at all times. It is important to find space for solitude, concentration, and reflection. I believe a lot of technologies don’t consider this.”

 

from Ars Technica