General Gaming Article |
- Researchers Crack 923-bit Encryption, Set New World Record
- Nigerian Princes: Scientifically Designed to Identify Idiots
- Cooler Master Launches CM Storm Stryker Full Tower Chassis
- Latest Swype Beta Upgrades "Living, Learning Keyboard" with Four-in-One Input
- Acer Founder Suspicious of Microsoft's Surface Tablet Strategy
- Acer Announces Slimmed Down Timeline Ultra M5 Ultrabook
| Researchers Crack 923-bit Encryption, Set New World Record Posted: 20 Jun 2012 11:29 AM PDT Remember when it was announced that SandForce 2000 series-based SSDs were only obscurifying data at 128-bit AES encryption, rather than the 256-bit protection promised? Turns out it doesn't matter, because a team of researchers recently managed to crack open a 278 digit, 923-bit long pairing-based cryptography system. That's a new world record and up until the time it happened, breaking cryptography that complex was thought to be impossible.
To be fair, the researchers -- a joint venture between Fujitsu Laboratories Limited, Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, and Kyushu University -- took 148 days (and a few extra hours) to complete the task, and it involved a setup no average no-goodnik could ever get his hands on. (Edit: All right, all right, maybe he could.) Even cracking the code in that not-insignificant amount of time took 21 computers with a combined 252 cores. Cracking complex cryptographic code is all about the computational firepower you can bring to bear, as Fujitsu explains in its press release: We were able to overcome this problem by making good use of various new technologies, that is, a technique optimizing parameter setting that uses computer algebra, a two dimensional search algorithm extended from the linear search, and by using our efficient programing techniques to calculate a solution of an equation from a huge number of data, as well as the parallel programming technology that maximizes computer power. The previous world record for cryptoanalysis was held by researchers from NICT and Hakodate Future University, who successfully managed to crack a comparably paltry 676-bit encryption in 2009. |
| Nigerian Princes: Scientifically Designed to Identify Idiots Posted: 20 Jun 2012 11:01 AM PDT
The abstract to Cormac Herley's "Why do Nigerian Scammers Say They are from Nigeria?" sums things up nicely, followed by a ton of probability checks, algebra and graphs to back up his big talk: Far-fetched tales of West African riches strike most as comical. Our analysis suggests that is an advantage to the attacker, not a disadvantage. Since his attack has a low density of victims the Nigerian scammer has an over-riding need to reduce false positives. By sending an email that repels all but the most gullible the scammer gets the most promising marks to self-select, and tilts the true to false positive ratio in his favor. The scammers have to spend a lot of time exchanging emails with possible victims, Herley goes on to explain. By enticing savvy folks (like Maximum PC readers) into quickly tossing ridiculous scam emails into the junk folder, the criminals maximize their potential profit by focusing their efforts on gullible grandmothers with a taste for snake oil. If you don't mind tl;dr reports that are peppered with math, be sure to check out the full report. It's an interesting read. Props to [H]ardOCP for pointing it out! Image credit: quickmeme.com |
| Cooler Master Launches CM Storm Stryker Full Tower Chassis Posted: 20 Jun 2012 07:48 AM PDT
The CM Storm Stryker features a glossy black and white finish on both the case and fans. It has a windowed side panel, dust filters, fan controller, external SSD hot-swap dock, and modular hard drive cages. For neat freaks (or those concerned about optimal air cooling), Cooler Master says its Storm Stryker offers myriad cable tie zones and cutouts to route your gnarly mess of wires. You'll have a lot of them if you manage to fill the nine expansion slots and all 14 hard drive bays. The CM Storm Stryker will be available later this month. Price will vary by region, Cooler Master says. Image Credit: Cooler Master Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
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| Latest Swype Beta Upgrades "Living, Learning Keyboard" with Four-in-One Input Posted: 20 Jun 2012 07:11 AM PDT
The four-in-one keyboard design offers up four input modes on a single keyboard. You can 'swype' from letter to letter, of course, as well as type rapidly with predictive text input powered by XT9, speak naturally using the integrated Dragon button, or write letters using your fingertip. "People use their keyboards every day in every way – so input needs to be fast and simple," said Michael Thompson, executive vice president and general manager, Nuance Mobile. "The new Swype living, learning keyboard ushers in a new era of input, where the keyboard adapts to the users' unique way of communicating every time they swype, speak, tap or write." Swype will adapt to your lingo via voice-text dictionary syncing. When you input a new word on the keyboard, it gets added to the your personal dictionary for speech and text. Swype also learns from emails, texts, and posts, Nuance says. The latest build is already available for OEMs supporting Android an via and SDK. If you're feeling impatient, you can download the Sywpe Beta for Android by going to beta.swype.com. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
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| Acer Founder Suspicious of Microsoft's Surface Tablet Strategy Posted: 20 Jun 2012 06:43 AM PDT
That's not such a bad thing, except Shih says Microsoft isn't really interested in selling its own brand tablets and will look to jump ship as quick as it can, DigiTimes reports. Microsoft's vision, according to Shih, is to encourage vendors to carry Windows 8 tablet PCs, and not just Surface, but other models from other companies, too. As Shih sees it, Microsoft isn't motivated to sell hardware because it's more profitable to license its software. On top of that, being a hardware vendor in the tablet space brings about a whole new set of challenges, like product management, warranty service, and all that fun stuff. Short and to the point, Shih believes Surface is a ploy to put Windows 8 in the hearts and minds of vendors, and once there, Microsoft will bolt from the tablet market place (on the hardware side). |
| Acer Announces Slimmed Down Timeline Ultra M5 Ultrabook Posted: 20 Jun 2012 06:07 AM PDT
It's a given that any new Ultrabook series is going to tout Intel's Ivy Bridge architecture inside, and the M5 Ultras are no exception, at least on the higher end models. The lowest priced model (M5-481T-6670) starts at $680 and actually includes a Core i3 2377M processor (Sandy Bridge), along with a 14-inch display (1366x768 resolution), 6GB of DDR3 memory, Intel HD 3000 graphics, 500GB hard drive + 20GB solid state drive, built-in optical drive, two USB 3.0 ports, backlit keyboard, Dolby Home Theater v4 sound, and Acer's usual assortment of proprietary technologies (Acer Green Instant On and Acer Always Connect). If you want to roll with Ivy Bridge, you have to step up to the M5-481TG-6814 starting at $780. This one packs a Core i5 3317U processor into the same 14-inch frame with the same resolution (drats!) and lowers the RAM to 4GB, but bumps up the graphics to an Nvidia GT640M LE GPU. There's also a third model (M5-581TG-6666) with a 15.6-inch display that starts at $830. Despite the larger screen, it's still saddled with a 1366x768 resolution, which is hard to go bananas over when those in the Mac camp are singing praise for their MacBook Airs with Retina Displays. MacBook Airs cost a few hundred more, but still, Full HD 1080p on a 15.6-inch seems like a reasonable request. In any event, the M5-581TG-6666 bumps the RAM back up to 6GB and weighs 5.07 pounds instead of 4.3 pounds. Otherwise, the specs are same as the M5-481TG-6814. All three models will be available to purchase online at Acer and at retailers across the U.S. at the end of this month. Image Credit: Acer Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
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Oh, those wacky Nigerian princes and their tales of lost fortunes. If only they had your help! But they don't, of course, because anybody with half a brain can see through the scam. And that's the key to the scheme, one Microsoft researcher says in a 14 page report about Nigerian scams; the fantastic stories serve to screen out skeptical folks, leaving the scammers free to pick off the low-hanging fruit that responds to wild emails from African royalty.
Cooler Master this week 
Nuance Communications, a major player in voice recognition software (think Dragon NaturallySpeaking) and the driving force behind Apple's Siri voice assistant, is making the most out of its Swype acquisition, which it purchased in October 2011 for more than $100 million. The latest Swype build, available now in beta form, is a four-in-one keyboard Nuance describes as "a revolutionary step forward in the way people communicate and input text on their mobile device."
It's been an exciting week for Microsoft, which just the other day unveiled its Surface tablet, a surprisingly promising device that just may have the legs to go the distance, if not with the iPad, then certainly against Android and ARM. But let's not sell the Surface short, with the right strategy and continued interest from Microsoft, this could be big. Or, as Acer founder Stan Shih suspects, the whole Surface strategy is nothing more than a bunch of smoke and mirrors intended to sell consumers on Windows 8.
Chugga-chugga, chugga-chugga, choo-choo! That's the Ultrabook train coming around the bend with yet another shipment of thin and light laptops, and this time it's carrying a load of | You are subscribed to email updates from Maximum PC - All Articles To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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