| Twitter Passes 100 Million Active Users Posted: 08 Sep 2011 03:01 PM PDT  After closing a massive new round of funding, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has casually mentioned that Twitter now has 100 million active users. Back in April, Twitter officially passed 200 million registered users, so this new milestone also serves to remind us how many users simply don't use their accounts.
Twitter says the proportion of inactive users is around 50%. Still, this news proves that the service has managed to continue adding active users. Costolo also said in his presentation that Twitter is seeing an average of 230 million tweets per day. Much of the continued growth is coming from mobile devices. Costolo reported that 55% of Twitter users are accessing Twitter on their phones. Of course, none of this says anything about the quality of the content from the new accounts. What's your read on that? |
| Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition Cranks Up the Style Posted: 08 Sep 2011 02:47 PM PDT  If the Thermaltake Level 10 GT wasn't visually striking enough for you, the just announced Snow Edition could be perfect. Good build quality, unique looks, and now glossy white paint makes this case a builder's dream. But get your credit card in hand before you get your heart set on it.
The relevant specs are the same as the original 10 GT with individual spaces for components like hard drives, power supplies, and the motherboard. While the overall construction quality of the 10 GT isn't as high as the original Level 10, it's much cheaper. The new Snow Edition will sell for about $280. The 10 GT is still one of the most eye-catching ATX full-towers on the market, and its great design make is one of the quietest, too. Would you ever pay this much for a case? |
| Dell First to Offer 1TB of SATA 6Gbps Solid-State Storage in Mobile Workstations Posted: 08 Sep 2011 02:24 PM PDT  This is fast turning out to be world storage week, or so it seems. A day after Seagate upped the hard drive capacity ante with its ultra-capacious 4TB FreeAgent GoFlex Desk external hard drive, Dell has begun offering the Precision M6600 and M4600 mobile workstations it launched back in May with the option of 512GB SATA3 Mobility SSDs, "giving users lightning quick 500MB/s read and 300MB/s write times." What's more, those interested in the M6600 now have the option of configuring the machine with more than 1TB of SATA III solid-state storage.
Dell claims to be the first company to offer 512GB SATA3 Mobility SSDs in mobile workstations: "Things have just gotten better for artists, engineers, architects and people who need serious mobile computing power. We're excited to announce the Dell Precision M6600 and M4600 mobile workstations, that launched in May, are now available with 512GB (SATA3) Mobility Solid State Drives. With the M6600 offering two full storage slots with up to two 512GB SSDs and one mini-card slot with up to 128GB, workstation users can experience more than a terabyte of solid state storage in a mobile workstation." Needless to say, those with shallow pockets need not bother themselves with the price at all. As for those of you still interested despite the words of advice in the last sentence, Dell has set the price at $1,120 USD for a single 512GB SSD. The M4600 and M6600 are available for a starting price of $1,738 and $2,059, respectively. If you still have some $1,640 left in your wallet, you might as well consider configuring your M6600 with NVIDIA's Quadro 5010M GPU with 4GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory. |
| PC Pioneers: 10 Hackers Who Made History Posted: 08 Sep 2011 12:51 PM PDT The computer world has a rich history of hackers who steered the progress of computer science and gave shape to computers, the internet, and networking as we see it today - in some cases single-handedly. While the term "Hacker" today carries a negative connotation of an ill-intentioned computer genius, that's only a small portion of what the word really means. Yes, there are the Black Hat hackers behind internet mayhem, thievery, and chaos, but there are also White Hat hackers who use their computer savvy for good. There's also a different kind of hacker entirely: the tinkerer. They all played parts, big and small, in creating the computer world as it exists today. We've put together a list of 10 great hackers who all played a part in this history. Konrad Zuse 
It all begins with Konrad Zuse, arguably the very first computer hacker. He may not have been a hacker in the modern sense of the word, but none of it would have been possible without him. You see, Zuse made the world's very first fully programmable (Turing-complete as they say) computer, known as the Z3. It began, of course, as the Z1, and while it wasn't built in a cave with a box of scraps, Zuse did build it himself in his parents' apartment, completing it in 1938. Zuse eventually gained some backing by the German government, leading to the evolution from the Z1 to the Z3, which, complete in 1941, is considered the mother of modern computing. John "Captain Crunch" Draper 
John Draper was hacking computers long before computers were even common place. Draper's hacking heyday was back in the early 1970's, when the largest computer network to which the general public had any access was the telephone system. At the time, telephones were managed by an automated system using specific analogue frequencies which could be exploited to make free long distance or even international calls. It was called "Phreaking," and one of the most well-known Phreaking tools was a toy whistle that came in a box of Cap'n Crunch cereal. With this whistle, Draper created another popular Phreaking tool known as the Blue Box, a device that could produce many other tones used by the phone companies. Steve Wozniak 
A contemporary to John Draper, Wozniak was no stranger to Phreaking. In fact, after Draper shared the details of his Blue Box design during a Homebrew Computer Club meeting, Wozniak built a version of his own. Steve Jobs saw the marketing potential in the device, and the two Steves began their first joint venture together. Wozniak's hacking days weren't all spent on projects of questionable legality, though. With the proceeds from their blue boxes as well as selling Wozniak's cherished HP calculator and Jobs' VW van, Wozniak created the Apple I. With the other Steve's marketing prowess, their company became the industry leader it is today. Robert Tappan Morris 
As a graduate student at Cornell University, Robert Morris created his claim to fame: the computer worm. According to Morris, he created the worm as an attempt to gauge the size of the internet at the time. After its release on Nevember 2nd, 1988, the Morris Worm went on to infect approximately 6,000 systems (about 10 percent of the internet attached computers at the time). The worm was intended to be unobtrusive, but due to a flaw in its replication algorithm, it copied itself excessively, causing heaving system loads and ultimately leading back to Morris. In 1989, Morris became the first person indicted and later convicted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986. Mark "Phiber Optik" Abene 
Here's a name you may not be familiar with: Mark Abene. He never hacked into the D.O.D. nor did he steal millions of dollars in some Swordfish-style bank heist. What he did do was piss off AT&T. As a member of the hacker group Masters of Destruction, Abene was often poking around on AT&T's systems. When AT&T's telephone system crashed, leaving 60,000 customers without phone service for over 9 hours, they quickly blamed Abene. The Secret Service paid him a rather aggressive visit, confiscating his equipment, and while AT&T eventually admitted that the crash was a mistake on its part, Abene was charged with computer tampering and computer trespassing in the first degree. Later, he would face more charges and ultimately serve a year in federal prison, making him the first hacker to do so.
Kevin "Dark Dante" Poulsen 
Poulsen holds claim to one of the more amusing hacks of all time. A radio contest held by KIIS-FM promised a shiny new Porsche 944 S2 to the 102nd person to call into the station. Rather than try his luck among the multitude of Los Angeles listeners, Poulsen took over all of the telephone lines to the station to ensure he'd be the 102nd caller. He eventually had to disappear once he became a fugitive of the FBI. This landed him a spot on the popular TV show Unsolved Mysteries. The show's hotlines crashed when the episode aired. Coincidence? In 1991, Poulsen was arrested and eventually pled guilty to various counts of computer fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. Interestingly, since his incarceration, Poulsen made a complete 180, helping in cyber crime cases, and even capturing sexual predators on MySpace. Kevin Mitnick 
Kevin Mitnick is perhaps the most famous hacker in computer history, likely due to his being the first hacker to make the FBI's Most Wanted list. As a master of social engineering, Mitnick didn't just hack computers; he hacked the human mind. In 1979, at the age of 16, he hacked his way into his first computer system and copied proprietary software. He would often engage with admin personnel, such as in phone calls and e-mail messages, and trick them into giving up passwords and other security information. After a two and a half year pursuit, Mitnick was finally arrested and served five years in prison. He now runs his own computer security consultancy, Mitnick Security Consulting LLC. Tsutomu Shimomura 
Not all hackers fall under the Black-Hat umbrella. Tsutomu Shimomura is a White-Hat hacker credited with capturing Kevin Mitnick. In 1994, Mitnick stole some of Shimomura's personal files and distributed them online. Motivated by revenge, Shimomura came up with a trace-dialing technique to back-hack his way in to locating Mitnick. With Shimomura's information, the FBI was able to pinpoint and arrest Mitnick. Richard Stallman 
In his early years, Stallman was a graduate student and programmer at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Labs where he would constantly engage with MIT's rich hacking culture. As an advocate for just about everything Open Source, Stallman fought back when MIT installed a password system in its Computer Science department. He would decrypt users' passwords (not an easy task given the processing power of the 1970's) and send them a message with their password in plaintext, suggesting they leave the password blank in order to re-enable anonymous use. Going into the 1980's, Stallman didn't like the proprietary stance many manufacturers were taking on their software. This eventually led Stallman to create the GNU General Public License and GNU operating system, a completely free Unix-like OS that is completely Unix-compatible. Linus Torvalds 
Following Stallman's lead, Linus Torvalds is another White-Hat hacker. His hacking days began with an old Commodore VIC-20 and eventually a Sinclair QL, both of which he modified considerably. On the QL in particular, he programmed his own Text Editor and even a Pac-Man clone he dubbed Cool Man. In 1991, he got an Intel 80386 powered PC and began creating Linux, first under its own limited license but eventually merged it into the GNU Project under the GNU GPL. Torvalds hadn't originally intended on continued support for his Linux Kernel, but due to the nature of the Open Source project, it grew into one of the most hacker friendly (and secure) operating systems available. |
| Google Buys Zagat, The Restaurant Rating Juggernaut Posted: 08 Sep 2011 11:47 AM PDT  The European culinary scene has Michelin stars; in America, restaurants live and die by their Zagat ratings. The firm surveys millions of consumers about 350,000-plus establishments around the world and uses the results to issue a numerical rating on a thirty-point scale. Zagat's old, Zagat's everywhere, and Zagat's well-trusted. And now it's part of Google.
Marissa Mayer, the Goog's VP of Local, Maps and Location services, announced the acquisition on Google's blog today. Presumably, the company plans on using Zagat's reputation and wealth of knowledge to bolster its search and Google Map results with ratings and information of restaurants and other businesses . "I'm thrilled that Google has acquired Zagat. Moving forward, Zagat will be a cornerstone of our local offering—delighting people with their impressive array of reviews, ratings and insights, while enabling people everywhere to find extraordinary (and ordinary) experiences around the corner and around the world." There hasn't been any details about the selling price, but we're guessing a name like Zagat doesn't come cheap. |
| Epson Announces New Line Of Low-Price 3D Projectors Posted: 08 Sep 2011 11:26 AM PDT  Go big or go home, the saying goes. For those of you who think a 55-inch plasma just isn't big enough, Epson's just announced a new line of high-definition projectors capable of handling 3D images as easily as it handles 2D images. Fancy 3D projectors aren't exactly new, but they're still fairly rare, and even rarer are 3D projectors that only cost $1,600 like Epson's entry-level model.
All three models unveiled by Epson – the entry level Home Cinema 3010, and the upper-level Home Cinema 5010 and PowerLite Pro Cinema 6010 – all offer active shutter 3D, full 1080p resolutions and Bright 3D Drive Technology, which reduces crosstalk and increases brightness, according to Epson. The 3010 sports 2,200 lumens and a contrast ratio of 40,000:1, while the high-priced models up that to 2,400 lumens and a 200,000:1 contrast ratio while also tossing in additional features like ISF calibration, 2D-to-3D conversion, a ceiling mount and a host of fancy modes and options. Another cool feature is split-screen mode, which lets you watch two separate 2d images – be they from a television, a computer or whatever – at once, which is a pretty nifty feature when you'll watching a 100-inch-plus screen. Wireless options are also available. It remains to be seen if Epson's line of 3D projectors can match the amazing output of the Sharp XV-Z71000 (which we gave a Kick Ass award), but that $1,600 price tag on the Home Cinema 3010 is sure to turn a lot of heads. Here's the availability info from the press release:
The PowerLite Pro Cinema 6010 will be available for less than $4,000, while the Home Cinema 5010 and 5010e are listed at under $3,000 and $3,500, respectively; all will be available through authorized Epson projector dealers in November. The Home Cinema 3010 and 3010e will be available online and through dealers in October for $1,599.99 and $1,799.99. |
| Browser Extension of the Week: Save to Pulse Posted: 08 Sep 2011 11:22 AM PDT  If you're an Android or iOS device user, you're faced with the happy dilemma of having a gazillion ways to ingest the news and stories that are important to you while you're on the run, chilling on your lunch break or hiding from the boss in the bathroom. One of our favorites is Pulse by Alphonso Labs. Sleek, easy to use, and most importantly, free, Pulse is an example of what a mobile news aggregator should be. Now, thanks to Save to Pulse, our Browser Extension of the Week, Chrome users who rock Pulse on the go will find chomping on the content that interests them even easier.
With the click of a button, Save to Pulse allows Chrome use to add web pages they don't have the time to ingest while sitting in front of their computers to their Pulse reading list to peruse at their leisure, adding a new dimension of functionality to an already great mobile application. 
What's more, by sending a story to Pulse via the extension, you're not only stashing it away to read later on, you're also making it possible to share that story with just about anyone you please, thanks to Pulse's wide ranging of forwarding and social media interaction options, making it a godsend to anyone who works a gig where socializing online is verboten. Be sure to check back with us every Thursday for another edition of Maximum PC's Browser Extension of the Week. |
| Washington Wants To Charge Hackers Like Mobsters Posted: 08 Sep 2011 10:43 AM PDT  Script kiddies and hacker organizations are more annoying than freakin' cock-uh-roaches, but Washington's trying to stomp on the buggers before the problem gets out of control. The Obama administration's looking to up the penalties already on the books as part of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and they're seeking the ability to hit hackers even harder. Washington wants to make CFAA crimes applicable to the RICO law used to toss mobsters like Whitey Bulger and members of the Gambino crime family in jail.
"Secret Service investigations have shown that complex and sophisticated electronic crimes are rarely perpetrated by a lone individual," Secret Service Deputy Special Agent in Charge Pablo Martinez told the Senate Judiciary committee on Wednesday, The Hill reports. "Online criminals organize in networks, often with defined roles for participants, in order to manage and perpetuate ongoing criminal enterprises dedicated to stealing commercial data and selling it for profit." That there's mighty mob-like behavior, which is part of the reason why some folks in Washington are calling for the change. Anybody who commits at least two of the offenses applicable under the RICO laws within a ten year period can then be charged with racketeering, and hackers often commit more than one offense in a single breach. |
| Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD Posted: 08 Sep 2011 10:31 AM PDT Corsair's Force GT comes in a bright red chassis, which by Ork logic (in the Warhammer 40K universe) would make it the fastest SSD ever. So is it? The Force GT consists of a 6Gb/s SATA bus, SF-2281 controller, and 16 64Gb Micron 25nm synchronous NAND modules (as opposed to the eight 128Gb modules on the Patriot Wildfire). This is the same Micron NAND found in the 240GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G, except that drive had 128Gb modules instead of 64Gb. (Corsair is also shipping the Force 3, which bears the same relationship to the Force GT as OCZ's Agility 3 bears to the Vertex 3—the Force 3 uses asynchronous NAND and is slightly slower and cheaper than the Force GT.) 
The Corsair Force GT uses Ork logic—the red ones go faster.
In CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD's sustained read tests, the Force GT is as fast as any SSD we've ever tested. Its ATTO 64KB read and write scores, single-queue-depth 4KB read and writes, and Iometer random write speeds are likewise nearly identical to OWC and OCZ's drives. It's in incompressible write tests, like CrystalDiskMark's and AS SSD's, that the Force 3 doesn't quite match the rest of the field. It's slower than all the 240GB drives we've tested, as well as Patriot's 120GB Wildfire, by significant margins. In our Premiere Pro encoding tests, though, in which we write a 20GB uncompressed .avi file to the disk, the Force GT was only around 10 seconds slower than the rest of the field—around a 5 percent difference. In other real-world-emulating tests, the Force GT outstripped the Patriot Wildfire but was slower than the OCZ and OWC drives. The Corsair Force GT has an MSRP of $300, but can be found for the same price as OCZ's Vertex 3 on the street. It's very nearly identical in real-world performance—incompressible synthetic benchmarks aside—but OCZ's drive has a slight edge in real-world testing. $300, www.corsair.com |
| Patriot Wildfire 120GB SSD Review Posted: 08 Sep 2011 10:30 AM PDT This isn't Patriot's first rodeo. The company's Torqx drive (reviewed September 2009) was one of the best Indilinx SSDs on the market for a while, and the Inferno (October 2010) was a perfectly cromulent first-gen SandForce drive, only lagging behind those SF-1200-based SSDs with specially tweaked "Max IOPS" firmware. The Wildfire (a name that actually seems like a step down from Inferno) is Patriot's first SF-2281-based drive, and we put the 120GB version through its paces. The 120GB Wildfire SSD consists of an SF-2281 controller and eight 128Gb (that's gigabits, not bytes) Toshiba 32nm NAND flash packages on a 6Gb/s SATA bus. In our tests, the Wildfire performed nearly as well as the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G and OCZ's Vertex 3, the two fastest SandForce drives we've tested. In AS SSD's synthetic SSD benchmark, in fact, the Wildfire's sustained read speeds were neck-and-neck with the Vertex's, while sustained writes were around 40MB/s slower, at 240MB/s. The only place we've ever seen a SandForce drive hit near the 500MB/s sustained writes that the manufacturers tout is in ATTO's large-block writes, at 64KB and above. 
Patriot's Wildfire isn't all that wild.
In high-queue-depth 4KB read and write tests in CrystalDiskMark and Iometer, the Wildfire can't quite match OWC or OCZ's drives, but it still tops all non-SandForce drives in Iometer with 71,000 IOPS. Premiere Pro encode times were in line with the best, although PCMark 7 and Vantage scores—which are designed to simulate real-world application loads—lagged a bit behind the front-runners. At $300 MSRP, the Wildfire is slightly more expensive than OCZ or OWC's drives, though its street price will likely drop to match the competition. While we have to give the edge here to the OCZ and OWC drives, Patriot's Wildfire runs a close second. $300, www.patriotmemory.com |
