Thursday, August 16, 2007

SINGLE Network card crash leaves 17,000 stranded at LAX


According to reports, a single computer crash yesterday in the Customs office of LAX caused hours of delays for more than 17,000 airline passengers. US Customs officials say that a malfunctioning network card on a single desktop created a "domino" effect with its other computers, leading to a total system failure that caused massive wait times. According to a Customs spokesman, "We lost access to our national systems, as well as our local area network." He went on the claim that it took over ten hours to diagnose the problem, halting screening operations and leaving passengers stranded on planes or in the airport -- unable to enter or leave the US. From the sounds of it, Customs need to hire a handful of Engadget readers, who we're pretty sure could have located the source of the problem in considerably less time.

 

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Reuters caught in embarrassing misuse of photo/footage

4.15pm   http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,2146373,00.html


Reuters gets that sinking feeling

Leigh Holmwood
Friday August 10, 2007
MediaGuardian.co.uk


Russian submarines in the Arctic Ocean
Titanic error: Reuters issued this film still with a story about the Russian flag being planted beneath the North Pole. Photograph: Reuters
 
News agency Reuters has been forced to admit that footage it released last week purportedly showing Russian submersibles on the seabed of the North Pole actually came from the movie Titanic.

The images were reproduced around the world - including by the Guardian and Guardian Unlimited - alongside the story of Russia planting its flag below the North Pole on Thursday last week.

But it has now emerged that the footage actually showed two Finnish-made Mir submersibles that were employed on location filming at the scene of the wreck of the RMS Titanic ship in the north Atlantic some 10 years ago.

This footage was used in sequences in James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster about the 1912 disaster.

The mistake was only revealed after a 13-year-old Finnish schoolboy contacted a local newspaper to tell them the images looked identical to those used in the movie.

Reuters has admitted that it took the images from Russian state television channel RTR and wrongly captioned them as file footage originating from the Arctic.

RTR had also used the footage to illustrate stories about the North Pole expedition, but it is thought as library footage, and it never claimed it was actually of the flag-planting.

The pictures were first broadcast by RTR when the Russians were still several hours away from the North Pole.

Reuters distributed a package of clips that included the scenes from Titanic, alongside computer animations and footage of ships on the surface at the North Pole.

In its piece on the subject, two of the four Reuters pictures were from the Titanic filming.

Reuters has now apologised for the error and has made changes to its video material on the expedition, with captions denoting the various origins of the file footage used.

In a statement, Reuters said: "On August 2, 2007 in a TV story about two Russian submersibles planting a flag on the seabed under the North Pole, we used file shots of MIR submersibles as part of this story.

"Reuters mistakenly identified this file footage as originating from the Arctic, and not the North Atlantic where the footage was shot.

"This footage was taken during the search for the Titanic and copyright is held by Russian State broadcaster RTR.

"This location error was corrected as soon as it was brought to our attention. A still image of the submersibles was also taken from the footage and put out on the Reuters photo wire. The caption has been corrected."

The incident is doubly embarrassing for the agency since it follows a case in August last year in which it published an image by a freelancer of Israeli bombings in Lebanon that had been dramatised using photo manipulation, with the addition of smoke rising from allegedly burning buildings.

After that gaffe, Reuters promised to tighten up its controls on material being put out in its name.

· To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 7278 2332.

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Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Passwords: Get a random password from PassPub

PassPub.png Stop using your dog's name as your password for everything! Web app PassPub randomly generates a bunch of different passwords that can be used for WEP and WPA keys, and for basic passwords with lengths of 6 to 12 characters. Although similar to the previously mentioned Strong Password Generator, what makes PassPub particularly convenient is that it can create passwords that follow "easy" to remember keyboard combinations, chemical elements, and mnemonics. Don't get me wrong, these passwords are tough to crack—you're not going to find P@ssw0rd on this list. Don't think having a tough password is important? See how easy it is for Adam to crack Windows passwords. Does anyone know how to generate random passwords from the command line? Please share in the comments. Thanks, Martin!

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Skype on iPhone. No, seriously.

OK, this has to be the coolest news this morning. SHAPE Services, a Stuttgart, Germany-based company, well-known for making mobile IM clients, has just announced Skype for iPhone, an iPhone-optimized Web site that allows you to access Skype via the browser on the iPhone. You can try out this for free for a limited time.

It took me less than two minutes to get up and running. Sending messages was as simple as typing SMS messages. I am guessing that, since they ask you for your mobile number when you log in, there is some kind of call-back service built into the app. After all, the company says you don’t need WiFi.

IM+ for Skype works with BlackBerry RIM, Windows Mobile Pocket PC, Palm OS, Symbian and J2ME devices. The application works in any network and doesn’t require WiFi, the company says.

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Dahan T&S shows off 42-inch widescreen multi-touch LCD

Just months after displaying Dahan T&S' 120-inch multi-touch panel, the firm is now showing off its 42-inch widescreen LCD that incorporates the same technology. This living-room-friendly display contains "multi-dot recognition functions to control image size and direction by [using your] fingers," meaning that a single press will translate into a left-click, while using two fingers will replicate a right-click. No word on resolution, price, or a release date just yet, but click on if you're down with a couple more pics.

Continue reading Dahan T&S shows off 42-inch widescreen multi-touch LCD

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