Has CAPTCHA Been "Broken"?

Source: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001001.html

Programmers don't seem to understand what makes a CAPTCHA difficult to "break". But it's not difficult to find out. Heck, the hackers themselves will tell you how to do CAPTCHA correctly if you just know where to look. For example, this Chinese hacker's page breaks down a number of common CAPTCHAs , and the price of software he sells to defeat them at a certain percentage success rate:

the9 100% $500
dvbbs 95% $1,000
Shanda 90% $1,500
Baidu 80% $3,000
eBay 70% $4,000
Ticketmaster 50% $6,000
Google (unbreakable)
Hotmail (unbreakable)
Yahoo (unbreakable)

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Olympus creates 360-degree HD camera and projector

from Engadget by Joshua Topolsky

Sure, regular HD is nice -- you really get a gander at an anchorman's makeup, and the stars' wrinkles are shocking -- but does it go far enough? Olympus doesn't think so. The camera company -- long known to bring the goods on the picture-takin' end -- has just created the first 360-degree, 1080i camera and projection solution. Utilizing a proprietary system based around an "axisymmetric free-form-surface lens," the camera can shoot video at horizontal and vertical viewing angles of 360-and-50-degrees, respectively; the images can then be projected in the same range by a separate unit. Obviously, you won't see this in the consumer sector any time soon, but it does open some pretty interesting opportunities for installations and security alike.

 

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Rockefeller Center Christmas tree goes LED

from Engadget by Donald Melanson

It looks like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will be a considerably smaller energy hog this holiday season than it has been in years past, as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced yesterday that the tree will be lit up with LED lights for the first time - 30,000 of 'em, to be specific. That'll apparently reduce the tree's energy consumption from 3,510 kilowatt hours per day to just 1,297 -- a savings that, as the AP points out, is roughly equivalent to the amount of electricity consumed by a typical 2,000-square-foot house in a month. While it's not clear if it'll be used for the tree or not, the owners of Rockefeller Center also took the opportunity to show off a new 365-panel solar array on the roof of one of the complex's buildings, which is apparently big enough to lay claim to the title of the largest privately owned solar roof in Manhattan. [Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]

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iPod touch has disabled audio line-in

from Engadget by Ryan Block

Not that it took a lot of convincing for us or anything, but it turns out the audio input pins on the iPod touch are apparently active and able to record audio after all. Unfortunately the site detailing the relatively simple hack has already been demolished by info-hungry touch owners, but this certainly opens an interesting door or two. Next stop: figuring out how to get the headphone jack to do the same. [Via TUAW]

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Sarcos' military exoskeleton becomes a frightening reality

from Engadget by Joshua Topolsky

Have you been waiting for a legion of half-man, half-machine storm troopers to descend upon your city and blaze a round of hellfire in all general directions? If you said yes, that's kind of weird. At any rate, you can consider yourself one step closer to cyborg annihilation thanks to a company called Sarcos and its semi-scary exoskeleton -- which will make any regular old soldier into a Terminator-like killing machine (as far as we can tell). Sure, they demo the unit lifting heavy equipment and reducing fatigue of the user, but we know what this thing is really for -- and it doesn't involve food drops. Check the video after the break to have your mind shattered into a million delicious pieces.

Continue reading Sarcos' military exoskeleton becomes a frightening reality

 

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