Code-Cracking and Computers

By Mark Ward <-- Click here for more Reference(Collado)

According to BBC News,"Bletchley Park is best known for the work done on cracking the German codes and helping to bring World War II to a close far sooner than might have happened without those code breakers."

"But many believe Bletchley should be celebrated not just for what it ended but also for what it started - namely the computer age.
The pioneering machines at Bletchley were created to help codebreakers cope with the enormous volume of enciphered material the Allies managed to intercept."

"The machine that arguably had the greatest influence in those early days of computing was Colossus - a re-built version of which now resides in the National Museum of Computing which is also on the Bletchley site."

The Mouse is Biting some PC Users

BBC News <-- Click here for more Reference(Collado)

As the computer mouse celebrates 40 years since its first public appearance, its role in every day routine has become widespread. The humble mouse gave people a way to interact with their computers - both at home and at work. What started off as a wooden shell with two metal wheels is now standard office equipment alongside the keyboard.

But this device is part of a rising problem costing the UK economy £300m a year in lost working time, sick pay and administration.

Office workers using computers constantly are at risk from repetitive strain injury (RSI), more recently known as non-specific arm pain (NSAP).

Report early

This is a collection of symptoms covering work-related upper limb problems, which can affect the hands, wrists, necks, arms and upper back.

There were 115,000 new cases last year, up from 86,000 the previous year, according to statistics by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Cyber Attacks

By Renay San Miguel <-- Click here for more Reference(Collado)

The commision of the intelligence reported a summarized recommendation for the new Obama administration to place a new plan of high priority on cybersecurity. The plan will consist of security standards which enable organizations to practice safe and provide better service techniques in order to minimize the number of successful cyber security attacks. The report is called "Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency," and one paragraph in its opening section succinctly sets forth the Internet-related challenges awaiting President-elect Barack Obama.

According to Technology News World, "cybersecurity is now a major security problem for the United States. Decisions and actions must respect privacy and civil liberties, and only a comprehensive national security strategy that embraces both the domestic and international aspects of cybersecurity will make us more secure."

Some of these recommendations that the major commision of intelligence have talked about are:

--->Create a White House office, assistant to the President for Cyberspace, to coordinate responses to cyberthreats across domestic, intelligence, military and economic elements of the government;

--->Give that office jurisdiction over cybersecurity elements in the Department of Homeland Security along with the National Cybersecurity Center and the Joint Inter-Agency Cyber Task Force.

--->Update laws to reflect 21st-century technologies;

--->Regulate cyberspace in a way that walks the tightrope between free markets and government mandates;

--->Make sure the U.S. government, the biggest buyer of IT products, is purchasing the best, most secure software and hardware;

--->Spend more money on cybersecurity research, development and education.


"Our research and interviews for this report made it clear that we face a long-term challenge in cyberspace from foreign intelligence agencies and militaries, criminals and others," the commission's report states, "and that this struggle will wreak serious damage on the economic health and national security of the U.S. unless we respond vigorously."

Pirates of the Amazon hits the rocks

By Leslie Katz <-- Click here for more Reference(Collado)

A reporting news was uptade today December 7th, 2008. According to CNET News, the journey of downloading illegal music, videos and programs for the pirates of Amazon.com has stoppped. This is not hard to believe, as I posted on my last journal many teenagers get in trouble, by looking for exploits and crack programs for their mini computer games, which they really believe is a low federal crime. The way of downloading

"On Thursday December 5th, 2008. A day after Webware reported on the plug-in, lawyers for Amazon.com took action. They served the Internet service provider of the two students who released the extension with a take-down notice--and the students complied and removed the tool", states

The New York Times

However, on their Web site, the students now say the plug-in was meant as an artistic parody, part of their research for a media design course at the Piet Zwart Institute of the Willem de Kooning Academy Hogeschool in Rotterdam Holland. "It was a practical experiment on interface design, information access, and currently debated issues in media culture," the students say.

Article by Dr. Howard Culbertson of Southern Nazarene University

By Dr. Howard Culbertson <-- Click here for more Reference(Collado)

As I have been reading Dr. Howard's article, I have notice that the Faith and Integration as Ministry Across the Curriculum is one of the most greatest ideas. Because besides the discipline that he is trying to point out as a Christian, he flourishes the resources of a theological tradition for a constructive purpose work in the field of Christianity and at the same time he tells us in different words that we as Christians, don't dig down to the level of first-hand.

The engagement in Christian College scholarships seems a lack of opportunity of development, a lack of development in in scholars that do not provide opportunities for students to read Scriptures well. We are practicing Faith and Integration but I bet that almost 20 % of students in Montreat college do not have a clue of what is it about. So, I believe that this slogan of Ministry is a good and the best way to provide a faculty development opportunity that will clearify this situation.

By Mark Ward <-- Click here for more Reference(Collado)

Alarm raised on teenage hackers

This video and article that Ward just added to a latest post of BBC News, tells us how to track a teenage hacker. It also says that the number of teenagers hacker is starting to increase among today's technology.

"Computer security professionals say many net forums are populated by teenagers swapping credit card numbers, phishing kits and hacking tips. The poor technical skills of many young hackers means they are very likely to get caught and arrested, they say. Youth workers added that any teenager getting a criminal record would be putting their future at risk."

Many teenagers got into low level crime by looking for exploits and cracks for their favourite computer games.

"Communities and forums spring up where people start to swap malicious programs, knowledge and sometimes stolen data.Some also look for exploits and virus code that can be run against the social networking sites popular with many young people. Some then try to peddle or use the details or accounts they net in this way."

Computer security professionals say many net forums are populated by teenagers swapping credit card numbers, phishing kits and hacking tips. The poor technical skills of many young hackers means they are very likely to get caught and arrested, they say.

A step closer to self-powered kit

BBC News last post, on December 4th<-- Click here for Reference(Collado)

A step closer to self-powered kit is the name given for devices, such as phones that charge when you speak into them, are one step closer to reality. Small devices could soon be powered with nothing more than ambient sound says BBC News, one of the most powerful broadcast of communication.

According to BBC, engineers have doubled the efficiency of piezoelectric devices that harvest energy from movement and vibration. The trick lies purely in the size of the devices: a narrow range of thicknesses around 5,000 times thinner than a human hair. The piezoelectric effect occurs in some crystalline and ceramic materials. Stretching or compressing them causes a separation of electric charge across their width, and that sets up a voltage that can be put to use.

Such piezoelectric materials have been in use for years in devices such as electronic lighters and microphones, where pressure from a thumb or even a sound wave is harvested.

More recently, plans to engineer piezoelectrics that collect energy from footsteps or the motion of clothing have made it to the drawing board. Several clubs even incorporate piezoelectrics into their dance floors, recycling a small part of the energy imparted by clubgoers.

I believe that technology has provided the whole world to develop more advanced economies and has allowed the rise of a lot of activities such as eating and sleeping, going to work or running a business, attending school and doing homework, household chores, and day-to-day stress.