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Researchers Create Web Skeleton Key With 200 PS3s

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 8:40 AM on December 31, 2008

Using a cluster of 200 PS3s, an international group of researchers have crafted a "skeleton key" digital certificate that can perfectly impersonate any website on the internet.


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Software

Adobe Builds Web Time Machine Called Zoetrope

Posted by Wilson Rothman at 8:20 AM on December 6, 2008

Adobe researchers have constructed a time machine that lets you view any web page over time, scrolling to see changes in data. But the Zoetrope software that lets you watch pricing or news-story changes over time has even headier magic powers, too.


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Online

20,000-Light Remote-Controlled Crazy Xmas Lights Now Online

Posted by Jesus Diaz at 1:20 AM on December 5, 2008

Like every year, the Controllable Christmas Lights for Celiac Disease are now live, tackier and wonkier than ever, with more than 20,000 lights, plus inflatable Santa, Elmo, Frosty Family, SpongeBob, Homer, and even Hulk.


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Networks

Verizon to Announce Unlimited Web $US10 Connect Plan

One of our Verizon sources have also told us about a new plan called Connect, which is basically aimed at web-enabled mobiles, but not smartphones. According to him, the Connect option will be available on November 16 and it... Read More »

Online

Google Adding Text Messaging To Gchat in Gmail

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 4:45 PM on October 31, 2008

Those of you who use Gchat through Gmail can now send text messages to mobile phones. The function is experimental, so you have to go to the Labs tab inside of Gmail's settings (or click on that little green flask icon) to turn it on. Your messages will appear as a 406 number--once you've sent a text through gmail, that'll be your specific number. AIM's had this feature for a while, so it's not surprising that Google would implement it as well. Text your friends! See how it goes! [Webmonkey]


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Entertainment

Pandora and Other Webcasters Saved By Act of Congress

Posted by Wilson Rothman at 9:50 AM on October 1, 2008

Today the otherwise preoccupied Senate quickly passed the Webcaster Settlement Act many of you petitioned for, granting Pandora and other net radio services the right to negotiate royalties with the record industry's SoundExchange coalition for the years 2006 to 2015. OK, that's a mouthful—what it means is, they will likely not be driven to bankruptcy due to unreasonable royalty rates. I say "likely" because they still need to dot i's and cross t's on the royalty deal itself, but here, Congress approved their ability to do that, and just in the nick of time. Anyway, the world itself may be collapsing, but at least you know our legislators listened to your pleas to keep your favourite web radio broadcasters in business. [Digital Media Association]

Online

HealthMap Gives Lowdown on Disease Outbreaks, Could Save Lives

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 10:00 AM on July 20, 2008

Scientists are using the power of the web to track and find real disease outbreaks. Every hour, HealthMap, an infectious disease-tracking website, feeds off of news, public health list serves, and the World Health Organisation's online pages to survey the spread of infections. With help from Google, the program has identified 95 percent of all disease outbreaks, sometimes days before the WHO or international disease control agencies can announce them.


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Software

Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1 Now Available

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 3:30 AM on May 18, 2008

Go kick the tires and light the fires of Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1, which is now available for download at the Mozilla Firefox site. The update delivers a few aesthetic changes, as well as what Mozilla is calling major security enhancements. Users should also expect increased performance and stability for applications like Google Mail. There's an exhaustive list of known bugs to squash too, but that's par for the course with any software. [Firefox 3 RC1]


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Science

Spiderweb Solar-Wind Sail Proves Jor-El Was Right

Posted by Wilson Rothman at 12:15 AM on April 26, 2008

Laugh all you want at the sea-urchiny ship Jor-El used to send Kal-El to earth, but it looks a lot like the new kind of solar-sail array developed by the Finnish Meteorological Institute in Helsinki. Instead of the standard solar panels, the Finnish scientists propose long thin strands, just microns in diameter, that stretch out from the spaceship, and use a positive charge to repel heavy positive ions in the solar wind that move at hundreds of kilometers per second.


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Software

Sungevity Web App Makes Installing Solar Panels a Piece of Cake

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 6:30 AM on April 20, 2008

Eco start-up company Sungevity is launching a new web application on Earth Day (three days away, people!) that will take the guess work out of solar panel installations. Enter your address on Sungevity's website and satellite-imaging software will zoom in on your home, calculate your roof's dimensions, select the right sized solar arrays and calculate how much money you'll save on energy costs.


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