ATM Hacked Via Internet
Security researcher, Barnaby Jack, amazed attendees at the Black Hat security conference by hacking ATM machines by just using the internet. The two exploits are physical access to the ATM machine using a master key available online and the other dialing in remotely to gain access. Apparently Jack boasted that he can hacked into any ATM machines easily.
Jack said: This is the first time anyone has taken the approach of trying to attack the underlying software. It is time to find software defenses rather than hardware defenses. They have a flaw that lets me bypass all authentication on the device on the Internet, and I am the ATM at that stage.
Source: Hack attack hits ATM jackpots
Apple Debuted A New 27-inch LED Cinema Display
Apple’s new 27-inch LED Cinema Display comes with 2560×1440 resolution and 60% more screen real estate than the 24-inch LED Cinema Display. The display offers a built-in iSight video camera, a microphone and speakers, a USB 2.0 hub, and a universal MagSafe connector.
From Apple: The new, larger 27-inch LED Cinema Display features a beautiful 16:9 edge-to-edge glass display on an aluminum stand with an adjustable hinge that makes tilting the display almost effortless. The LED Cinema Display has vivid colors and exceptionally high contrast and uses a premium display technology called in-plane switching (IPS) to provide a brilliant image across an ultra wide 178 degree viewing angle.
Read the full press release on the new LED Cinema Display
Apple Launches New Product: Magic Trackpad
With the new iMac, Apple also throws in a new companion product that replaces a mouse, the Magic Trackpad.
From Apple: The new Magic Trackpad is the first Multi-Touch trackpad designed to work with your Mac desktop computer. It uses the same Multi-Touch technology you love on the MacBook Pro. And it supports a full set of gestures, giving you a whole new way to control and interact with what’s on your screen.
The trackpad is made from aluminum and glass and sells for $69.
Apple Rolls Out New iMac
Apple today updated its all-in-one iMac line featuring 21.5-inch or 27-inch screen and a choice of processors ranging from an Intel Core i3 for one of the two 21.5 inch versions, to a quad-core Intel Core i7 for the 27 inch. You can also get the Intel Core i5, paired with either the 21.5-inch or 27-inch iMac. The 21.5-inch screen features a 1920×1080 resolution screen; the 27-inch, 2560×1440.
Read Apple’s press release on the new iMac
LaCie Rugged Now Supports USB 3.0
LaCie has released the Rugged USB 3.0 using the new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface and the external hard drive comes with 500Gb. It also has a drop resistant up to 2.2 meters. The Rugged will cost $150 and retails in May.
NVidia Launches GTX 480 and GTX 470
Nvidia has finally revealed the new GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470 graphic cards based on next generation Fermi architecture. Finally Nvidia is playing catch up with ATI by releasing a DirectX 11 card.
New Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 would retail at $500 while GTX 470 for $350.
Nvidia Offers Fermi GF100 Specifications
NVIDIA’s next-generation gaming GPU, the Fermi GF100 graphics processor, has over 3 billion transistors, 16 Shader Multiprocessing core (SM cores) consisting of 32 Cuda cores each, PolyMorph Engine handles geometry on the GPU and is responsible for Vertex Fetch, Tessellation, Viewport Transform, Attribute Setup, and Stream Output functions.
Nvidia’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said, It’s a brand new architecture which is designed to be a computer first. We call it a supercomputer with the soul of a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).
The Fermi G100 Nvidia GPU will appear late February.
HP Webcams Do Not Track Black People
Check out this test video showing HP webcams do not track black people.
Here is what HP got to say about this anomaly:
Some of you may have seen or heard of a YouTube video in which the facial-tracking software didn’t work for a customer. We thank Desi, and the people who have seen and commented on his video, for bringing this subject to our attention.
We are working with our partners to learn more. The technology we use is built on standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose. We believe that the camera might have difficulty “seeing” contrast in conditions where there is insufficient foreground lighting.
Intel Launches Next-generation Atom Processor
Intel revealed its next-generation Pine Trail Atom N450 netbook processor, which features longer battery life, 60% smaller than current atom and improved system performance to low-cost laptops. The Atom N450 will run at a clock speed of 1.66GHz. Due to the size of the chip, laptops and tablets using this can be thinner.
For low cost desktop, Intel release the dual-core Atom D510 and the single-core Atom D410.
Blu-ray 3D Specifications Finalized
The Blu-ray Disc Association has announced the finalization of the Blu-ray 3D disc specifications, with support being confirmed for the Sony’s PlayStation 3. 3D Blu-ray will be out in 2010.
Do you need to upgrade hardware? No need, the specification support full 1080p resolution, backward compatibility for both 3D Blu-ray players and the 3D Blu-ray Discs. The new specification will use Multiview Video Coding, a variant of H.264 HD codec, that can separate 1080p pictures to each eye. All you need is the polarized 3D glasses to watch the effect.
PS3 will only require to have a software update to use 3D blu-ray capabilities.
