Milly Dowler vanished in 2002. It set off a huge awareness in the UK, agnate to the Natalee Holloway case in the United States. Now, letters accept alike that News of the World hacked into her voicemail.

According to the New York Times:

[T]he bi-weekly not alone intercepted letters larboard at the cellphone amount of the girl, Milly Dowler, 13, by her added agitated ancestors afterwards her disappearance, but aswell deleted some of those letters if her articulation mailbox became abounding — appropriately authoritative allowance for new ones and alert to those in turn. This abashed board and gave apocryphal achievement to Milly's relatives, who believed it showed she was still animate and deleting the letters herself.

The News had already been bankrupt for hacking into the voicemail boxes of the UK's elite. Royals and celebrities and political leaders. But this time the accountable was a missing 13-year-old girl. And its accomplishments actively bedfast the investigation.

News of the World Grants "Unreserved Apology" to Victims of Voicemail Hacking Scandal News of the World Grants "Unreserved Apology" to Victims of Voicemail Hacking Scandal News of the World Grants "Unreserved Apology&

Eight victims of the News of the World's "phone hacking" aspersion accept accustomed an… Apprehend added Read more

I anticipate we can all accede this was reprehensible. But it will not be the endure time. The age of the hacker announcer is aloft us. We've heard so abundant about programmer journalists in the endure few years, who use programming abilities to crisis and present data, that we overlook about the about-face ancillary of an era of reporters who apperceive their way about a computer: hacking.

The announcer has continued been a attendant who passes forth information, which is sometimes illegally acquired (see: the Wikileaks cables, or the Pentagon Papers). But we're entering an era if abounding journalists accept the all-important abilities to actively abstract that advice themselves. Careers will be fabricated and baffled by hacker journalism.

Sometimes the advice that comes out of these will be for the accessible good. You'll see accumulated and government bribery exposed. But it's absolutely aswell traveling to be abused. We're traveling to be account celebrities' emails and examination clandestine articles beneath development. (And of course, the about-face is accurate as well. HP abundantly afraid into reporters' abstracts to try and amount out area centralized leaks were advancing from.)

Yet if laws are broken, we'll rarely apperceive it. It has taken about a decade for the Milly Dowler aspersion to appear from the time her voicemail was hacked. Hacking is calmly covered up. It's simple to abode accusation on a source. Afterwards all, if a anchorman is accommodating to breach the law, why not go one footfall added and adumbrate abaft a non-existant bearding source? (See, for example, Michael Gallagher, who did just that with Chiquita's voicemails.)

In short, this is the new normal. A new apparatus in the reporter's arsenal, admitting one we'll alone apprehend about if anyone gets busted.

You can accumulate up with Mat Honan, the columnist of this post, on Twitter or Facebook.

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When I was a kid, I acclimated to anticipate all celebrities were like 30 anxiety tall, back they attending appealing gigantic on the big screen. Then I got older, and heard awful rumors about how dwarf-y humans like Sly Stallone and Tom Cruise absolutely were, but I didn't absolutely accept it, back I couldn't absolutely assemblage 'em up to myself. My angled adolescence perceptions accept been absolutely burst by the Who Alpine Are You? Mirror, which notches out the heights of your all admired (and reviled) celebrities for head-to-head (or not!) comparison. For instance, did you apperceive that Kid Rock is in fact a giant, aerial over NBA abundant Charles Barkley? Educational and mindblowing. [Suck.uk via MAKE]

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Yesterday, we got a attending at a fun (if creepy) little bit of tech that claims to accord us a blink at our grizzled, age-stricken faces in 20 years' time. What we got was certainly... something. So we absitively to put the Future Self software to the real test, by inputting celebrities as they were 20 years ago and comparing the after-effects to how they attending now. It's terrifying.

Using photos from 1994-ish, we put 10 celebrities through the facial recognition-ringer to see how carefully their CGI-based avant-garde forms would bout the after-effects of actual aging. In some cases—Meryl Streep, for instance—the computer in fact got appealing abuse close. In others—say, Haley Joel Osment—Father Time was far crueler than anyone could accept predicted.

Here are our 10 abstracts in all their glory. And feel chargeless to play for yourself and allotment your after-effects down below. Because you can never accept too abundant daydream fuel.

Gary Busey

Morgan Freeman

Jennifer Aniston

Meryl Streep

Brad Pitt

Glenn Close

Steve Buscemi

Haley Joel Osment

Barbara Walters

Oprah

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Did you blink during the Super Bowl bartering breaks? Too bad if you did, because it agency you may accept absent the bloodless amount of apparatus or tech-related commercials account talking about tomorrow at the baptize cooler. But! Megan Fox!

Megan Fox is an accessible choice, for accessible affidavit (if she's your thing): She had a Motoblur, and we're a apparatus blog! See? Obvious. Anyway, tweeting from a tub on her new phone, she advised what would arise if she beatific a account of her bathing out to the world. Hijinks ensued, humans were hurt, and even a gay brace somehow got absent by the fox that is Megan Fox:

And such is the ability of Fox that there were scenes that didn't accomplish the final cut.

Then there was Beyonce, beginning off her Grammy performance, assuming afresh for Vizio. Surrounded by Internet memes and celebrities, Twitter and what appeared to be an army of auto accumulation band robots (hopefully not ones from Toyota), she sang and awash that company's Via/Internet Apps technology. Think Internet on your HDTV, not because I say so or because that's absolutely what it is, but because that's the bulletin Vizio assaulted admirers with during the 60-second clip:

Tough adulation was the adventure for Intel's Jeffrey the Robot. The bartering was allegedly for Intel's Amount processor line, but I apperceive the truth: Robot uprising. It 20 years' time we can all attending aback at this commercial, if poor Jeffrey was snubbed For The Last Time by his animal overlords:

Lastly, there's one we in fact covered yesterday. Google. Its agitating ad about a search-happy boy in adulation with a French babe aired yesterday, on the Internet, which is apparently fitting. We'll revisit it afresh actuality if you absent it tonight:

Google's Superbowl Ad Has Google CEO Eric Schmidt All Atwitter Google's Superbowl Ad Has Google CEO Eric Schmidt All Atwitter Google's Superbowl Ad Has Google CEO Eric Schm

Curious. Very curious. Eric Schmidt, arch Googler, just Tweeted about his action for… Apprehend added Read more

Sigh.

Personally, for me the ads were a bit dried this year. Even the Bud Light beer ads, which accept fabricated me beam out loud on break in years past, acquainted a little tired. Betty White was a standout though, and there were back-to-back ads depicting developed men in their underwear. Possibly a aboriginal there. Also a first: Seeing a cheating babyish allocution about eTrade while his "milk-a-holic" babe on the ancillary blew up his bits over a webcam.

The one Bud Light ad I will accord backdrop to, however, was their Autotune bit. It's a amplitude including actuality on Gizmodo, but we accept a history with that app (iPhone, anyone?), and we'll yield an befalling actuality to acknowledge Budweiser for hopefully killing the tech off for acceptable with this Super Bowl ad:

OK, I accept it, I smiled a bit watching that a additional time. Guilty.

The absolute crop is over at YouTube in one acceptable package (Fox's is conspicuously absent at the moment, although they arise to be afterlight throughout the night).

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In 2007, I got an email from San Francisco. A big automated architecture appointment was advancing to boondocks and Bay Area hotels were predictably overbooked and overpriced. Two designers capital to advice their accompany acquisition affordable, un-scary places to stay, so they started a website alleged AirBed & Breakfast.

The two designers were Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky, who came up with the abstraction afterwards chief to hire out allotment of their SOMA attic for the conference. And they were acutely assimilate something. Here, added designers could hire out their apartments, their rooms, or their couches to appointment attendees—some of the hosts even threw in wifi, coffee, and beautiful acceptable kits.

Although CouchSurfing.org or VRBO.com were absolute at the time, this abstraction of a designer-to-designer exchange in fact articulate like a ablaze idea. Conference-attending designers could assurance (for the a lot of part) added designers to accept (for the a lot of part) analogously comfortable homes, and those designers could assurance (for the a lot of part) that added designers would not debris the place. Plus, the architecture association is a baby world, and the affairs of hosts and guests accepting a acquaintance in accepted were appealing good. I quickly wrote up the website for the architecture blog I was alteration at the time, publishing one of the aboriginal belief on AirBed & Breakfast, or as we apperceive it now, Airbnb.

In the six years since, I've watched with account as Airbnb grew into one of the a lot of acknowledged startups on the planet. It's now admired at over $2 billion and lists backdrop in over 34,000 cities. But some of those cities accept been friendlier than others. In my own L.A. neighborhood, the adjacency lath has introduced a motion to ban it outright, adage that Airbnb rentals actualize noise, cartage and parking issues, "bring transients" and aching acreage values. In New York City-limits endure week, an appeals lath antipodal an beforehand accomplished levied adjoin an Airbnb host for operating an actionable auberge (this was the aforementioned case area a judge declared Airbnb illegal in May). And on Friday, the New York State advocate accepted issued a amendment demanding user abstracts of Airbnb hosts, a motion that Airbnb says they're fighting to assure user privacy.

Adjudicator Rules That Airbnb Is Illegal in New York (Updated) Adjudicator Rules That Airbnb Is Illegal in New York (Updated) Adjudicator Rules That Airbnb Is Illegal in New York (Up

Bad account for those gluttonous or alms bargain adaptation over the internet: a New York adjudicator has… Apprehend added Read more

Advocate Accepted Subpoenaed Abstracts on 15,000 Airbnb Hosts in New York Advocate Accepted Subpoenaed Abstracts on 15,000 Airbnb Hosts in New York Advocate Accepted Subpoenaed Abstracts on 15,000 Airbnb

New York State Advocate Accepted Eric Schneiderman has issued a amendment "demanding user… Apprehend added Read more

These contempo developments prompted Airbnb co-founder Chesky to address "Who we are, what we angle for" on the Airbnb blog endure week. It reads like a manifesto. In the statement, he proposes some appealing across-the-board promises: new legislation that makes home rentals added clear, a acquaintance hotline to accord with complaints, and even the achievability that Airbnb ability anon crave its association to pay an control tax (the city-limits tax you're appropriate to pay at a hotel; a agnate action over this tax is accident in San Francisco). Chesky even highlights some of the 15,000 New York City-limits hosts, humans who are "at the average assets level... added than bisected of them depend on Airbnb to advice them break in their home:"

They cover hosts like Teya, a apprentice who loves affable for her guests and will use the money she has becoming on Airbnb to buy her accommodation in Harlem. Or Javier from Brooklyn, who works in the restaurant business and brand to appearance off his admired Latin ball spots to travelers from every bend of the globe. And hosts like Lauren and her bedmate who are application the money they acquire on Airbnb to pay off their apprentice loans.

Chesky's abrupt acknowledgment isn't surprising. The aggregation has consistently acted bound in the face of conflict, abacus accountability allowance afterwards a awful bearings area a woman's abode was beggared and ransacked, for example, and added recently, a new analysis process.

Woman Utterly Pillaged via Airbnb Woman Utterly Pillaged via Airbnb Woman Utterly Pillaged via Airbnb

A San Franciscan has acquaint a agonizing account of a counterfeit Airbnb bedfellow actually actionable her … Apprehend added Read more

Airbnb Is Just Now Verifying Hosts and Guests Airbnb Is Just Now Verifying Hosts and Guests Airbnb Is Just Now Verifying Hosts and Guests

Airbnb is starting to action something alleged Verified ID--meaning, it's assuredly making… Apprehend added Read more

But the botheration I accept is that while Airbnb is acting like they're like some affectionate of savior for New York's poor abandoned homeowners, over in L.A., they're bankrolling being like this:

This pop-up home co-designed by James Franco was allotment of a massive citywide attack allowance Airbnb accretion absorption in L.A.

Last anniversary in L.A., Airbnb was affianced in a massive affairs attack alleged Hello LA, captivation challenge at 5 pop-up "experiences"—essentially tricked out billet houses—in 5 altered neighborhoods, in affiliation with celebrities like James Franco (who advised his YOLO abode for a cemetery), Moby, and Anjelica Huston. Airbnb accommodating bright workshops and concerts, and one advantageous challenge champ got to beddy-bye in Franco's YOLO adulation den (I assume he wasn't there...?).

I couldn't advice but apprehension how far this Airbnb seemed to be from that "Who we are" manifesto. Area were those humans aggravating to pay their mortgages and get through school? Celebrities!!!

Earlier this year, my acquaintance Anya Kamenetz eloquently dissected the absolute affair adverse Airbnb in her Fast Company adventure "Is Airbnb In fact Acceptable for New York?" She bent that, yes, Airbnb ability be acceptable for a city-limits because it ability acquiesce a aggregation to break longer, absorb added tourism dollars and advance those dollars about to residential neighborhoods that don't usually see the cash. Guests can aswell accept added personal, accurate interactions with that adjacency and its residents, which is a bigger acquaintance for everyone. But she aswell highlights what she calls the "spring breakers effect." If your neighbors hire their abode too much, or are apparition homeowners who use their acreage carefully for concise rentals, it increases the affairs that you'll accept anyone puking off the balustrade aloft castigation on a Saturday night. I'm not adage it will consistently be the case, but it actually makes it added likely.

In New York City, Airbnb claims 87 percent of its users hire the houses in which they live. The added 13 percent are apparently those apparition homeowners. These are "people" like Skyline Luxury Rentals (they didn't even try to use absolute names!) that use Airbnb to account their McMansions out actuality in California. It's accessible that Airbnb badly wants a allotment of that high-end rental service—growing its account of architecturally cogent buildings, alms able photography for hosts, introducing a Pinterest-y Wish Account feature, captivation those splashy concerts at the Viper Room. But it's those kinds of rentals are entirely altered entities if it comes to the renter, the city, and a lot of importantly, the neighbors.

11 Architectural Masterworks You Can Hire on Airbnb 11 Architectural Masterworks You Can Hire on Airbnb 11 Architectural Masterworks You Can Hire on Airbn

As Airbnb has expanded, it's appear beneath blaze from ornery landlords and alert neighbors--being… Apprehend added Read more

Airbnb's new Neighborhood Guides acquaint renters to altered areas of a city-limits and advice highlight rentals off the baffled path

Airbnb should action to acquiesce humans to hire their homes and amount out a way to do it that's fair to both the homeowner and the city-limits (this will be sticky, as control taxes alter so broadly from city-limits to city). But the 13 percent of non-resident hosts? They should actually be paying that minimum control tax—and maybe more.

What I'd absolutely like to see is a way for Airbnb to yield that abstracts that the New York State advocate accepted wants and use it to clarify out, or at atomic separate, the 13 percent—maybe alarm it Airbnb Pro—to get Airbnb aback to what it was originally all about.

Airbnb is accomplishing abounding things right. But the best affair they've anytime done, in my opinion, is a simple amusing feature: If you log in with Facebook, you'll see who of your accompany is accompany with any Airbnb host, a quick and simple way to validate the being and the property. That tiny detail, I feel, is abutting to the "heart and soul" of the aboriginal eyes that Gebbia and Chesky had for the aggregation if I wrote about them six years ago: absolute humans renting their absolute homes to added absolute people.

Top angel and YOLO abode angel address Airbnb.

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Last anniversary a alternation ablaze with LED lights chugged into Oakland's 16th Street Station, its final destination on a 3,000 mile, ten-city blare stop art accident orchestrated by Doug Aitken alleged Station to Station.

This Glowing Alternation Is Bringing Art, Music, and Yurts to Middle America This Glowing Alternation Is Bringing Art, Music, and Yurts to Middle America This Glowing Alternation Is Bringing Art, Music, and Yur

The best music and art anniversary of 2013 isn’t accident in a esplanade or on a boat. It’s demography place… Apprehend added Read more

You can analyze the project's website for affidavit of some of the cross-country installations and performances, which ambit from a kinetic cartoon apparatus by Olafur Eliasson, to Patti Smith arena in St. Paul, to Thurston Moore account balladry in Pittsburgh, to Lawrence Weiner adopting a banderole in Winslow, Arizona, to Beck, Urs Fischer, Kenneth Anger and abounding added artists transforming L.A.'s Union Station into a massive multimedia concert hall.

But the train itself, fabricated from nine best cars and abounding contributions from artists, is aswell account a look.

Station to Station formed with an aggregation alleged Friends of 261, which owns a lot of of the alternation cars acclimated for the project. Friends of 261 architect Steve Sandberg rode forth to accord cartage a history lesson about the trains.

The "Cedar Rapids," for example, was allegedly Frank Sinatra's admired car; he'd buy every bench on lath if traveling amid gigs. Here, the seats accept been accustomed a assay with bolt by artisan Jorge Pardo.

The project's artists and agents got to break in sleeping compartments on the train—like this one in the "Silver Quail" car, congenital in 1952.

Cars like the "Minnesota River," meanwhile, action a abundant abundance that you just don't see on today's Amtrak trains. Bring aback the clover curtains, please!

The cars aswell had to serve commonsensical duties for the photographers, writers and filmmakers documenting the project, so the "St. Croix Valley," for example, was adapted into a adaptable assembly studio.

With instruments and recording equipment, the "Wisconsin Valley" aswell became a full-fledged recording studio, acclimated by artists to almanac music and complete forth the way.

The "Mojave" car was sponsored by Levi's and featured Navajo-themed decor, blessed hours at 5:01 p.m. (get it?), and, of course, a vintage typewriter that tweets.

Other cars, like the 99-year-old "Lambert's Point," were larboard acquiescently untouched. This car has hosted affluence of celebrities over the years and Bill and Hillary Clinton acclimated it for campaign stops aback in 1996.

The accomplished affair added up to one hell of a adrift hipster rave, but I admiration what, if any, the appulse had on alternation travel—or conceivably alternation awareness—in the U.S. I did allocution to some humans who didn't apperceive it was accessible to biking from L.A. to Oakland via train, for example. Conceivably it won over a few advocates for accelerated abuse projects beyond the country, or drew absorption to alone alternation stations in assertive cities. It absolutely glamorized alternation travel, which is not consistently as airy and admirable as Station to Station fabricated it look.

Amtrak should yield agenda of how adorable this archetypal ability be to abeyant passengers—original trains with a ablaze abreast architecture touch, maybe even an on-board artisan or artist in-residence, like an Ace Hotel on wheels.

If the Station to Station alternation started active approved routes and let accustomed association buy tickets, I'd absolutely get on board.

[All photos by Ye Rin Mok except Minnesota River and Wisconsin Valley by Mara McKevitt; via Station to Station]

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The Internet is a huge place. Some locations of it are awesome, but others are...less so. And falling absolutely in that closing class is the age-old .su domain, once the cyberhome of the Soviet Union. It's not absolutely able-bodied maintained, or able-bodied policed, which is why added and added online abyss are application it as a hideout.

Assigned to the -to-be non-existent Soviet Union 23 years ago, the .su TLD has been an drop for best than it had a country to alarm home. But clashing the TLDs for Yugoslavia or East Germany, it didn't abandon with its nation-state namesake acknowledgment to adamant attrition by its owners of the time.

Until recently, the .su area has been the home of weird, but legitimate sites. But if the administrators for Russia's .ru got a little added austere about what they would and wouldn't allow, scammers and hackers akin began to drift to the out-dated .su, which saw its citizenry of sites bifold in 2011, and afresh in 2012.

From the Associated Press:

The a lot of belled website was Exposed.su, which purportedly appear acclaim annal acceptance to President Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, Republican presidential challengers Mitt Romney and Donald Trump, and celebrities including Britney Spears, Jay Z, Beyonce and Tiger Woods. The website is now defunct.

Other Soviet sites are acclimated to ascendancy botnets—the name accustomed to the networks of hijacked computers acclimated by abyss to abandoned coffer accounts, crank out spam, or barrage attacks adjoin battling websites.

The area is currently controlled by the Moscow-based nonprofit Foundation for Internet Development, who've been acclimation it back 2007. And with the contempo bang of coarse sites, the plan is to bind things down a bit, starting with a new action rolling out this summer.

.su is home to some 120,000 sites—a amount of which are in fact legitimate—so shutting it down absolutely would be cool difficult. Hopefully the allotment lock-down can accomplish it beneath of a weirdly anachronistic cyberspace anchorage for evil. But hey, we could apparently get at atomic one added "James Bond vs. the Soviets" cine out of this, right? [PhysOrg]

Image by Shutterstock / Andersphoto

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Steve Jobs took another medical leave of absence beforehand this year with no estimated acknowledgment date. The National Enquirer has now appear some alarming searching photos of Steve, which characterize him searching thinner and conceivably added ill than ever. (Photos in the advance aloft by Nick Stern)

Steve Jobs Taking Medical Leave of Absence From Apple Steve Jobs Taking Medical Leave of Absence From Apple Steve Jobs Taking Medical Leave of Absence From Ap

A announcement from Steve Jobs was beatific to all Apple advisers today, advertence that Jobs will yield a medical … Apprehend added Read more

The Enquirer followed him from breakfast to the Stanford Cancer Center. It says he has weeks to live, based on assay of the photos by Dr. Gabe Mirkin and Dr. Samuel Jacobson. Neither are oncologists or accept apparent Steve in person. Mirkin, a radio allocution actualization host, claims he has a "20-year clue almanac of spotting breakthroughs and advising able treatments continued afore they become accepted medical care" and makes his appraisal of Steve based on the actualization of Steve's base in the photos. Yes, this doctor is authoritative a butt-diagnosis, remotely.

The National Enquirer has been appropriate about things before, like the John Edwards affair. These photos do characterize Steve. (We're alone assuming allotment of the image.) And Steve actual acceptable was at the Stanford Cancer Center, back Radar is apart advertisement it as well.

No one knows why he was there—no one has apparent the medical records. The Enquirer is aswell amiss a lot—especially if it comes to proclaiming that celebrities accept simple weeks to live. (Patrick Swayze, God absolve him, exhausted their abominable prognosis by a year. Kirstie Alley and Oprah will both be asleep in a brace years by the Enquirer's reckoning.) The photos are shocking, but about every annual retouches photos.

Models' Real Faces, Afore The Photoshop Magic Models' Real Faces, Afore The Photoshop Magic Models' Real Faces, Afore The Photoshop Magic

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And just a brace weeks ago, Steve was supposedly spotted on Apple campus searching agile with a "full, 18-carat smile."

We achievement that the Enquirer is wrong. And that's what our gut tells us. But who knows. [National Enquirer, Photos in section by Nick Stern]

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What Is Dead May Never Die - Kadavr Exquis

This beauteous section of beginning action by Netherlands-based clear artisan and artist Kadavr Exquis celebrates our analog history. [Cartoon Brew]

TrippyStix Reinvents Itself, Finds a Niche Among Hip-Hop Celebrities

When the Trippy Stick aboriginal debuted endure Fall, it ran on butane, included a congenital grinder, and came in black. It did not end well. Now, TrippyStix has rebuilt its carriageable vaporizer—like completely. The butane arrangement and grinder are now gone—making way for a rechargeable Li-ion ability antecedent and inline array monitor. What's more, it now runs alone on assortment oil. That sounds glossy and all, until you apprehend that assortment oil costs almost bifold what accepted greenery does, $50 a gram. Luckily money is no article for the brand of Whiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg, and the assembly of added rappers that accept been featuring the TS in abundant videos as of late. [Trippy Stix via Big Buds Magazine]

Black Sabbath - Live in Paris at the Theatre Olympia in 1970

Oh man what an alarming show. About center in Ozzy bites the arch off a bulge somebody throws onstage. Epic.

Scientist Creates Pizza Healthy Enough to Eat 3 Times a Day, Every Day

Y-yes, it is alone now that pizza is safe to eat three times a day. Of course. *Quietly puts fourth allotment of the morning aback in the fridge*

Florida Strikes Back

Duwayne Henderson and Davis Dawkins, both 19, anticipation they had the absolute heist. Roll into Palms the Internet Cafe in Marion County with a blaster and a baseball bat and alpha arising orders. Unfortunately, they forgot they were in Florida, area just about anybody can get a buried backpack permit. Anybody in this case getting Samuel Williams, who pulled out his .380 if the crooks' backs were angry and proceeded accessible fire. The alone affair missing from this video is some Yakkity Sax as they abatement over themselves aggravating to get away.

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Nokia couldn't sustain retail food for long, but acutely HTC hasn't faced the aforementioned botheration just yet—did anyone apperceive they had food accessible in Russia and the Czech Republic?

Nokia's New York and Chicago Flagship Food Closing Too Nokia's New York and Chicago Flagship Food Closing Too Nokia's New York and Chicago Flagship Food C

The award was cut on Nokia's New York and Chicago flagship food in 2006, but just three… Apprehend added Read more

PocketNow has appear that HTC opened its aboriginal anytime abundance in Prague in the Czech Republic just endure month. Coincidentally, Prague just so happened to be the aforementioned city-limits Nokia chose to accessible its aboriginal abundance in too, apparently. A brace of weeks later, HTC cut the award on its Moscow store, which may be abate but shows HTC has a bright ambition with its branding.

Largely acknowledgment to the actuality that they threw their weight abaft Android from an aboriginal stage, and in fact bother authoritative accouterments that is aces of the OS it runs on, it's now become actual "cool" to be apparent with a HTC phone. Perhaps HTC stores will anon become the new alliance abode to analysis emails and rub amateur with accessory celebrities? [911sniper.blog and MobilMania and YouHTC via Pocketnow]

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Although 81 percent of the accompaniment is experiencing an "extreme drought," for abounding locations of California there is no credible baptize shortage. Visit the highest-income neighborhoods and you'll see abundant lawns and sparkling fountains defiantly sucking our aspect from the Earth. Apparently, as anchorman Ann Louise Bardach begin in autograph for Politico, the affluent will do whatever it takes to accumulate themselves moist.

To acquisition out how celebs administer to abide so hydrated, Bardach visited Montecito, a tiny, chic city-limits just southeast of Santa Barbara. Montecito is acclaimed for abounding reasons, including accepting some of the accomplished absolute acreage ethics in the country. That, commutual with its adjacency to L.A., makes it a anchorage for celebrities, who accept amassed their estates forth the arcadian coast.

But the a lot of acclaimed Montecito citizen of all is Oprah. Ms. Winfrey owns at atomic two homes here, and endure year her baptize bill about topped $125,000. This year, it's about bisected of that, acknowledgment to the affecting measures she's taken to barrier her use of the city-limits baptize supply. But that doesn't agency she's acid aback on baptize consumption. Noooo. She and abounding added celebs are now accepting their baptize imported. As Bardach reported:

These days, tankers can be apparent barreling down Montecito's attenuated country anchorage day and night, ferrying up to 5,000 gallons of H20 to some of the world's richest and thirstiest folks...

...Bob Hazard, a retired auberge CEO who writes a account cavalcade for the Montecito Journal, says he would not be afraid if some of the town's wealthiest are "paying as abundant as $15,000 a ages for trucked-in water."

In acknowledgment to the drought, and conceivably because so abounding association are shipment their H2O from god knows where, Montecito was able to cut its baptize acceptance by 48 percent by laying down some appealing austere attention efforts, like prohibiting homeowners from refilling pools or watering their polo fields.

This includes ample fines for baptize wasters, although it's not bright if that's in fact black anyone from alteration their behavior. According to Bardach's report:

In May, 837 defiant—or careless—residents coughed up $532,000 in penalties, or a aggregate overage of about 13 actor gallons of boondocks water. The beachfront Biltmore Four Seasons was whacked with a amends of $48,000 for application about one actor gallons over its allocation in April, while a adjacent clandestine home sucked up a $30,000 accomplished for the ages for acquisitive an added 750,000 gallons. The commune receives about 30 appeals a week. Those who do not pay their bills accept shut off notices— and about 400 were beatific out in the endure year. The Montecito Baptize District, which is decidedly alert about its patrons, admits it will rake in abutting to $4 actor in fines this year.

I see the aforementioned affair accident actuality in L.A. The city-limits is beneath similar baptize restrictions as Montecito, and you can address anyone for breaking the rules. Yet as you drive west through the neighborhoods of Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, and Brentwood, the lawns miraculously abound greener. I in fact approved in arrogant the added day to acquisition at atomic one backyard which had been sacrificed for the greater acceptable and could not. If you see one, amuse forward me a photo.

With the all-inclusive acreage of acreage that all these higher-income homes occupy, these estates could collectively accept the greatest appulse on baptize conservation. And wouldn't a celebrity's arid chicken lawn, captured by the paparazzi, be a abundant way to get added homeowners to jump on the bandwagon? That's not acceptable to happen. As in Montecito, they'll apparently just accumulate on truckin'. A lot of of the humans in these neighborhoods are artlessly too affluent to care. [Politico]

Top photo Richard Vogel/AP

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There are rumors that Christian Bale would play Steve Jobs in the good Jobs movie—written by Aaron Sorkin. But who can play the alarming Steve Wozniak? He's one of my claimed heroes and I'm accepting a harder time apperception it. So I asked him about his opinion. Here's his reply:

The botheration is that actors and celebrities are not my thing. I pay little absorption to them and don't bethink abounding of their names. It's easier to anticipate of which amateur I ability wish to play added people. When it's yourself, it's actual harder to attending at others and adjudicator it that well. Also, my personality has confused a abundant accord back the time anatomy of this cine and now. I would achievement that they acquisition an amateur who can play a lot of close cerebration but calmness on the outside. A abstruse antic artist who shuns any accent for claimed reasons.

I'm abiding that others will accept abounding acceptable suggestions but I assurance the casting department. They are actual accurate in their choices for such a top account cine so I assurance them. There is no way to apprehend perfection. It's like affairs a new car and consistently attention it from dents. I adopt to let the dents appear and alarm it 'character'.

I like to antic that I apprehend about myself (or watch movies) to acquisition out who I am and who I accept to be, which is a way to see a lot of absurdity but not get upset. Happiness = smiles - frowns and this minimizes frowning. I apparently will not accept any acumen of the selection, or of the film, until the aboriginal time I see it.

Makes absolute sense.

Perhaps you accept some suggestion? He generally reads Gizmodo and posts in the comments, so I'm abiding he will adore your input.

Add the name of the amateur and a photo in the comments, additional why you anticipate he would be acceptable at arena Woz.

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In a apple area aegis cameras are about as all-over as ablaze fixtures, anyone is consistently watching you. But the aloof adeptness not consistently be who you anticipate it is.

Three of the a lot of accepted brands of closed-circuit surveillance cameras are awash with limited internet admission enabled by default, and with anemic countersign aegis - a archetypal compound for aegis abortion that could acquiesce hackers to accidentally tap into the video feeds, according to new research.

The cameras, acclimated by banks, retailers, hotels, hospitals and corporations, are generally configured insecurely - acknowledgment to these architect absence settings, according to researcher Justin Cacak, arch aegis architect at Gotham Digital Science. As a result, he says, attackers can appropriate ascendancy of the systems to appearance reside footage, archived footage or ascendancy the administration and zoom of cameras that are adjustable.

"You can about appearance these accessories from anywhere in the world," Cacak said, acquainted that he and his aegis aggregation were able to accidentally appearance footage assuming aegis guards authoritative circuit in facilities, "exceptionally absorbing and absolute footage" from cameras placed in accessible elevators, as able-bodied as footage captured by one activating camera installed at a academy campus, which had the adeptness to zoom anon into the windows of academy abode rooms.

Cacak and his aggregation were able to appearance footage as allotment of assimilation tests they conducted for audience to bare aegis vulnerabilities in their networks. The aggregation begin added than 1,000 closed-circuit TV cameras that were apparent to the internet and appropriately affected to limited compromise, due to inherent vulnerabilities in the systems and to the addiction of the companies to configure them insecurely.

The inherent vulnerabilities, he said, can be begin in at atomic three of the top makers of standalone CCTV systems that he and his advisers advised - MicroDigital, HIVISION, CTRing - as able-bodied as a abundant amount of added companies that advertise rebranded versions of the systems.

CCTV video surveillance systems are deployed at entrances and exits to accessories as able-bodied as in areas advised to be sensitive, such as coffer vaults, server rooms, analysis and development labs and areas area big-ticket accessories is located. Typically, the cameras are calmly spotted on ceilings and walls, but they can aswell be hidden to adviser advisers and others afterwards their knowledge.

Obtaining crooked admission to such systems could acquiesce thieves to case a ability afore breaking into it, about-face cameras abroad from areas they don't wish monitored or zoom in on acute affidavit or ancestor articles at a workstation. The cameras could aswell be acclimated to spy on hospitals, restaurants and added accessories to analyze celebrities and others who enter.

Remote admission adequacy is a acceptable affection in abounding of CCTV systems because it allows aegis cadre to appearance video augment and ascendancy cameras via the internet with laptops or adaptable phones. But it aswell makes the systems accessible to alfresco hackers, decidedly if they're not set up securely. If the affection is enabled by absence aloft purchase, barter may not apperceive this is the case or accept that they should yield appropriate accomplish to defended the systems as a result.

"All the ones we begin accept limited admission enabled by default," Cacak says. "Not all the barter may be acquainted [of this]…. Because a lot of humans appearance these [video feeds] via animate screens, they may not be acquainted that they can be accidentally accessed."

Compounding the botheration is the actuality that the systems appear deployed with absence easy-to-guess passwords that are hardly afflicted by customers. They aswell don't lock-out a user afterwards a assertive amount of incorrect countersign guesses. This agency that even if a chump changes the password, an antagonist can able it through a bruteforce attack.

Many of the absence passwords Cacak and his aggregation begin on CCTV systems were "1234″ or "1111." In a lot of cases the username was "admin" or "user."

"We acquisition about 70 percent of the systems accept not had the absence passwords changed," Cacak said.

Because abounding barter who use the systems don't bind admission to computers from trusted networks, nor do they log who is accessing them, Cacak said owners generally cannot acquaint if a limited antagonist is in their arrangement examination video footage from alfresco the network.

To advice companies actuate if their CCTV systems are vulnerable, Cacak's aggregation formed with Rapid7 to aftermath a bore for its Metasploit software targeting CCTV systems fabricated by MicroDigital, HIVISION and CTRing or awash by added companies beneath a altered name. Metasploit is a testing apparatus acclimated by administrators and aegis professionals to actuate if their systems are accessible to attack, but it's aswell acclimated by hackers to acquisition and accomplishment accessible systems.

The bore can actuate if a specific user account, such as "admin," exists on a targeted CCTV system, and it can aswell conduct automated log-in attempts application accepted absence passwords, animal force a countersign able on systems application alien passwords, admission reside as able-bodied as recorded CCTV footage, and alter cameras that are adjustable. HD Moore, arch aegis administrator at Rapid7, said they're alive on a scanner bore that will advice locate CCTV systems that are affiliated to the internet.

Earlier this year, Moore and addition researcher from Rapid7 begin agnate vulnerabilities in video-conferencing systems. The advisers begin they were able to accidentally admission appointment apartment in some of the top adventure basic and law firms beyond the country, as able-bodied as biologic and oil companies and even the boardroom of Goldman Sachs - all by artlessly calling in to apart videoconferencing systems that they begin by accomplishing a browse of the internet.

They were able to accept in on meetings, accidentally beacon a camera about rooms, as able-bodied as zoom in on items in a allowance to apprehend proprietary advice on documents.

Cacak said that barter application CCTV systems should attenuate limited admission if they don't charge it. If they do charge it, they should change the absence countersign on the systems to one that is not calmly absurd and add clarification to anticipate any cartage from non-trusted computers from accessing the systems.

Image by MIKI Yoshihito/Flickr

Wired.com has been accretion the accumulate apperception with technology, science and beatnik ability account back 1995.

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Our acquaintance Mark Rober from NASA makes some alarming videos, but this science agreement accept to be his best yet. He basically showed that six percent of the drivers out there are barbarous beastly killers.

This is what he did:

• He alternatively placed a elastic animal—and a blade as a ascendancy object—on the accept of a road: a turtle, a snake, or a spider.

• He watched one thousand cars canyon by and annotated the drivers' reaction.

The after-effects are actually surprising.

He begin out that 94 percent of drivers did what anyone in their sane apperception would do: accumulate active on their lane. Remember that the animals were on the road's shoulder, way outside their active path. They didn't affectation any crisis whatsoever to the drivers' safety.

On the added hand, six percent went out of the active lane to run over the animals. Anticipate about that: sixty out of one thousand drivers in fact went out of their way to annihilate a active affair that didn't represent any crisis to their lives—and risking their own lives in the process, no less. Six percent were just atrocious because they could be. For their own barbarous pleasure, I can alone imagine.

Mark says that "one affair that ability explain the college numbers here—in case humans catechism my methods—is that I acclimated a tarantula." Apparently, humans seemed appealing acquisitive about hitting a spider. "If you yield that out it goes to 2.8% which is afterpiece to the added turtle vs. snake studies I concluded up finding."

It is still actually a decidedly top number. At atomic compared to a 2008 abstraction application the Psychopathy Checklist, which apparent that 1.2 percent of the US citizenry were abeyant psychopaths. 1.2 vs 2.8 is a huge difference.

Now, I'm not traveling to cull a PETA—I in fact abhorrence PETA—and say that the six (or 2.8) percent are all abeyant psychopaths, but acutely these humans accept some affectionate of brainy problem. At the actual least, their affinity circuits accept to be appealing broken. Personally, I wouldn't like to be accompany with any of them.

PETA Doesn't Give a Shit About Humans PETA Doesn't Give a Shit About Humans PETA Doesn't Give a Shit About Humans

What do you anticipate about if I say PETA? Beastly rights. Celebrities assuming naked. Vegetarian and… Apprehend added Read more

And I actually don't affliction which affectionate of beastly they ran over because all of them were amid outside of the lane and airish actually no crisis to the drivers. Needless to say, if a turtle or a snake is on the average of your lane, never accident your activity to save it. Your assurance accept to appear first, but this was not the case. This was all the contrary. And it's actually disgusting.

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