[H]ard|OCP

Fix For Adobe Critical Flaw Coming Jan. 12th

Remember that critical vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat we told you about on Tuesday? Well the company says they are releasing a patch to fix it…a month from now.

Adobe has confirmed a critical vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.2 and earlier versions that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. There are reports that this vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild. Adobe recommends customers follow the mitigation guidance below until a patch is available. Adobe plans to make available an update to Adobe Reader and Acrobat by January 12, 2010 to resolve the issue.

Translation? Attention crooks, you have one month to compromise as many computers as you can before we patch our software. – Adobe.

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Geeks Drive Girls out of Computer Science

A new study claims that women are put off by geeks and that is why they avoid computer science. On a related note, it is almost 2010 and researchers still perpetuate the "revenge of the nerds" stereotype even though most of us have never fit that mold. Thanks to Railhaus for the linkage.

Women don't feel they would fit in and so steer clear of computer-science majors and jobs, the researchers say. Such avoidance could help to explain why just 22 percent of computer-science graduates are women, a percentage that has been steadily decreasing, according to 2008 data from the National Science Foundation.

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[H]ardware Round-Up II

Cases & Modding

Cooler Master HAF 932 AMD Edition @ Hardware Secrets

ETC.

Digital Storm's Core i5 System @ HotHardware

Memory/ Storage

HITACHI Travelstar 7K500-500 2.5'' Hard Drive @ PCShopTalk

Motherboards

ASUS P7P55D Deluxe Motherboard @ Legit Reviews

USGS Monitoring Twitter for Earthquake Details

The U.S. Geological Survey is monitoring Twitter for earthquake info? What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea? Or is this just a way of not getting in trouble with your boss when he catches you using Twitter on the clock at your government job?

There is usually a lag between when an earthquake strikes and when researchers can analyze the data that floods in from seismic stations. During that gap, scientists combing through hundreds of tweets can get an initial picture of where the shaking was felt and areas of potential damage.

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The YouTube Videos of 2009

The Official YouTube Blog has posted a list of the most watched videos of 2009. No real surprises on the list because most of us have watched all of them at least once, if not multiple times.

This year has been the biggest yet for online video, and for the first time we're sharing our official Most Watched lists and some of the fastest-rising search terms on YouTube. Some moments were big (President Obama's inauguration), some small (a Minnesota wedding party erupts into dance), some expected ("New Moon"), some surprising (Susan Boyle) — but all of them inspired, entertained and connected millions of people around the world via YouTube.

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Firefox 3.5.6 Is Out

In case you haven’t done it already, I recommend all you Firefox users out there update your browser to 3.5.6. The patch addresses some performance issues in addition to fixing a host of serious vulnerabilities so don’t delay, get you patch on today.

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Corsair Launches 24GB Dominator DDR3 Memory Kit

Corsair, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer and flash memory products, today announced a 24GB Dominator triple-channel DDR3 memory kit designed for high-performance desktop and workstation computing applications. Corsair's 24GB Dominator DDR3 memory kit has been rigorously tested in high-performance platforms based on the Intel® X58 motherboard chipset for Intel® Core™ i7 [Bloomfield] processors. It comprises six 4GB DDR3 DIMMs that operate at a frequency of 1333MHz, at latency timings of 9-9-9-27, with 1.65V VDIMM. The 24GB Dominator memory kit also features Corsair's patented DHX+ heatsink technology for optimal cooling and reliability. The modules, equipped with signature American Racing Blue heatsink fins, are found on select Corsair Dominator DDR3 memory for Intel® Core™ i5 and Core™ i7 platforms in 8GB and 12GB kits.

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Top 50 Best Places to Work, 2010

A list of the Top 50 Best Places to Work has been posted at Glassdoor today and, as shocking as it may be to us technophiles, there are very few tech companies on the list. An approval rating was also assigned to the CEO of each company on the list as an added feature.

We are proud to announce the winners of the 2nd annual Glassdoor.com Employees’ Choice Awards for Top 50 Best Places to Work. The Glassdoor Best Places to Work list is based on the employee sentiment of their respective employers from throughout the past year¹. With all the economic ups and downs, employee opinion of a company is becoming an increasingly important and valuable barometer of how well a company treats its workforce during good times — or in more troubling times like we’ve seen most recently.

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Gaming [H]eadlines

Assassin's Creed 2 Trailer Details DLC @ Shacknews

Dead Space 2 Details @ Blue’s News

PlayStation Life, Now With Actual Gaming Content @ Kotaku

Wii Sells 9M in Japan Total, PS3 Sells 4M @ Joystiq

Lawyers: Google Not Liable For Abuse Video

Lawyers for four Google executives say that their clients should not be held liable for an abuse video that violated Italian laws.

Under Italian law, "the person who uploads the video online must get permission from the person who is seen in the images, Google can't do it," defense lawyer Giuseppe Vaciago told The Associated Press. "It would be very difficult for any platform, not just Google, to acquire information on the subject filmed."

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Teen Runs Up Dad's Cell Bill to $22k

Adding your kid to your cell plan? We recommend adding unlimited text / data to your plan so you don’t get a $22,000 bill. Verizon was cool about the whole deal saying they would toss out the entire bill.

Ted Estarija said he was expecting his bill to be higher this month after adding his son to his plan, but wasn't expecting a bill of $21,917 in data usage charges. The Hayward man said his Verizon Wireless bill soared after his son apparently downloaded about 1.4 million kilobytes of data last month. His plan didn't cover data usage, so he was charged by the megabyte.

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[H]ardware Round-Up

Cases & Modding

Cooler Master HAF-932 AMD Edition Case @ BmR

NZXT Gamma Case @ Overclockers Club

ETC.

Logitech G19 Gaming Keyboard @ ASE Labs

Motherboards

MSI 785GM-E65 Motherboard @ Guru3D

Video

MSI Geforce GTX 275 Lightning @ MadShrimps

Bing Gets an iPhone App

If you are an iPhone owner that prefers to use Bing as your search engine of choice, there is now an app for you. The app is absolutely free so head on over and grab it if you want it, try it if you haven’t.

The free application lets iPhone users tap on an icon to search the Internet using Microsoft's freshly launched Bing technology. Versions of mobile Bing software tailored to Blackberry devices made by Canada-based Research In Motion and smart phones based on Microsoft Windows software were shipped about a week ago.

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FTC Sues Intel for 'Anticompetitive Tactics'

It looks like the Federal Trade Commission is moving forward with its lawsuit against Intel for "Anticompetitive Tactics."

The FTC argued in a release that Intel's tactics "have stifled innovation and harmed consumers." The agency also claimed that the company "has waged a systematic campaign to shut out rivals' competing microchips by cutting off their access to the marketplace." "In the process, Intel deprived consumers of choice and innovation in the microchips that comprise the computers' central processing unit, or CPU," the FTC said. "These chips are critical components that often are referred to as the 'brains' of a computer."

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Facebook Sues Alleged Spammers / Phishers

Facebook has filed a lawsuit in federal court against three men accused of spamming, phishing from compromised accounts.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in federal court and named as defendants Jeremi Fisher, Philip Porembski, Ryan Shimeall and the companies associated with them, Choko Systems, Harm, and iMedia Online Services, according to a Facebook statement late on Tuesday. The defendants could not be reached for comment.

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Holiday Returns Can Carry Hefty Price

Something to keep in mind during the holidays, stores that charge high restocking fees on tech items. Obviously the best way to avoid this is to remind your friends and family to shop at retailers that do not penalize you with high restocking fees.

Anthony said consumers generally believe that a receipt entitles them to a full cash refund. In reality, she said, refund policies are set by individual businesses. The state’s review of merchants’ policies found that the typical restocking fee was between 10 and 25 percent.

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Man Mods Missles onto Motorcycle

How can you tell the difference between a regular motorcycle rider and an [H] motorcycle rider? The non-[H] person doesn’t have DIY rockets on his bike.

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Apple Gestapo: How Apple Hunts Down Leaks

Ever wondered how Apple’s "Worldwide Loyalty Team" tracks down leaks? Gizmodo, with help from an Apple insider, will tell you how they do it.

"Apple has these moles working everywhere, especially in departments where leaks are suspected. Management is not aware of them," he told me, "once they suspect a leak, the special forces—as we call them—will walk in the office at any hour, especially in the mornings. They will contact whoever was the most senior manager in the building, and ask them to coordinate the operation."

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FBI Makes Arrest in 'Wolverine' Uploading Case

The FBI has arrested the guy that uploaded Wolverine a month before the movie came out. Finally this dangerous criminal is off the streets, we can all sleep better tonight.

Gilberto Sanchez, 47, was arrested in the Bronx, N.Y. early Wednesday morning by FBI agents without incident, according to law enforcement sources. A spokeswoman from the FBI's Los Angeles field office, which led the investigation, confirmed the arrest.

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IBM to Acquire Lombardi

IBM today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Lombardi, a privately held software company based in Austin, Texas. Financial terms were not disclosed. Lombardi, a leading provider of Business Process Management (BPM) software and services, helps organizations automate and integrate business processes to increase efficiencies and reduce costs.

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Microsoft Statement on European Commission Decision

We are pleased with today’s decision by the European Commission, which approves a final resolution of several longstanding competition law issues in Europe. We look forward to building on the dialogue and trust that has been established between Microsoft and the Commission and to extending our industry leadership on interoperability.

Today’s resolution follows years of intensive examination by the European Commission of competition in computer software. The measures approved today reflect multiple rounds of input from industry participants relating to competition in Web browser software and interoperability between various Microsoft products and competing products.

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Toshiba Announces 64GB Flash Memory

Toshiba has just laid claim to the highest capacity flash module in the industry with its new 64GB NAND flash module. According to the press release, the 32nm device has sixteen 32Gbit chips, a built-in dedicated controller and is only 30 micrometers thick.

Toshiba Corporation today announced the launch of a 64 gigabyte (GB) embedded NAND flash memory module, the highest capacity yet achieved in the industry. The chip is the flagship device in a new line-up of six embedded NAND flash memory modules that offer full compliance with the latest e•MMCTM standard, and that are designed for application in a wide range of digital consumer products, including smartphones, mobile phones, netbooks and digital video cameras. Samples of the 64GB module are available from today, and mass production will start in the first quarter of 2010.

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A PC in a Christmas Tree

Here is a computer mod that has plenty of Christmas spirit! The only bummer is that, unless you are one of those people that leave your tree up year round, in three weeks you are going to have to store it until next December.

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Random [H] Sighting

When you are putting together a big, bad-ass, 16-core, 32GB RAM, number crunching distributed computing Franken-rig…make sure you have your parts in the right order. You might just end up being the random [H] sighting of the day!

In case you were wondering, you can be cool like our man Vaulter98c (He was [H]ard|DCer of the Month: October 2009) simply by joining the [H] folding team. All the info you could possibly need is right here.

[H]ardware Round-Up II

Cases & Modding

Thermaltake Level 10 Chassis @ PC Perspective

Cooling

Noctua NH-D14 and NH-U9B SE2 CPU Coolers @ Neoseeker

ETC.

Editors Choice Awards 2009 @ Benchmark Reviews

VIA Artigo A2000 Barebones Storage Solution @ MissingRemote

Power Supply

Seasonic X-650W PSU (German) @ Technic 3D

Teen "Sexting" Research Results

It has been a while since I was a teenager but I am still pretty sure that most 12 to 17 year old kids don’t answer phone surveys honestly…if at all. Most teenagers I know couldn’t get past the part where the researcher said "I am conducting a Pew survey, sponsored by Cox and we want to know about your sexting habits" without dying laughing.

In December 2008, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and their research partners released a study called "Sex and Tech" that examined the role of technology in the sex lives of teens and young adults. In addition to the National Campaign's online survey, Cox Communications, partnered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Harris Interactive, and MTV in partnership with the Associated Press have also released findings from online surveys on the topic.

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YouTube Looks at Subscriptions

YouTube is considering subscriptions? It seems like everyone out there right now is kicking around the subscription idea. Ugh.

YouTube is considering offering users the option to pay for subscriptions in a bid to encourage more media companies to license premium TV shows and movies to the popular online video site, a senior executive said. YouTube, which is owned by Internet search giant Google, is already known to have held talks with several major movie studios about renting movies.

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Broadcom First to Ship True Single Chip Blu-ray Disc Solution

Broadcom Corporation a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that it is the first silicon provider to ship a true single die Blu-ray Disc® chip. The new Broadcom® BCM7630 offers an unprecedented level of integration combining proven optical front-end and back-end video decoding and display technologies in a single die solution. In addition to industry leading Blu-ray performance, the BCM7630 also supports leading-edge Internet streaming applications including Netflix® 2.0, Pandora® Internet Radio, Vudu(TM), CinemaNow® movie services and others. This unparalleled integration and functionality delivers a premium home entertainment experience to consumers.

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Americans Are Glued To The Couch

I’m not sure why we needed a study to tell us this. I could have told you that…from my couch.

When asked how they'd spent their leisure-time hours in the past week, a whopping 81 percent of the 10,281 respondents had watched television, for about 10 hours on average for the week. It was the top leisure-time activity in the study, which covered people ages 13 and above. And that figure didn't even include watching movies on TV. It only included shows, news, and sports.

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