smart computer use?

So, I guess the power grid in the US is pretty wide open to cyber attacks. It’s pretty much been known for a while now, but it’s now getting officially acknowledged.

The US government has admitted the nation’s power grid is vulnerable to cyber attack, following reports it has been infiltrated by foreign spies.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) newspaper reported that Chinese and Russian spies were behind this “pervasive” breach.

It said software had been left behind that could shut down the electric grid.

“The vulnerability is something [we] have known about for years,” said US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

How true is this now, a scene from the infamous Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 strategy game:

That makes me crack up – on the inside – I’m barely containing my laughter. I wish I had a computer old enough to play that game, now that I’ve seen the video I wanna play it again.

Just a quick blurb here, but this is pretty crazy.

As of Monday, YouTube is unavailable in China, an unexplained move apparently made in response to the existence of a video of Chinese soldiers beating Tibetan monks, says the BBC.

Now there’s tons of uproar over media freedom and freedom of expression. Understandable. Who woulda thought a video site would be the root of international issues?

I just like that wording. Well said. Kind of. I want to present more things like that when people inquire me about things.

The quote:

Dell’s rumored smartphone probably does exist after all. That is, if you believe the ambiguously crafted words of the company’s CEO, Michael Dell, who said that yes, Dell is kind of working on the iPhone-killer after all.

That quote (and interesting story) comes from the TG Daily.

Lot’s of hunches floating around that Dell wants to get into smartphones:

It is true that we are exploring smaller screen devices,” Dell said at a speech in Tokyo yesterday — warning that the company has yet to make an announcement. While Dell’s “smaller screen devices” may indicate a tablet PC or a netbook as well, most of us have no doubts that Dell is eyeing the smartphone market. The huge slump in the computer sector, combined with the smartphone market’s unusual resilience to the recession, gives PC makers many incentive to expand their business into the mobile phone market.

So, what’s Dell going to bring to the table in the smartphone world? Maybe not much of anything new afterall, other than more choice, is what I picked out of this little tidbit:

Taiwan-based Commercial Times reported yesterday that world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics, Hon Hai Precision Industry (also known as Foxconn), has already received orders to build Dell’s smartphone. However, it appears the actual manufacturing was probably halted as carriers rejected Dell’s phone, citing the “lack of differentiating features” as reported by Kaufman Bros analyst Shawn Wu.

Even then, if Dell can offer up a slick-working device that proves to be useful and something that people “can’t live without”, I might start to look somewhere other than my Blackberry. But until that day…

Haha, yeah right.

That’s my thoughts anyways.

I’m not sure if this is a comedic article, similar to something The Onion would put out. If it is it’s pretty crafty. I’m not sure though.

Here’s a good quote from the article about the study on Twitter having a negative effect on the economy:

A new study suggests that Twitter is the root cause of the current economic malaise. Policy experts predict a Twitter moratorium may be declared for Summer 2009 as part of an effort to stimulate economic production and reverse GDP declines.

Professor Martin Schmeldon of Harvard Business School recently released research findings that suggest excessive Twitter use may have caused the current economic downturn.

If by “finding” they mean “concidental bar graph correllation” I might jump on board.

Yeah, somebody’s actually doing that:

The first is the saga of a Yale student from Ohio who wants US Airways to pay $1 million for a video game system he says was taken out of his baggage. Jesse Maiman, 21 years old, says that an Xbox 360 system went missing from his baggage during a December flight from New Haven, Conn., to Cincinnati. Citing what he called “an unconscionable run-around” from the airline, he filed suit Monday in the Common Pleas Court of Hamilton County, where Cincinnati is located. Maiman wants $1,700 for the loss of Xbox and for the maximum damages allowable, or $1 million, the Associated Press reports.

So, lose an Xbox and sue for a million then, eh? I guess whatever works. It does kinda suck that the Xbox was actually taken from his bag, that is pretty ridiculous and I guess I’d be pissed about that too, ha.

Moral of the story, don’t bring your Xbox on the plane, in your own luggage, or US Airways might take it.