Grovetech.com : PC Maintenance & Repair Tutorial *

Finally a totally free computer website about

PC maintenance & repairs - period !

Over the last couple of decades, computers have become an integral, if not indispensable, part of our lives. We use them to create documents, play games and music, research topics of interest on the Internet, communicate with others via email or chat programs, develop a brochure or flyer, and much more.

However, like any other machine, computers need to be maintained, tuned-up, and repaired. For whatever reason – perhaps because we believe them to be more complicated than they really are – we tend not to provide the ongoing maintenance that our computers need. The result? Frustration with a system whose speed has slowed to a mere crawl, expensive repair bills, or the sometimes mistaken belief that the solution to the problem is to buy a new computer

http://www.grovetech.com/index.html

Quantum Hackers Use Lasers to Crack Commercial Quantum Encryption Without Leaving a Trace

Quantum cryptography is one of the most secure known means of transmitting data, due to the fact that even if a third party does intercept a quantum signal, that interference changes the encryption key, making the tampering apparent to parties at both ends. But a handful of quantum hackers at Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim recently performed successful hacks of two commercial quantum cryptographic systems — and they did so without leaving a trace.

Quantum encryption is based on the notion that you cannot take measurements of a quantum system without in some way disturbing it. A sender uses standard values of zeros and ones. That key is encoded into a beam of light using two different quantum states of photons. The receiver has a detector that measures the quantum states of the incoming photons. Anyone who messes with the signal in between will change it in some way, making it apparent to the sender and receiver that someone tampered with the signal.

The quantum hackers got around the rules of quantum physics by simply intercepting the incoming signal and generating a brand new one to send on to the receiver. To do so, they shined a continuous 1-milliwatt laser at the receiver’s detector, blinding it while they intercepted the sender’s signal.

But the trick is in how they blind the receiver’s detector. While blinded, it cannot act as a quantum detector, but it still functions as a classical light detector, reading a “one” if an extra bright pulse of light hits it, quantum properties of the light notwithstanding. So as the interceptor receives the sender’s signal, it pumps an extra bright pulse of light at the receivers’ detector every time it reads a “one” in the original signal.

In this way, the receiver still receives the correct signal from the interceptor even though it’s a forged signal. Since it’s a classical signal rather than a quantum one, quantum rules no longer apply and the sender and receiver aren’t made aware of the signal tampering.

The makers of the two quantum cryptographic schemes, Switzerland-based ID Quantique and Boston’s MagiQ Technologies, likely weren’t thrilled to find a hole in their systems but welcomed the news as it will help them to shore up weaknesses in their encryption schemes.

If quantum cryptography really gets your photons entangled, a PDF of the Nature Photonics paper published by the quantum hackers is available, or you can check out the hackers’ “how we did it” site.

http://www.popsci.com.au/2010/08/quantum-hackers-use-lasers-to-crack-commercial-quantum-encryption-without-leaving-a-trace/

Atami offers Love Plus characters as virtual girlfriends

Visitors to Atami are opting for photos with "augmented reality'' females / AFP Source: AFP

The images are created using a smartphone cameras and a tiny black and white square / AFP

A JAPANESE beach town is attracting male tourists by offering them a virtual girlfriend.

Visitors to Atami are ignoring the bikini-clad girls frolicking on the sand and instead heading straight for a bronze statue to have a photo with "augmented reality'' (AR) females.

The images are created by visitors pointing their smartphone cameras at a tiny black and white square, a two-dimensional barcode that brings to life the object of their desire.

"Look, it's like I'm in a snapshot with her,'' Shu Watanabe, 23, said as he showed off his iPhone display, featuring himself next to the image of a doe-eyed cartoon character named Rinko, a smiling high school girl.

Rinko may only be digital, but try telling that to Watanabe or the legions of other fans of Love Plus, a dating sim or simulation game that is played on handheld Nintendo DS consoles and also boasts AR applications for iPhones.

They have selected 13 romantic locations which can be overlaid with images of Rinko or her teenage friends Manaka and Nene, who have all swapped their usual sailor-style school uniforms for casual summer wear.

Local souvenir shops in the resort town have caught on and capitalised on the love-struck new clientele, selling Love Plus-themed souvenirs, from good-luck charms to steamed buns and fish sausages.

The local Ohnoya hotel even offers traditional rooms to the unusual couples, which feature two sets of futon beds and another barcode panel that allows the men to visualise their girlfriends in a flattering summer kimono.

The popularity of Love Plus has been a welcome shot in the arm for Atami, which has seen visitors decline some 40 percent since its 1970s heyday.

More than 200 Love Plus fans have stayed at the Ohnoya hotel alone, while well over 2000 have visited the resort town for the campaign, which kicked off on July 10 and runs until the end of August.

Atami's business association was at first hesitant and puzzled by the story line, in which a high school girl spends a night at a resort hotel with a man.

"Some people were opposed to taking part in this campaign, saying the game is immoral,'' association member Saiki Ota said.

Konami's Ishihara stressed that the game has no sexual content.

"The virtual girls can kiss you as a way of communication, but nothing happens when she sleeps next to you at the hotel,'' he said.

"We have no intention of trying to sell a product with pornographic elements.

"I think Love Plus fans would get offended if somebody tried to disrespect his girlfriend like that.''

First modchip for PS3

The first working "modchip" on sale in Australia can let PlayStation 3 owners store games on their hard drive and promises to be easy enough to be used by tech novices.

The mod actually comes on a USB stick, which, if inserted into the PS3 before the console is turned on, will disable system security, and allow users to backup games on the hard drive, or run third-party software.

The owner of ozmodchips.com, Ryan, who declined to give his surname, said Sony, the maker of the PS3, had a reputation for being the most concerned with keeping its systems tamper-free.

The site where you can purchase the mod chip :

http://www.ozmodchips.com/ps-jailbreak-worlds-first-ps3-modchip-plug-and-play-p-68.html

Everything Catch

Search This Blog

Wednesday, September 1, 2010