HD DVD cracks: there's no going back

When AACS was revealed as the encryption format of choice for HD DVD and Blu-ray, bets were placed on how long it would take for it to be cracked. Since the first HD DVD and Blu-ray discs began shipping, hackers have been hard at work figuring out how to break the encryption; DVD Jon even registered DeAACS.com. We've covered both crackers' efforts and the attempts by the AACS Licensing Authority to keep those cracks from seeping into the public consciousness. Yesterday, all of that came to a head.

A submission on Digg which contained the recently uncovered encryption key for HD DVD discs was removed yesterday by the site's admins after the site was served with a DMCA takedown notice, according to Digg CEO Jay Adelson. Such takedown notices are not uncommon. The AACS LA has issued them far and wide in an attempt to give the crack as low a profile as possible—Boing Boing blogger Cory Doctorow was the recent recipient of just such a notice after students of a class on copyright he was teaching at the University of Southern California posted the key and a link to the infamous Doom9 forum where AACS cracks have been openly discussed.

The futility of the AACS' actions was demonstrated last night when Digg was hit with a barrage of submissions containing the forbidden key. For a few hours, Digg's front page consisted of little more than a succession of links to the hexadecimal HD DVD key. After several hours, Digg cofounder Kevin Rose said that the site had received the message loud and clear, pledging that Digg would no longer kill stories and comments containing the key.

While the shenanigans at Digg were fascinating to watch as they unfolded, in the grand scheme of DRM it serves mostly as a reminder that the Internet holds no secrets. Like it or not for the AACS LA, DVD Forum (which backs HD DVD), and the Blu-ray Disc Association, Pandora's Box is opened wide. Not only is the key out in the open, but perhaps more damagingly to the HD lobby, public awareness of DRM and its cracks has been raised.

How will HD DVD, Blu-ray, and AACS LA respond? We don't know, and chances are that they don't either. Last night and this morning, Ars contacted all of them, along with the MPAA, to ask that very question. We haven't had a single phone call or e-mail returned from any of them.

We're nearing the point of ready availability of tools like DeCSS for HD DVD and Blu-ray, but Blu-ray has a couple of extra layers of protection (ROM Mark and BD+) that have yet to be deployed. Also, both HD formats have an antipiracy weapon in their arsenal that DVD lacks: the ability to revoke device keys, which has already happened to Corel's WinDVD. Unfortunately for both HD DVD and Blu-ray, that looks like it's going to be as effective as a suit of chain mail against a bazooka shell; Doom9 forum member arnezami claims that the hack at the center of the latest maelstrom is irrevocable. Even if arnezami is wrong in his evaluation, the AACS LA's vigilance in trying to keep the existence of HD DVD cracks out of the pubic eye has backfired in a truly spectacular manner.

[Source: arstechnica]

Mansion Impossible

Build your Own Moleskin Notebook External HDD

External hard drive enclosures tend to all look a like and are just a bit boring. If you are the DIY type that happens to have an extra notebook hard drive lying around and about $50 in fund for the project you can follow the instructions over at Zonageek and build your own Moleskin notebook external hard drive. This guy used the Moleskin sketch book for the project which involved cutting the pages out to hollow a place for the 80GB HDD to sit. Once glued up the drive was inserted along with the logic board from a commercial external enclosure for USB to SATA and the project was complete. Finished it looks pretty cool and perfect for those who like to make their own gear.
[Source: everythingusb]

LCD Clock With Built-In Spy Camera

This good looking LCD clock also has a hidden camera that can record 12 minutes of action.

This motion-activated camcorder will turn on and record full-motion video whenever someone moves into its wide field-of-view; then shut off automatically when activity stops.

Afterwards you just need to transfer the files to your computer via USB or use a memory card reader, the final files will be in .AVI format with a 320×240 pixel VGA resolution.

[Source: uberreview]

Sturdio Libertiny’s vase made by Bees

I’m a self-proclaimed Droog addict, and have touted the “je ne sais quoi” of the always-engaging and wryly humorous Dutch design ad nauseam. And this bee-made vessel by Tomas Gabzdil Libertiny of Studio Libertiny is no exception. Making its debut at Droog’s booth in Milan, the vase was made by 40,000 bees over the course of one week. Studio Libertiny constructed a vase-shaped hive that the bees then colonized, building a hexagonal comb to encompass the existing form. And in the usual dry yet oh-so-clever Dutch manner, Studio Libertiny calls this process “slow prototyping,” a more time-consuming, yet much more poetic alternative to CNC rapid prototyping.

Beautiful in its ephemeral nature, Libertiny’s “collaboration” with honey bees pushes the boundaries of so-called conventional design by defying mass production and enabling nature to create what would typically be considered a man-made product. In my opinion, one of the tenets of good design is that it should tell a story. Studio Libertiny’s bee vase, like so much other Dutch design, not only tells the story, but does so in an ecologically-derived, natural way that concedes the human manufacturing process to something simpler and more beautiful. The more I look at it, the more I am in complete and utter awe.

We found this quote from Tomas Gabzdil Libertiny via Dezeen:

I have been interested in contradicting the current consumer society (which is interested in slick design) by choosing to work with a seemingly very vulnerable and ephemeral material - beeswax. To give a form to this natural product it has occurred more than logical to choose a form of a vase as a cultural artifact. Beeswax comes from flowers and in the form of a vase ends up serving flowers on their last journey.

At this point I asked myself a question: “Can I make this product already at the place where the material originates?” My ambition to push things further led me to alienate the process by which bees make their almost mathematically precise honeycomb structures and direct it to create a fragile and valuable object – like a pearl. This takes time and time creates value.

[Source: inhabitat]

Dubai International Financial Centre launches DIFC Lighthouse Tower

• 400-metre luxury office tower to be constructed adjacent to ‘The Gate’


• External lighting features to make tower a new Dubai landmark


• Environmentally sensitive design to set benchmark for energy conservation

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announced today the launch of DIFC Lighthouse Tower, a landmark 400-metre luxury office tower that will be constructed in the heart of the DIFC District, adjacent to the famous “Gate” building. The gross floor area of the project will be 90,000 square metres.

A beacon of modernity, the Lighthouse will be characterised by special external lighting features that will distinguish it from all other high-rise buildings in Dubai. As well, the approved environmentally sensitive design of the tower will include provisions for various applications for renewable energy, reduced carbon emissions and energy saving techniques.

His Excellency Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor of DIFC, said: “The launch of the DIFC Lighthouse Tower, the newest landmark on the skyline of Dubai comes in line with our objective with the ongoing expansion of the DIFC and concomitant growth of the emirate, this tower will help meet the burgeoning demand for high-quality office space in the heart of our thriving community.”

He continued: “The unique design of this slender tower will make it stand out, especially at night, when the external lighting will serve, like a lighthouse, to attract the admiration of residents and visitors alike. We are particularly proud of the project’s environmentally friendly and sensitive design, which will set a new benchmark for energy conservation in the region.”

[Source: difc]

Student design turns highways into wind farms

The great thing about collaborative design sites like Archinect is that they allow brilliant student ideas to escape the confines of studio and get the attention they deserve. Case in point is Arizona student Joe who posted this amazing idea on his Archinect school blog for a highway wind turbine would harvest the wind created by fast-moving automobiles to send power back into the grid. If feasible, this wind turbine project could be easily retrofitted to transform most of the world’s highways into endless power sources. Imagine highways being known for their power generation instead of their traffic!

Joe’s project proposes the installation of two wind turbines placed horizontally on the steel frames that currently hold freeway signs along the Phoenix Highway. According to his calculations, he reckons that each turbine would be able to generate 9,600kwh per year, which would be more than enough to power a few apartments, or, as he is proposing, more than a few community hubs along the freeway.

While there are a lot of technical issues that may prevent the project’s deployment (such as the amount of turbulence on the road, the actual wind speed generated at the head height, etc) we must applaud Joe for the great idea. Good job Joe! Keep us posted…

We’ve seen a similar idea from Mark Oberholzer, the runner-up of the 2006 Metropolis Next Generation Design Competition. Nice to see this sort of thinking gaining momentum!

Highway Wind Turbines

[Source: inhabitat]

Mouse Mouse - sick idea

Hacked travel-size (hardware) mouse + taxidermied (wetware) mouse = Mouse Mouse!
Fully functional, and furry!

Warning: this project involves taxidermy, dremels, and sometimes graphic pictures of dead animals. While there are no guts in this tutorial, viewer discretion is still advised. If you are offended by this entire idea, please peruse the wallet contest or the laser cutter contest instead.

Concept by noahw
Implemented by noahw and canida.

The winners of the photo contest

[National Wildlife Magazine]

PhD-certified Personality Test

• How do you compare to the average person?
• Your Personality - how was it developed?
• What is your relationship style?
• Which type of person suits you best?

(I've found it on an ad, but it seems interesting. You can check this link/url does not contain any referrer id or other, and this personality site does not belong to me)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: You can add fake email address, the result can be shown on page. (I would do the same if i could know it in time)

Fun pictures..

Moderate coffee drinking reduces many risks

Although the American Society for Nutrition’s popular “controversy session” at Experimental Biology 2007 focuses on the health effects of coffee drinking, panel chair Dr. James Coughlin, a toxicology/safety consultant at Coughlin & Associates, says that recent advances in epidemiologic and experimental knowledge have transformed many of the negative health myths about coffee drinking into validated health benefits.

Indeed, panel co-chair Dan Steffen, who follows coffee and health issues in the Scientific and Regulatory Affairs group of Kraft Foods, note that the “controversy” is often to educate a wider audience about this transformation in understanding.

Coffee is among the most widely consumed beverages in the world, and Dr. Coughlin says that the preponderance of scientific evidence - some by the panelists - suggests that moderate coffee consumption (3-5 cups per day) may be associated with reduced risk of certain disease conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease. Some research in neuropharamacology suggests that one cup of coffee can halve the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Other studies have found it reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease, kidney stones, gallstones, depression and even suicide.

[Source & More: physorg]