October Zombie Update [Public Service Advisory]

By Jimmy Rogers
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

As you may be aware, zombies are a constant threat to be reconed with if we are to maintain our way of life.  Therefore, we’ve decided to update you on this month’s happenings in all things zombie related.

First up, October 18th was the date of a monumental zombie outbreak in NYC.  It seems that a heavily banker/stock broker-based hoard of zombies emerged onto the streets, waving signs and carrying on with their standard brain-consuming shenanigans.  You know the economy isn’t doing too well when the zombies take notice.  From the moans of the various walking-dead present at the event, it appears that they were part of ZombieCon.  This year’s theme was “Bloody-Marys, Brains, and Bailouts.”  For some chilling videos, check out io9, who was on the scene.  [Image from NewYorkDailyPhoto.com on Flickr]

If you want to bone up on your zombie survival skills, check out his simulator, “The Outbreak.”

It’s a choose-your-own-adventure style video mashup that lets you find your way though the nightmare of a large-scale zombie attack.  There are several characters and they each have their own agenda.  It’s fun to play, but remember kids, one day it could save your life!  [Thanks Epic-Fu]

That’s all for this month, but remember to watch out: Halloween is coming, and while there actually isn’t a strong connection between zombies and Halloween, you’ll probably still run into a few while you’re out making your own mischief that night.  Here’s a little primer on how to survive a zombie uprising.  Bring your axe…you’re better safe than sorry!

Grab the Knife and Get Carving, Geek Style

By Jimmy Rogers
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Do you need to geek up your Halloween festivities?  Why not look to the most classic of all Halloween traditions…the pumpkin!

This ungodly looking creature is actually a replica of “The Predator” carved onto the face of a pumpkin.  Created by Villafane Studios, it is a true pumpkin masterpiece, complete with spines and a gaping mouth.  Unfortunately, it’s a bit too difficult to create on your own.  These next two are not only impressive, but completely DIY-friendly.

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Researchers sniff computer passwords from 65 feet away

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Swiss researchers have discovered 4 ways to find out the passwords of computer users remotely through their wired keyboards.  They claim that at least 11 models of keyboard are vulnerable to at least one of the 4 attacks that they carried out.

They also claim that online banking and ATM money machines are also now vulnerable to these attacks.

Check out these two videos to find out more :

Epic Fail: Call center worker’s fake sickie caught on Facebook

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Let this be a lesson to everyone – if you ever plan to take a fake sickie from work, don’t have your boss as your Facebook buddy.  Either that or don’t brag about your fake illness in your Facebook updates.

This is the harsh reality that Kyle D. is learning after he decided to call in sick after getting completely drunk the previous night.   But instead of doing the sensible thing which is stay offline and lie low for the day, this complete moron went online to Facebook and decided to brag to everyone about how he had managed to fool his manager. So he duly updated his Facebook status :

Kyle D. is not going to work, f**k it I’m still trashed. SICKIE WOO!

What he had forgotten in his post-drunken idiotic joy is that his manager is one of his Facebook buddies and so this new update immediately flashed up on the manager’s screen.  Kyle was then contacted and asked for a doctor’s note to prove that he really was ill.

“My leave was due to medical reasons, so you cannot deny leave based on a line manager’s discretion, with no proof,” he argues in a second message.

The manager’s reply is brief:

“I believe the proof that you are after is below”.

And he attachs the following :

It was at that point that the company announced an “internal investigation” (of what? It all looks pretty clear cut to me) and Kyle was instantly overwhelmed with messages of support and love from his colleagues.  The tributes just flowed in non-stop.

“There’s a lot of sh*t going down this morning!”

“you know you’re a legend …. but you’re so stupid.”

“So what? Call centre staff need to be drunk to put up with everyone’s crap”

“Isn’t being trashed reason enough not to be at work?”

Oh and when Kyle realized that his devilishly cunning plan had failed, what did he do?   Did he weep?  Did he apologize?   Did he beg for a second chance?   Nope.   His response to his manager was :

“HAHAHA LMAO epic fail. No worries man.”

Watch out for Kyle D’s future political campaign.   Do no work, lie to everyone, and get drunk all the time?  I can tell he will fit right in.

Woman arrested for killing virtual reality husband

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

I don’t know what is making me more speechless – the fact that the woman is facing serious jail time for this offense or that the story made it onto CNN.   “Obama and McCain?  Who CARES?!  We’ve got virtual reality murder HERE!  Let’s go with this!”

So, as CNN is reporting, the 43 year old Japanese woman is facing 5 years in prison or a $5000 fine.   What did she do?   Well, she was playing a MMORPG called Maple Story and in this game, her character was happily married to a male character (who is a 33 year old Japanese man in real life).

Well once upon a time, the two virtual characters had a bit of a falling out and they went to a virtual lawyer and had a virtual divorce.   The virtual husband went away thinking “oooh that stung a bit but it’s over now”, but the virtual wife thought “I’m so angry!  I’m going to kill virtual husband!”

So virtual wife logs into the game as virtual husband (using his username and password) and kills his character.   Virtual husband dies a horrible virtual death.    33 year old Japanese man logs on, finds his character dead, calls the real police and files a real complaint.

My first question is, if she logs in as him and kills his character, what exactly did she do to his character?  Stab himself?  Hang himself?   Simply delete his account?  If so, it’s not really a virtual murder then, more a virtual suicide.   Sorry to nitpick there.

The woman has been charged with computer hacking offenses, but here’s my second question – according to CNN, she got the log-in details “from the 33-year-old office worker when their characters were happily married”.   So if the man gave her the log-in details voluntarily, does using them later for devious purposes still constitute hacking?    All she did was simply log in with what he gave her.   To my mind, hacking involves breaking into the account by brute force when you don’t readily have the account details to hand.

We live in a weird, weird world….

The tiny iKIT notebook with the 2.8-inch screen

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

I saw this being announced on German TV last night and I knew right away that this was a candidate for a story on GAS!

A tiny notebook is being developed and released by a British company called the iKIT – and “tiny” really is the operative word here.   It has a 2.8 inch screen and as the following picture shows, it sits very snugly on a regular computer keyboard :

It isn’t able to run Microsoft Word but as this Yahoo article says, it is capable of doing a LOT of other things.  With 64MB of RAM, it will run Linux and will come pre-loaded with lots of useful apps such as IM programs, a media player, and the Opera Mini web browser to get you onto the internet.   It also has a webcam, a mini-USB port, offers WI-FI and Bluetooth connectivity, and is priced at 99 British pounds (US$161.)

If I ever found myself in need of a tiny mobile computer, this is something I might consider buying someday.   What do you think of it?

The Fairest of Them All?

by Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Given our recent posts about the future of surface computing, especially how it can get you drunk, this seems particularly relevant:

The Interactive Mirror takes the idea of dielectric glass mirrors with LCD panels built in a step farther by adding a touchscreen component. Sure, it would be neat if in the bathroom of the future you could check stocks and weather by brushing your teeth, but don’t you want to be able to draw a mustache on yourself as well? The video shows a neat range of potential uses for the technology, like “trying on” clothes, leaving messages, playing space invaders, and well, just playing.

LitStudios notes that the touch-capable mirror is “patent pending.” This is the first time I’ve seen a demonstration of the technology, but I’m surprised that this is (presumably) the first time someone has figured out how to do it. It could be that they’re getting a specific design component as opposed to the idea of a touch mirror as a whole.

This makes me wonder if the next step would be an interactive mirror with AI built in, that really will tell you that you’re the fairest of them all… or more likely, so you can ask, “Do I look fat in this?” and get an honest answer.

[Via Gizmodo]