New trouble for Sony

New trouble for Sony

New trouble for Sony. It looks like the problems still aren't over for Sony, which finally began bringing its Playstation Network back online over the weekend following a massive hack that exposed the information of millions of subscribers and left the company's online gaming network offline for almost a full month. News broke this morning that the email and password reset, aimed to help get players back online, has been compromised.

Nyleveia reported this morning that "A new hack is currently doing the rounds in dark corners of the internet that allows the attacker the ability to change your password using only your account's email and date of birth." Sony responded by yanking the new online password recovery system it had put in place to help verify users' identities. With this system offline, many users who've yet to reset their information since the security breach will still be unable to get back online.

The Sony Playstation Network and the Qriocity service are online, and this exploit won't be a problem for console gamers. But it was an issue for Website users, and it's yet another black eye for an already very bruised Sony. The company claimed that it was putting better security features in place when it announced on Saturday that it was bringing the services back online.

The company has also announced a "customer appreciation" package to compensate customers for the lengthy PSN outage, including 60 days of free subscription and a couple of new Playstation games. At this stage, however, Playstation gamers might just want pick up their toys and find a new playground.

Explosion at iPad plant in China

Explosion at iPad plant in China

Explosion at iPad plant in China. Apple Inc is investigating an explosion that killed two people and injured 16 at a Foxconn factory said to produce the popular iPad 2.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported a large explosion rocked the Hongfujin Precision Electronics plant in a high-tech industrial zone west of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, on Friday evening.

Local officials are also looking into the cause of the blast. Apple shares closed down 1.56 percent at $335.22 on the Nasdaq, which saw a broad sell-off on euro-zone debt worries.

The explosion in a key factory owned by Foxconn International Holdings Ltd -- Apple's main manufacturing partner -- could affect the supply of iPads and investors were watching closely. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said the company was assessing the situation.

"We are deeply saddened by the tragedy at the Foxconn plant in Chengdu and our hearts go out to the victims and their families," he said. "We are working closely with Foxconn to understand what caused this terrible event."

Foxconn representatives did not immediately respond.

Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White said Foxconn's Chengdu factory makes a lot of iPads because some production had been shifted to that facility from factories in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Apple's iPad 2 commands 80 percent of the burgeoning tablet market in which Motorola Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd also compete.

Apple sold 4.69 million iPads last quarter and is scrambling to meet staggering demand for the mobile device, but is heavily backlogged. Executives had expected production to ramp up during the present quarter to meet demand.

The plant explosion is the latest setback for Foxconn, the world's largest contract manufacturer and an affiliate of Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Ind Co Ltd.

The Taiwanese company made headlines last year after reports emerged about poor working conditions at factories in southern China, which critics say may have helped drive several employees to suicide.

The company pledged to improve employee welfare.

Facing higher wages in the southern China manufacturing belt, the scene of labor disputes last year, some Taiwanese manufacturers have opted to shift some operations to the country's interior, where costs are lower.

Foxconn also has plants in North America and Mexico, as well as in European countries, including Slovakia and Poland.

Most Unusual Telephones

Most Unusual Telephones

A long time passed before the phone took it’s modern look. The first phone which could transmit legible speech was made 1861. It had a microphone of unusual design, one speaker and a power supply in the form of a galvanic battery.
In an age of new technologies variety of phones do not cease to amuse. Disc phones, push-button phones, cordless phones, mobile …
Over time, phones became unique in design, taken the form of various objects, often saying a lot about their owner. For example, the phone in the form of a cello and other presented here…

PRESTO

May 2010 sees the launch of GO Transit's PRESTO initiative, a pre-paid fare system that allows passengers to top up their balance on a Smartcard. From the PRESTO Systems Project,

"The Government of Ontario, GO Transit and nine municipal transit partners in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and in Ottawa, have come together to design, develop and implement a seamless regional transit farecard system.

Using contactless (“Smartcard”) technology, PRESTO will allow customers to ride on any participating transit system without pre-purchasing tickets or having to search for the correct change. The PRESTO card, which is the size of a debit card, will use 'stored-value' in the form of a common electronic purse (e-Purse) for all fare payment transactions.

Customers can tap their PRESTO card as they board a bus or enter a station and the system deducts the fare from their card balance, all within one-eighth of a second."

Tattoo's Steve Gadsden was thrilled to Produce all Sound Design aspects of PRESTO's Audio Branding functions. During the research process, Tattoo initiated on-site testing at Oakville, Mississauga, Hamilton and York Region transit points as well as Union Station to ensure effective usability for both passengers and transit workers.

The challenge was to come up with instantly recognizable sounds for the PRESTO purchasing machines, Smartcards themselves and all fare points [including buses and trains]. These sounds had to be instantly recognizable for both positive and negative balance calculations, and to be able to cross language barriers and adverse locations. No matter what their first language is, or where they are, the passenger knows clearly and instantly the status of their account.

For additional info on the PRESTO launch and services, click here.

Control the CN Tower... with your mind!

Yet another feature at the Ontario House in Vancouver is a pavillion where you can control the lights of the CN Tower... with your mind. Other featured Canadian wonders are the Houses of Parliament in Ottawa and Niagara Falls!

FML. I still don't know how to use an iPhone App.

iPad wha?

Today marks the official release of Apple's iPad. In layman's terms, the iPad is basically a larger version of the iPod. Sort of like those gigantic calculators you can buy at the dollar store, only these play music. And you can read books on them!

Reviews are varying between an Epic Fail and Apple moving their headquarters to Mount Sinai. On gizmodo.com, blogger francisco.e.soto comments: "This is going to completely revolutionize my pooping experience." We agree!

To celebrate this monumental day in technology, we give you a snippet of other objects enlarged for no good reason.

Careful now.

What do you think of the iPad, Musers? Waste of space, or can't wait to own one?



Enlarged object images via Fun is 2 cool