I dumped the ROM of a Tamagotchi using the code execution ability I posted previously. I wrote 6502 code that dumped each byte of the memory space of the Tamagotchi, and output it over port A (which is usually the Tamagotchi button input) via SPI. » Natalie Silvanovich | kwartzlab.ca

In March, readers followed along as Nate Anderson, Ars deputy editor and a self-admitted newbie to password cracking, downloaded a list of more than 16,000 cryptographically hashed passcodes. Within a few hours, he deciphered almost half of them. The moral of the story: if a reporter with zero training in the ancient art of password cracking can achieve such results, imagine what more seasoned attackers can do. Imagine no more. We asked three cracking experts to attack the same list Anderson targeted and recount the results in all their color and technical detail Iron Chef style. The results, to say the least, were eye opening because they show how quickly even long passwords with letters, numbers, and symbols can be discovered. ...

No cabe duda de que en los últimos años hemos avanzado mucho en Seguridad de la Información. Poco a poco, entre las empresas comienza a implantarse la idea de que la seguridad es un ámbito al que hay que prestar una atención específica e independiente, más allá de lo que muchos consideran ”los informáticos”. Sin embargo, si no es bueno caer en el catastrofismo, no debemos ser demasiado indulgentes: queda mucho camino por recorrer y los avances no siempre se producen a la velocidad a la que, afortunadamente para los delincuentes, serían recomendables o deseables. A diario se producen noticias de empresas u organizaciones con una fuerte inversión en seguridad cuya infraestructura tecnológica es vulnerada, lo que da una idea del desequilibrio de fuerzas existente. ...

This article describes linux booting process in detail, what are the steps involved, which scripts run, what configuration files are read and their order, from turning on the system till getting the login prompt. Although this article projects a general view of booting a Linux system, but some configuration files and commands can be Red Hat specific. You can also download linux boot process pdf version for future reference. » Raghu | expertslogin.com

The algorithm converts pixels from a source image into squares in the Tetris playfield, one row at a time from the bottom up. To generate an individual square, the algorithm assembles a structure consisting of a rectangular region fully supported by a single square protruding from the bottom. When the rectangular region is completed, its rows are cleared, leaving behind the protruding square. Three examples of the process appear below ...

In the mid-1980s, O’Reilly (aka O’Reilly & Associates) was selling short books on Unix topics via mail order. These books, known as ”Nutshell Handbooks,” were held together by staples, and had plain brown covers. Over time, Tim O’Reilly decided that he wanted to sell the books through brick-and-mortar bookstores, and hired a graphic designer to create new book covers. Those covers were used for the first two titles that were sold into bookstores, but Tim wasn’t satisfied with the design. ...

Se dice que son necesarias 10.000 horas de trabajo de programación para alcanzar el nivel de experto, pero una vez llegado a él, ¿cuál es la evolución? ¿Se mantiene? ¿Continúa mejorando? ¿Retrocede? » Juan Palacio | navegapolis.com

Cuenta la anécdota que un día de la primavera de 1855 el físico inglés Michael Faraday daba una conferencia pública en la que mostraba sus pioneros experimentos sobre la electricidad y el magnetismo. Entre la audiencia se encontraba William Gladstone, entonces Ministro de Hacienda y futuro Primer Ministro. Gladstone se levantó y le espetó al investigador: ”todo esto es muy bonito, ¿pero alguna vez le encontraremos una aplicación práctica?”, a lo que Faraday respondió: ”no se preocupe, algún día el gobierno cobrará impuestos sobre esto”. ...

An examination of some questionable events and circumstances leading up to the destruction of the Death Star, through the eyes of an amateur investigative journalist within the Star Wars galaxy. The focus is mainly on the connections between the people who created and operated the Death Star and those responsible for destroying it. For those who don’t care for the obvious, this is a satirical spoof of the 9/11 truther video Loose Change. ...

HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It’s a stateless, application-layer protocol for communicating between distributed systems, and is the foundation of the modern web. As a web developer, we all must have a strong understanding of this protocol. Let’s review this powerful protocol through the lens of a web developer. We’ll tackle the topic in two parts. In this first entry, we’ll cover the basics and outline the various request and response headers. In the follow-up article, we’ll review specific pieces of HTTP – namely caching, connection handling and authentication. ...