World Bodypainting Festival 2011( part 2)

World Bodypainting Festival 2011( part 1)

GRAZ, AUSTRIA - JULY 03: A painted model poses for photographers on the final day at the World Bodypainting Festival 2011 on July 3, 2011 in Poertschach, Austria. The festival has been taking place since 1998 and this year drew body painting artists from 40 different nations. (Photo by Mathias Kniepeiss/Getty Images)

German Security Unit Points Out Loopholes in Apple’s Security

Early this week, the iPad manufacturer, Apple’s site suffered a data breach. Although the loss of data was passed as minor by the brand, it did raise a lot of questions about the security of the users’ data on the site. Now, in an official release by an IT security agency based in Germany, Apple’s iOS, in its current form is heading for a bigger fall, which by all means is preventable.

Needs fixing!

According to the official release, in German by the German Federal Office for Information Security, or the Bundesamt fur Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI), Apple’s iOS device could easily succumb to malicious code if an infected PDF file was opened on the device. Although, the system hasn’t been attacked yet, BSI senses a strong attack in the making, if Apple officials don’t fix up the flaws.


Here's an excerpt from the German press release (which can be accessed here) translated into English:

1.3 Million User Details Leaked as Washington Post Suffers Hack

In an official announcement on their website, it Is learned that the Online Jobs section on Washington Post's website was hacked last week between June 27 and June 28. Although the section was shut down with immediate effect, it has been found that the unidentified miscreant had accessed nearly 1.3 million email addresses, in addition to the user IDs.

Hacked.. 

However having said that, Washington Post clarified that the personal data, and passwords remained untouched. In a detailed report posted on their website, Washington Post revealed that it had informed all its users about the data breach via email, and also assured that the website had implemented extra security measures to avoid a hack in the future.

Washington Post is one of the most widely read, and subsequently the largest newspaper in Washington D.C. That perhaps, explains that huge size of their user base, on their online portal. This hack comes in the wake of security breaches affecting governmental, financial social sites, and hence is a worrying trend.

Astronauts Leave Cameras Behind in Space

While most of us would do almost anything for a good high-end DSLR, NASA astronauts are used to leaving behind camera equipment in space. The last Endeavor crew and specifically, Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli carried some camera equipment up to space to shoot photographs. He was carrying a Nikon D3s and a D2Xs full-frame sensor camera with a 24-120mm lens. The value of the equipment taken to space was roughly $8,000. The D3x isn't exactly a cheap camera. After clicking several photos in the ISS, he returned back to earth in a Soyuz spacecraft. But before he did that, he dumped the cameras into a capsule that detaches itself from the spacecraft before re-entry. The constituents of the capsule are all disintegrated during re-entry. The memory cards were carried with the astronauts on their way back to earth. There’s a cargo checking process that is done by Russian authorities before the astronaut can take the memory cards back with him. Paolo Nespoli is said to have clicked photos from a distance of 200m from the international space station. He was also said to be carrying a Fujifilm FinePix 3D W1 camera with him.

Leh, a sight-seeing paradise

You’re in Leh embraced by its beauty and charm. Basking in nature and serenity. Falling in love with its rustic exquisiteness. But now enough admired, its time to get out and explore the fun side of this tranquil town.

Read on to find out more about the fun sight-seeing spots you must visit when in Leh.

Monastry

Leh Palace, Namgyal Tsemo Hill

The nine-storey high Leh Palace is one magnificent edifice, which was built by King Sengge Namgyal in the 17th century with an uncanny resemblance to the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. With the Ladakh mountain range as its backdrop towards the north, the Leh Palace is an architectural marvel that opens up sprawling views of the entire town and its surrounding areas from the rooftop.

Further up from the Leh Palace, the Namgyal Tsemo Hill rises over it like a kingly ceremonial headgear and is the resting ground for an ancient fort ruin. This fort is said to have been the earliest royal residence of the Namgyal dynasty and is flanked by some temples built in veneration of the guardian deities.

Excursion to Khardung La Top
Khardung La or Khardung Pass – a much romanticized high altitude adventure trail – happens to be the gateway to Nubra and Shyok Valleys. Standing proud at an altitude of 5359 meters (17,582 feet), contrary to the signage and the local voice claiming it to be 5602 meters (18,380 feet) high, Khardung Pass is the road that’s sporadically trod by adventure-streaked bikers. Known by locals as Khardong La and even Khardzong La, it has a mesmerizing effect on people who visit it. So much so that sometimes tourists hang around patiently for days, waiting for the accursed road-blocking snow to shy away and leave the stage for some breathtaking tripping.

Shanti Stupa
This is an astonishingly unique structure that rests at an altitude of 4,267 meters (14,000 feet) on a hilltop in Changspa village, about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from Leh. Overlooking the Leh Palace from the steep hill (which can be reached by treading 500 steps), the white domed structure heralds the spread of a noble spiritual effort that began way back in 1914 in Japan.

Choglamsar SOS Village, Stok Palace
The SOS Tibetan children’s village (TCV), a milestone achievement and an enthusiastic foray into social development, is an institutional effort at spreading child education initiated through a joint collaboration of his Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Indian Govt.

Widescreen: Sudan Splits

Sudan's south will become an independent country on July 9, but fighting along the ill-defined border has raised tension ahead of the split. North and south have yet to resolve issues such as how to manage the oil industry and divide debt. Here’s a look at the current situation in Sudan through Reuters photographer Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah’s lens.

REUTERS / Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

A Sudanese from the south, who stayed in the north for 21 years, stands outside her shelter at Mandela camp,

 in the outskirts of Khartoum, July 4, 2011.

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REUTERS / Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

A Sudanese from the south who was born in the north, plays near a shelter at Mandela camp in the outskirts 

of Khartoum July 4, 2011.

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REUTERS / Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

A Sudanese from the south who was born in the north, plays near a shelter at Mandela camp in the outskirts of

 Khartoum July 4, 2011.

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AP Photo / Pete Muller

Southern Sudanese boys take shelter from afternoon rains that disrupted rehearsal for independence day celebrations in the capital city of Juba on Monday, July 4, 2011.

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REUTERS / Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

Sudanese children from the south who were born in the north, play near a shelter at Mandela camp in the outskirts

 of Khartoum July 4, 2011.

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REUTERS / Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

A Sudanese child from the south, wearing a t-shirt with the picture of U.S. President Barack Obama, stands near

 a shelter at Mandela camp, in the outskirts of Khartoum, July 4, 2011.

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REUTERS / Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

Sudanese children from the south play at Mandela camp, in the outskirts of Khartoum, July 4, 2011.

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REUTERS / Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

Sudanese from the south load belongings onto a truck bound for southern Sudan at Mandela camp, in the outskirts

 of Khartoum, July 4, 2011.

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REUTERS / Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

Sudanese from the south load belongings onto a truck bound for southern Sudan at Mandela camp, in the outskirts

 of Khartoum, July 4, 2011.

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REUTERS / Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

Sudanese from the south load belongings onto a truck bound for southern Sudan at Mandela camp, in the outskirts

 of Khartoum, July 4, 2011.

The Guinness World Record for iPad Typing Speed Has Been Broken

The Guinness World record for the fastest typing speed on an iPad has been broken. The record broken by the 15 year old son of the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, is the new world record holder for typing the entire English alphabet (A-Z) on the iPad keyboard in 5.26 seconds. The previous record was 6.31 seconds, held by Charlie Joseph McDonnell set in late June of last year. All this while, Apple's reworking its keyboard software for the iPad. iOS 5 will bring changes to the iPad keypad including allowing users to split the keyboard when in landscape mode.

Fastest finger first

According to reports, Saakashvili "spent months getting ready for those few seconds". However, he cannot break the world record for typing on a computer keyboard. That record is held by Sudhakar Raju in 3.52 seconds. This record cannot be taken over to the iPhone either. The Guinness Book of Records recommends this phrase: "The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human," which has only been attempted on a Samsung Galaxy S smartphone and not on an iPhone yet. That sentence has been done in 25.94 seconds.

Hacking of Fox News claimed by group with links to Anonymous

The fake messages about President Obama's assassination on the Fox News account

A group loosely connected to the hacker collective Anonymous says it took control of the Fox News Politics Twitter account to claim that President Obama had been assassinated while campaigning in Iowa.
The Fox News Politics account – @foxnewspolitics – was used to put out a number of fake tweets saying that President Obama had been shot in the head and died, and that vice-president Joe Biden had been installed in his place. The tweets went out at around 2am Pacific time (5am EST, 10am BST). Obama is in fact thought to be in Washington at the White House, where his schedule shows he is due to give a speech in the Rose Garden at 6.30pm.
A representative of the group 'Scriptkiddies' said in an interview with Stony Brook University's Think Magazine: "We are looking to find information about corporations to assist with antisec [a concerted hacker attack on corporate and government security]. Fox News was selected because we figured their security would be just as much of a joke as their reporting."
He warned too that Fox News might see more attacks: "I've looked into their security, and site defacement does not seem to be an option. Everything else is fair game."
The Script Kiddies representative added: "I would consider us to be close in relation [to Anonymous], two of the members of our group were members of Anonymous ... I was a member of Anonymous. We hope to be working with them soon."
'Script kiddie' is a generally insulting phrase used by hackers about inexperienced would-be hackers who used ready-made programs to attack sites. The group's name here plays on that.
The attack is the latest in a rapidly growing list of attacks this year on the online presence of corporations and governments since Sony's PlayStation Network was hacked in April, exposing the details of more than 75 million users. Since then many other game and company sites have been hit, with varying degrees of disruption.
The Script Kiddie representative told Think Magazine: "It will be a never-ending battle. The names change from time to time, like LulzSec and Anonymous or Script Kiddies. But there will always be a group of people that need to stand up for everyone else and attempt to keep the government in balance with its people. Without groups like Anonymous, what is there to prevent corruption?"
The group tried to create a number of Twitter accounts, but they had all been suspended wtihin hours of being created.
Meanwhile, "AnonymousIRC" – thought to be composed of some of the leaders of LulzSec – has continued to attack web systems belonging to the Arizona police. They also leaked the user names and encrypted passwords to a survey system belonging to Apple, saying: "Apple could be [a] target, too. But don't worry, we are busy elsewhere."

China opens world's longest sea bridge

This photo taken Tuesday, June 21, 2011 released by China's Xinhua news agency shows the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. China opened Thursday, June 30, 2011, the world's longest cross-sea bridge, which is 42 kilometers (26 miles) long and links China's eastern port city of Qingdao to an offshore island, Huangdao. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Yan Runbo)

QIngdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is seen in Qingdao, Shandong province, in this general view taken June 27, 2011. The world's longest sea bridge spanning Jiaozhou Bay of Qingdao City, Shandong Province, opened on Thursday, June 30. The bridge is 36 km (22 miles) long, Xinhua News Agency reported. Picture taken on June 27, 2011. REUTERS/China Daily

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This photo taken Wednesday, June 29, 2011 released by China's Xinhua news agency shows the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. China opened Thursday, June 30, 2011, the world's longest cross-sea bridge, which is 42 kilometers (26 miles) long and links China's eastern port city of Qingdao to an offshore island, Huangdao. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Yan Runbo)