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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER 26 FEBRUARY - 02 MARCH, 2024
Hello and Welcome,
Meetings This Week
NO MEETINGS
Meeting Next Week
2024/03/02 — 13:00-14:00 — March, Sat — Penrith Group
Schedule of Current & Upcoming Meetings
First Tuesday 18:00-20:00 — Main Meeting
First Saturday 13:00-14:00 — Penrith Group
Second Tuesday 18:00-20:00 — Programming
Third Tuesday 10:00-12:00 — Tuesday Group
Third Saturday 14:00-16:00 — Web Design
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Go to the official Sydney PC Calendar for this month's meeting details.
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Penrith meetings are held every 2nd month on the 1st Saturday from 1-2 pm.
The next scheduled meetings are in March, May and July 2024.
ASCCA News:Tech News:
Toothbrush Botnet Army Story Was Bogus
See the InfoPackets article by John Lister on February 16 2024, at 01:02 pm EST.
Killer Toothbrushes?
Reports that 3 million "smart" toothbrushes were hacked and weaponized are misleading. It appears to have been a mistranslation or misunderstanding.
The reports first surfaced last week in Switzerland and involved toothbrushes supposedly running the Java computer language. They were said to have been hacked and used for a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that caused massive disruption and financial costs to a targeted business.
Not every element of the story is as utterly ridiculous as it might seem. "Smart" toothbrushes do exist, with connections to smartphone apps. In some cases, this works similarly to a fitness tracker to motivate users and hold them accountable for daily brushing for the correct amount.
In other cases, the toothbrushes have sensors that can give real-time feedback about whether the user is pressing too hard, with the toothbrush dropping rotation speed to compensate. The toothbrush can also have dedicated brushing modes, for example, to protect gums, increase the rate and pressure for whitening particular areas, or reduce pressure on sensitive teeth.
DDoS Does Happen
Meanwhile, DDoS attacks with a vast network of hijacked devices can be a significant issue. They involve inundating a website or server with bogus requests for data until it can no longer deal with the sheer volume of traffic, which cuts access to the site or service when legitimate users request. It's a tactic often used to damage a business or country for commercial, political or military reasons.
The problem is that there's no evidence this attack happened. The original report, which quoted a cyber security company's specialist, gave a hypothetical example to illustrate a broader point that even mundane devices could be used in such an attack.
Translation Troubles
What needs to be clarified is whether this point was lost in translation from the original German text or if the article was written (intentionally or otherwise) in an ambiguous manner. The cyber security company suggests the former. (Source: zdnet.com)
Those who first doubted the story pointed out that few, if any, toothbrush manufacturers have sold three million units that would be vulnerable to the same security flaw.
They've also noted the critical point that the toothbrushes don't connect directly to the Internet but rather via a Bluetooth connection to a smartphone app. To pull off such an attack, hackers must first compromise the phone and install malware on the toothbrushes. (Source: bleepingcomputer.com)
What's Your Opinion?
Did you see this story? Would you have believed it? Are concerns about smart tech vulnerability overhyped or underplayed?
Comments
Attack of the toothbrushes! — Submitted by ronangel1 on Fri, 16/02/2024 — 19:24.
Thank goodness. I had to remove the batteries from my toothbrush after every use and put it in a locked Faraday cage under the bathroom sink!
I also no longer feel that every time I pass the electric toothbrush display in a store they send information about my movements to headquarters in some Eastern European country!
But I am still wary about the Chinese-made ones, as you never know!
Telstra reports profit for the first half of fiscal 2024. NAS arm disappoints
See the iTWire article by Sam Varghese | Friday, 16 February 2024 at 08:52 am.
Australia's biggest telecommunications company, Telstra, has reported a billion dollars in profit for the first half of fiscal 2024, a rise of 11.5 % over the corresponding period a year prior.
The company's results for the period, released on Thursday, showed it had income of $11.7 billion, a rise of 1.2 % year-on-year.
In a statement, Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady said overall momentum was good, driven by continued growth across mobile, fixed C&SB (Consumer and Small Business) and infrastructure.
"Our mobile business remains central to growth and continues to perform strongly, growing EBITDAI almost $300 million in the half driven by more customers, ARPUII growth and cost discipline," she said.
"Our Consumer & Small Business Fixed Business more than doubled EBITDA mainly due to productivity, and our Infrastructure businesses also grew, reflecting continued strong demand for our assets.
"Within our Enterprise Fixed business, Data & Connectivity is performing as expected; however, NAS (network applications and services) is a long way from where we need it to be."
Brady said the company was conducting a detailed review of its domestic Enterprise business and had a clear set of immediate and significant actions to address performance, which were both cost- and revenue-based.
"We are undertaking a full review of the products and services we provide within our Enterprise business, particularly our NAS portfolio, to make sure they both meet our customers' current and future needs and create shareholder value," she said.
"Given the performance in our NAS business, we are tightening our FY24 Underlying EBITDA guidance range to $8.2 to $8.3 billion. FY24 guidance across other measures is reaffirmed.
"We have remained disciplined in reducing costs, particularly considering the external economic environment. This discipline delivered $64 million in core fixed costs during the half. Cumulatively we've delivered $105 million since FY22.
"We remain committed to capital discipline and delivering our T25 Underlying EBITDA, EPSIII and ROICIV growth ambitions.
"While we're being challenged by cost pressure, we still expect to achieve most of our cost-out ambition by the end of FY25."
I EBITDA — Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation
II ARPU — Average Revenue Per User
III EPS — Earnings Per Share
IV ROIC — Returns On Its Capital
Some Interesting YouTube Videos on Mini PCs
See the 6m:41s Video of 7 Reasons Why You Should Replace Your Desktop With a Mini PC.
See the 11m:32s Video of Best Mini PC 2024 [don't buy one before watching this].
See the 11m:52s Video of Can A Mini PC Compete Against Desktop?.
See the 12m:22s Video of 10 Things To Know About Mini PC Before You Buy.
See the 18m:00s Video of Mini PC vs Gaming Laptop...Which is Better?.
See the 3hr:37m:10s Video of HOLY COW! Setting up RAID 0 on MINISFORUM UM790 PRO - Performance is INSANE!.
— Ed.
Fun Facts:
Ten Fascinating Facts About Google Doodles
See the How-To Geek article by JOE KEELEY | PUBLISHED 17 February 2024.
The ever-changing Google logo began as an out-of-office notice.
It's not unusual to visit Google's homepage and find that the logo has changed to celebrate something, like a holiday, event, or person. Known as Google Doodles, these colourful artworks had humble beginnings, but to date, over 5,000 have been created by a host of artists.
What was the first-ever Google Doodle? What's Pac-Man got to do with it? And can you design your own? Let's explore the exciting world of Google Doodles.
1. The First Doodle Was an Out-of-Office Notice
If you're taking time off work, pop on your email's out-of-office notification. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, had something else in mind when attending the Burning Man festival in 1998.
To let everyone know that the pair wouldn't be around, they placed the Burning Man logo behind Google's second "O". It's so old that it predates Google being incorporated and features the Yahoo-inspired exclamation mark.
Burning Man
What began as a joke would create the decades-spanning art of the Google Doodle.
2. Doodles Vary by Country
Nowadays, Doodles is an international affair. While some appear globally across every version of Google, others are for specific countries to highlight local holidays and culture. There can be different Doodles appearing in various countries on the same day.
The first non-US Doodle appeared on July 14, 2000 (two years after the first Doodle) to celebrate France's Bastille Day. Festivities include fireworks, hence their inclusion on the Doodle.
3. Doodles Became Animated for Halloween
Doodles took only a short time to go to the next level: animation. In 2000, artist Lorie Loeb designed a spooky GIF with a glowing jack-o'-lantern and hanging spider to celebrate Halloween.
There have been more advanced animated Doodles since then, but GIFs continue to endure.
4. Doodles Can Take Hours or Years to Create
One of the quickest Doodles ever created was in November 2009 for the discovery of water on the moon. Doodles' artist Jennifer Hom recalls the story on the Google Doodles' Website.
She stumbled across a news article about the event that morning; just before she ate lunch, she got a call to have the Doodle "sketched, drafted, finished, and live on all our homepages in four hours."
On the opposite end of the scale is Doodle Champion Island Games, an expansive role-playing sports game designed for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
It was delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and had a sizable development team, including collaboration with Japanese animation company Studio 4°C. Thankfully, they finished the project, and you can play Doodle Champion Island Games in all its glory.
5. Pac-Man Is a Playable Doodle
Pac-Man is just as iconic as Google, so what better way to introduce the first interactive Doodle than with the yellow chomper himself? To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man in 2010, the Google logo was turned into a playable version of the game, complete with original sound effects, gameplay logic, and even bugs!
It remained on the Google homepage for two days, but it's one of many Google Doodles you can still play today.
6. You Can Browse Your Birthday Doodles
Forget caring about the newspaper headlines from the day you were born. How about the Google Doodle of the day? Okay, you might have been born before 1998, but you can still see which Doodles have appeared on your birthday in the subsequent years.
Head to the Google Doodles' Homepage and use the "Find Your Doodle" feature. You can also search Doodles by style, colour, and topic. You never have to miss out on another Doodle.
7. Doodles Exist in Many Art Forms
You've learned about animated and interactive Doodles, but this scratches the surface of what they can be. The first video Doodle debuted in 2011 for Charlie Chaplin's birthday, leading the way for other videos to honor Lucille Ball and Freddie Mercury that same year.
2018 saw the first VR/360 Doodle, inspired by French film pioneer Georges Méliès. In 2020, composer Johann Sebastian Bach was celebrated in an AI-powered Doodle, which used machine learning to turn your melody into Bach's style.
Not all Doodles are this technologically advanced. Others are made from plants, quilts, or coffee. You can make the Google logo out of anything!
8. It's Easy to Submit Your Doodle Idea
Do you have a fantastic idea for a Doodle that you think Google has overlooked? All you have to do is drop the team an email at doodleproposals@google.com.
While they receive hundreds of ideas daily, they read them all. Just make sure it's something unique if you want a shot at Doodle ideation fame.
9. Students Can Design Their Own Doodles
You might be lucky if you dream of your own Doodle gracing Google's homepage. Google has an in-house team of Doodlers but also commissions work from external artists.
If you're a K-12 student, check out the Doodle for Google initiative. Not only will your Doodle be seen by millions of people, but you'll win scholarship money, tech for your school, and more. Having launched in 2005, it's the longest-running Google contest.
10. Doodles Has a Feline Mascot
The internet loves cats, so it makes sense that Doodles' mascot is a black feline called Momo, based on a former Google designer's real-life pet. While a black cat appeared in the 2015 Halloween Doodle, Momo's headline appeared in the Magic Cat Academy game a year later.
Now, Momo is the Doodle character with the most appearances. While you're most likely to spot her at Halloween, she crops up elsewhere, too, so keep your eyes peeled.
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It's a testament to the power of Google's brand that it can get away with changing its logo so often. Head over to Google's homepage today, and you'll likely find a fun Doodle to admire — and perhaps you'll even learn something, too.
Meeting Location & Disclaimer
Bob Backstrom
~ Newsletter Editor ~
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