TCPDUMP question

It seems to work as expected for me, but I did notice one thing. When I first tried to run the program as root, it failed to create the first file with a permission error. It turns out that tcpdump changes uid/gid internally to the user/group tcpdump. Since that user/group did not have write access to the directory, it failed. Once I created a subdir and gave tcpdump ownership of the subdir (chown/chgrp), tcpdump performed as expected.

via TCPDUMP question – FedoraForum.org.

GRUB 2.00 Boot-Loader Officially Released

The GRUB2 boot-loader features an EHCI driver, an official theme, ports to Itanium and SGI MIPS architectures, better default video mode selection using monitor EDID information, new drivers (EHCI / AHCI / ESCC serial / EFI / Network stack / VBE on Coreboot), new file-system support, improved file-system capabilities, new boot protocols, performance improvements, better internationalization, and improved installation support.

via [Phoronix] GRUB 2.00 Boot-Loader Officially Released.

Malware author taunts security researchers with built-in chat

Security researchers from AVG were decompiling a trojan — it had been originally posted to a Diablo III forum, masquerading as a how-to video — when the malware’s author popped up in a window on their screen. It turned out that the trojan had a built-in chat, as well as a screen-capture facility. The hacker who wrote the malware saw them working on defeating her or his virus and decided to tell them off for their audacity. Franklin Zhao and Jason Zhou, the AVG researchers, wrote up their experience:

via Malware author taunts security researchers with built-in chat – Boing Boing.

New manufacturing technology enables vertical 3D NAND transistors, higher capacity SSDs

According to the folks at Applied Materials, trying to build 3D NAND structures in real life would be like trying to dig a one-kilometer-deep, three-kilometer-long trench with walls exactly three meters apart, through interleaved rock strata — and that’s before we discuss gate trenches or the staircases. Conventional etching systems deal with aspect ratios of 3:1 – 4:1, 3D etching requires an aspect ratio of 20:1 or more — and that’s not easy to pull off.

via New manufacturing technology enables vertical 3D NAND transistors, higher capacity SSDs | ExtremeTech.

The Amazon Effect

Amazon’s entry into publishing’s traditional casino is a sideshow. More worrisome, at least over the long term, is the success of Amazon’s Kindle Single program, an effort to encourage writers to make an end run around publishers, not only of books but of magazines as well. That program offers writers a chance to publish original e-book essays of no more than 30,000 words (authors agree to a bargain-basement price of no more than $2.99 in exchange for a 70 percent royalty and no advance).

via The Amazon Effect | The Nation.

This article is very long winded but makes a good history reference for amazon.

Licensing/Technology Transfer The Sandia Cooler

Sandia researchers have developed a radically new architecture for air-cooled heat exchangers.

via Sandia National Laboratories : Licensing/Technology Transfer The Sandia Cooler.

In this new device architecture, heat is efficiently transferred from a stationary base plate to a rotating (counterclockwise) structure that combines the functionality of cooling fins with a centrifugal impeller.  Dead air enveloping the cooling fins is subjected to a powerful centrifugal pumping effect, providing a 10x reduction in boundary layer thickness at a speed of a few thousand rpm.  Additionally, high-speed rotation completely eliminates the problem of heat exchanger fouling.  The “direct drive advantage”, in which relative motion between the cooling fins and ambient air is created by rotating the heat exchanger, provides a drastic improvement in aerodynamic efficiency.  This translates to an extremely quiet operation.  The benefits have been quantified on a proof-of-concept prototype.