MIT, Cambridge U. to stage cyber war

The brightest young minds on either side of the Atlantic will wage pretend cyber war in a "Cambridge vs. Cambridge" competition as part of a joint effort announced yesterday by President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron to bolster cooperation between the two countries to counter hacking and improve cybersecurity.

Teams from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Cambridge will sweat it out in a game of cyber Capture the Flag, where each team will try to steal secrets from their opponent's computer while keeping their foe out of their own system.

"This is a way for getting the kind of experience and training that when you walk into the practical world is absolutely necessary," said Howard Shrobe, director of cybersecurity at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. "(I hope) a number of them get motivated to continue on as researchers and try to address the big questions."

Shrobe said many students that go through MIT's cybersecurity program go on to work in the industry.

"The aim is to enhance cybersecurity research at the highest academic level within both countries to bolster our cyber defenses," the White House said in a press release.

The competition is part of a larger series of initiatives Obama and Cameron outlined, including cyber war games to boost both countries' resistance to cyberattacks, beginning with simulated attacks on banks and the financial sector.

The two Western powers have also agreed to launch a joint "cyber cell" to share information on cyber threats. The FBI and the National Security Agency will be involved, along with Britain's GCHQ and MI5 intelligence and security agencies.

Another program, the Fulbright Cyber Security Award, will train a new generation of "cyber agents," officials said, providing funds for students from both countries to research cybersecurity for up to six months.

23.54 | 0 komentar | Read More

New Hampshire delegation requests openness in pipeline plan

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire's congressional delegation is calling for an open and transparent process before a final decision is made about a proposed natural gas pipeline route in the state.

Texas-based Kinder Morgan wants to construct about 70 miles of pipeline through southern New Hampshire. About 90 percent of the project would be along an existing power line corridor.

In letters to Kinder Morgan and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte and Reps. Frank Guinta and Annie Kuster urge that New Hampshire residents have ample opportunity to express their views.

The letter notes Kinder Morgan filed its latest proposal Dec. 8, which shifts much of the pipeline out of northern Massachusetts into a number of southern New Hampshire towns.

23.54 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cab owners suing Boston say regs favor rides such as Uber

A group of taxi owners is suing Boston in federal court, alleging that allowing ride-for-hire services such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar to operate in the Hub violates "their constitutional rights to just compensation."

The lawsuit, filed yesterday on behalf of two taxi owners, Raphael Ophir and Joseph Pierre, and the Boston Taxi Owners Association, accuses the city of "applying burdensome and costly taxi regulations" while allowing a handful of ride-sharing services to "compete without complying with those requirements or incurring the very large costs the City imposes on the Plaintiffs."

"The City requires members of the taxi industry to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per taxi to engage in the taxi business and to comply with its vast set of regulations," the complaint reads. "While the city permits the de facto taxi companies to compete in the same business without any particular regulations."

The lawsuit also claims that state regulations for ride-sharing services — which were recently filed with the secretary of state but still need legislation action — will only "create an irrational, two-tiered regulatory system that unconstitutionally harms the economic property interests of taxicab medallion owners and drivers."

"The new regulation allows TNC's (transportation networking companies) to use practically any vehicle, charge any fare and not obtain commercial insurance, while requiring taxicab medallion owners and drivers to use specific vehicles, charge set rates, obtain certain insurance and incur mandated expenses," the complaint reads.

A separate motion seeks an injunction to block those new state regulations.

23.54 | 0 komentar | Read More

Windows 10 must lock in users

Next week's big Microsoft announcement is the software giant's last chance to convince the world that its legacy Windows operating system has any relevance to our innovation landscape.

The preview of its upcoming Windows 10 operating system is expected to be consumer-focused, and is being live-streamed starting at noon Wednesday.

Still fresh in the mind of its target demographic is Microsoft's disastrous, tone-deaf Windows 8, which left users frustrated by the absence of the familiar start button and desktop — and struggling with hidden mechanisms like so-called "charms" that were activated only by swiping the screen just so.

At first blush, Windows 10, which is expected to hit shelves by the end of the year, looks like the best of both worlds, with elements familiar to the widely used Windows 7, like the start menu, as well as elements from the newer system that were well-received by users, like live tiles.

The app store and core functions will be consistent across PCs, tablets and phones, Microsoft promises. A new so-called quadrant layout allows the user to easily snap apps to the screen for four-way multitasking, and the start menu is back as a space that can be customized and contains live tiles, or a quick status preview of apps and programs.

Not only does this new system need to be built to seamlessly integrate with smart-home innovation and wearable fitness devices, it also must help reclaim Microsoft's waning ownership of the Internet.

Recognizing this, the company has commissioned an entirely new, feature-rich way to surf the Web, code-named Spartan, which may also be unveiled at the event. Either way, the Internet Explorer browser is finally set to be replaced, and the new version released with Windows 10.

Within Microsoft, there's an enthusiasm around the new operating system that is very different than the rampant tamping down of expectations and at times, plain nervousness, that I recall prior to the Windows 8 unveiling about three years ago. Tellingly, the head of Microsoft's Xbox multimedia console publicly stated yesterday that Windows 10 could be the "best operating system we've ever created for gamers on PC."

That's big talk from the humble Redmond-based crew.

While it won't be hard to top Windows 8 — largely shunned by consumers and adopted by just one in five businesses — winning back the hearts and minds of software users will take a level of intuition that Microsoft hasn't shown in many years.

23.54 | 0 komentar | Read More

Enjoy top-floor loft in top location

This New York-style loft in downtown Boston sits on the top floor of a five-story building and has been recently upgraded from its original 2005 conversion.

The current owner of 289 Devonshire St. No. 5 has invested $12,000 in a new gas-fired heating and central air system, renovated the unit's two full bathrooms and added European-style LED lighting throughout.

The 1,564-square-foot one-bedroom loft, which has exclusive rights to a deck on a just redone rubber roof, is on the market for $999,000.

The building, which sits above the Viga restaurant, has four condos with direct elevator access to each floor-through unit.

The elevator opens into Unit 5's large, open living/dining area with nearly ­14-foot ceilings, along with exposed ductwork and LED recessed lighting. This space has three large-front facing windows and maple hardwood floors.

The area segues into the unit's kitchen, which features 15 maple cabinets and honed black-granite counters, as well as a bilevel ­island that seats four with new contemporary pendant lamps above. At the end of the island is a built-in wine rack.

Jenn-Air stainless steel appliances from 2005 include a refrigerator, dishwasher, gas stove and built-in microwave, along with a Kitchen Aid compactor.

Around the corner from the kitchen sits a built-in honed black granite desk with maple built-in shelving­ above.

Across the hall sits a full bathroom redone in 2012 with white Carrara marble floors and walls for a whirlpool tub and shower, along with a large white sink ­basin and sconce lighting.

Along the hallway to the bedroom is built-in loft storage space.

The unit's one bedroom is large, and could easily be converted into two decent-sized bedrooms. The bedroom area has maple floors, three large windows and 10-foot ceilings.

There's a walk-through closet with custom built-in maple wardrobes on either side leading into a master bathroom with radiant heated porcelain tile floors and porcelain walls for a glass-doored walk-in shower. There's also a contemporary double-sink with white quartz counters and dual mirrors above.

Outside the bathroom sits a closet with a stacked Whirlpool washer and dryer. And on the far side of the bedroom is a utilities closet with decent storage space.

The new rubber roof will support a 1,380-square-foot private deck reachable through a staircase next to the elevator.

The unit doesn't come with an on-site parking space, and with its metered downtown location, nearby garages are the best option.

23.54 | 0 komentar | Read More

Toyota Camry doesn't toy with success

The changes in the redesigned 2015 Camry are sufficient to attract new buyers, yet subtle enough to appease Camry loyalists.

The new grille and wraparound headlights on its front end give the 2015 Camry a sleek, more aggressive appearance, and taillights that extend into the rear quarter panels echo the front. The overall body shape and roof line is the same, as function over form prevails with the Camry, but 17-inch alloy wheels with chrome paint helped my test sedan's unassuming silver metallic exterior stand out.

The new Camry has a smoother yet slightly stiffer ride as a result of tweaks to the suspension and electronic power steering. A 178-hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine comes standard with the front-wheel-drive Camry. The base model starts at just under $23,000 but higher trim models, such as my XLE tester that tops out at $36,000, come with a much more powerful 268-hp, 3.5-
liter V6.

While other manufacturers have switched to the occasionally choppy, continuously variable transmission for improved fuel economy, Toyota sticks with a six-speed automatic transmission throughout the Camry lineup, perhaps due to its refined and uneventful shifting. My tester yielded 25 mpg in combined city and highway fuel economy. Toyota also offers a hybrid version.

The Camry's wide stance translates into a spacious and comfortable interior. A wide chasm separates driver from passenger and there's plenty of elbow and foot room to seat three in the back seat. Leather-trimmed seats and steering wheel along with a push-button starter gave my tester an aura of luxury.

The center console had a 7-inch multimedia screen that provided easy-to-use navigation. I appreciated conventional tune and volume control dials located on either side of the console. Both controls also are on the steering wheel along with hands-free calling. Connecting my iPhone was trouble-free, allowing me to seamlessly continue listening to an audiobook that I started in another vehicle.

A backup camera is standard across the Camry lineup. My tester also had optional safety technology features that included adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, a pre-collision system, blind spot monitors and rear cross-traffic alert.

Buying a mid-sized sedan is no longer a coin-toss decision between Honda's Accord and the Camry because there's an abundance of choices from other manufacturers, including better-looking sedans that offer more bells and whistles and better fuel economy. Chrysler, Ford, and Subaru offer all-wheel-drive with their mid-sized sedans, a feature absent from the Camry lineup.

But it's really hard to find anything to dislike about the Camry, and perhaps that's why the solidly built and reliable Camry has been a top-selling car in America over the past decade.

Obviously with Toyota's Camry, the phrase "don't mess with success" is universally understood.

23.54 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sea conditions prevent divers from reaching AirAsia fuselage

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia — High waves and strong currents in the Java Sea again prevented Indonesian navy divers from accessing the fuselage and what is believed to be the cockpit from the AirAsia plane that crashed three weeks ago, officials said.

A team of 15 navy divers tried to get to the wreckage to examine it and calculate its weight, but failed to reach it due to the unfavorable conditions, said Suryadi Bambang Supriyadi, director of operations for Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency.

Indonesian survey ships have located at least nine big objects, including the jet's fuselage, what is believed to be the cockpit and an engine, Supriyadi said. The fuselage is sitting on the seabed at a depth of 28 meters (92 feet).

The 30-meter-long (100-foot-long) fuselage and an attached wing were sighted Wednesday. Divers attempted to reach the wreckage Thursday and Friday, but were turned back because of the rough sea conditions.

Authorities believe many of the bodies are still inside the fuselage. There were 162 people aboard Flight 8501 when it crashed into the sea Dec. 28 en route from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore. Only 51 bodies have been recovered so far.

The head of the search and rescue agency, Henry Bambang Soelistyo, said Friday that the fuselage would have to be lifted because of the divers' inability to reach it. This will be done by either using floating balloons, as the tail section was lifted earlier in the week, or cranes from tugboats. Soelistyo did not say when the operation would start.

Divers, however, still need to reach the wreckage area. The wreckage that appears to be the cockpit was located by sonar imagery about 500 meters (yards) from the fuselage and was partly embedded in the mud.

"What we have so far is only a silhouette of the wreckage," Supriyadi said. "We need to deploy our divers to identify whether it's the jet's cockpit or something else."

He also said the divers have been told to retrieve the bodies of the pilot and the co-pilot if they are able to find them in the cockpit.

Bad weather is a suspected factor in the crash. The plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders were retrieved earlier in the week and will be key to learning the cause.

23.54 | 0 komentar | Read More

German finance minister opposes Greek party's debt cut call

BERLIN — Germany's finance minister is cautioning Greek politicians against promising things they can't deliver in upcoming elections and making clear that he opposes a new debt writedown for Athens.

Greece will hold elections Jan. 25, with polls pointing to a first-place finish for the anti-bailout Syriza party. Syriza is demanding that more than half of Greek bailout debt be canceled.

Asked about that demand, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview with the weekly Der Spiegel published Saturday that "this question doesn't arise." He said the next government must keep to existing agreements because "that is in the interest of the Greeks."

Schaeuble was quoted as saying: "Politicians in Greece must take care that they don't promise more before the election than they can keep afterward."

23.54 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lampooned at creation, Golf Channel celebrates 20 years

HONOLULU — Twenty years ago on Saturday, Arnold Palmer flipped a ceremonial switch to launch a risky venture that cynics saw as an easy punch line.

The Golf Channel?

Tennis magazine mocked the idea as "24 hours of chubby guys in bad clothes speaking in jargon that only they understand." Rick Reilly, in his column for Sports Illustrated, suggested programming that included "Body by Jack," a workout session with Jack Nicklaus in which he "takes you through a 30-minute routine you can do without getting out of the cart."

Even the players had their doubts.

"I'm always stunned that there's enough golf stuff for 24 hours a day," Paul Goydos said. "I would have thought, 'Do we really need a Golf Channel? Is there enough viewership? Enough material?' I thought it would be a tough row to hoe, in my opinion. They've proven me wrong."

Players today can't imagine life without Golf Channel.

"That's all I watch," Jason Day said. "I say I don't watch much golf, but I do. Pretty much every day I'm watching Golf Channel."

The network was launched on Jan. 17, 1995, and could be seen in about 10,000 homes. It began as a premium fee ($6.95) and changed to part of a basic cable package by the end of the year, helping it to reach 1.4 million homes.

Twenty years later, Golf Channel can be seen in roughly 120 million homes in 83 countries and is broadcast in 12 languages around the world. Its offices in Orlando, Florida, have more than quadrupled to 160,000 square feet.

And there is no shortage of programming.

The first tournament it broadcast was the Dubai Desert Classic, which Fred Couples won in 1995. On its 20-year anniversary, Golf Channel will have four hours of live coverage from Rory McIlroy's season debut in Abu Dhabi; seven hours of taped coverage and four hours of live coverage from the Sony Open (including a pre-game show), along with its popular "Morning Drive" and a news show.

"It's a big deal," Palmer said Friday morning from his office at Bay Hill. "Everybody is excited and happy with the channel and all the stuff going on. Who would ever thought 20 years ago ... all the things that have happened with Golf Channel?"

Palmer was a co-founder with TV mogul Joe Gibbs, who plans to make an appearance on Golf Channel on Saturday to commemorate the anniversary. Golf Channel began 18 months before Tiger Woods turned pro, so it was blessed with good timing. Comcast eventually bought out the network, and then acquired NBC Universal, which gave Golf Channel even greater resources and branding capabilities.

The most significant moment in its 20 years was when the PGA Tour signed it to a 15-year deal in 2006 that gave Golf Channel rights to Thursday and Friday rounds from the PGA Tour, along with full tournament coverage for the opening three events and the tournaments in the fall. Golf Channel previously had the European Tour and other global events, along with the other three U.S. tours (seniors, women and what is now Web.com).

But there was another turning point equally important in the infancy of the network, a time when even Palmer had his doubts about the future. The question was whether it was prudent for Palmer and his investors to get out and cut their losses.

"We were questioning what we were doing and the viability of what was happening," Palmer said. "And they said, 'How do you feel?' I said, 'Let me say this to you: If I didn't try to hit it through the trees a few times, none of us would be here.'"

The quote is now on a wall at Golf Channel headquarters, a daily reminder that when you hitch up your pants and go for broke, the reward can be immense.

"Even though we're now part of a big company, you still want the spirit of how this place was founded to be a living, breathing part of what makes it tick," Golf Channel President Mike McCarley said. "That culture and everything Arnold represented, that should be part of it."

McCarley said Golf Channel now is the most affluent network of those devoted to a sport, mainly because of the demographic of those watching.

Davis Love III smiled at the coincidence that a network co-founded by Palmer would benefit from the arrival of Woods, the two players who in different ways made golf appealing to the masses.

"It's make a big difference for our sport," Love said.

Golf Channel has kept the newspaper clippings from two decades ago that either panned the idea of a golf channel or predicted failure.

"That was an easy column to write," McCarley said. "It was the first of its kind. Now every sport has its own network."

Geoff Ogilvy of Australia was among the skeptics. He remembers when he first came over to America to play in events like the Western Amateur and the Porter Cup. Golf Channel was just getting started.

"Coming from Australia, we had four channels and we didn't have any cable," Ogilvy said. "I thought this was cool, but no chance anyone was going to watch. They had all these infomercials, like Orlimar Trimetal. Remember that? So I was like, 'Who's going to watch this?' But in the last 10 years when they got the tour deal, I think it really kicked on. Now it's a legitimate channel — really legitimate.

"ESPN was the same," he said. "I remember when they started, they showed Aussie Rules football because it was the only thing they could afford. ESPN only got there when they started showing real sport, and Golf Channel is probably the same. It's a big channel now. It's a big part of our tour."

How far has Golf Channel come?

There are sheer numbers. Golf Channel had the rights to 23 domestic tournaments when it began (mostly the LPGA and Nike tours) and 41 events from Europe, South Africa and Australia. This year, it will televise 189 events from the major tours around the world. It began with 180 employees and now has nearly 700; McCarley said 13 employees have been there from the start.

And there are intangibles. On the day before it celebrated its 20-year anniversary, Palmer watched his grandson, Sam Saunders, compete on the PGA Tour on a network that he helped to start.

23.54 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dodgers star Yasiel Puig buys home in Sherman Oaks

Anyone who knows a thing about Your Mama knows we don't know a damn thing about professional baseball. So, when good ol' Yolanda Yakketyyak got in touch to let us know that Dodger outfielder Yasiel Puig quietly (and via trust) dropped $1.8 million on a gated micro-mansion in Sherman Oaks, CA, we said, "Ya-who?"

Turns out Mister Puig, just 24 years old, was a star player on Cuba's junior and national teams and -- so the scuttlebutt goes -- an occasional state informant. After a handful of thwarted attempts, a clearly very determined Mister Puig -- along with a boxer, a pinup girl and a Santeria priest -- was successfully smuggled out of Cuba in June 2012 by some pretty nefarious sounding characters and almost immediately signed by the L.A. Dodgers to a seven-year contract worth $42 million. By all accounts the franchise, now owned by the high-powered investment consortium Guggenheim Partners, is getting its money's worth from Mister Puig who was named to the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star team.

• BUYER: Yasiel Puig
• LOCATION: Sherman Oaks, CA
• PRICE: $1,800,000
• SIZE: 4,663 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms

According to a report in L.A. Magazine, once signed to the Dodgers and flush with his new-found wealth, young Mister Puig initially moved in to a loft space in downtown Los Angeles but, so swears Yolanda, now has a big new house set behind elaborately scrolled iron gates in a leafy and affluent if nondescript Sherman Oaks neighborhood. Listing details call the 4,663-square-foot residence a "Grand Contemporary Mediterranean" -- we'd call it a quintessential and architecturally challenged San Fernando Valley macmansion -- with half a dozen bedrooms and as many bathrooms.

A stone-floored center hall entry has beige walls, beige inlaid stone tile floors and curved, wrought iron railed staircase that sweeps up to a circular second floor gallery with domed sky light. The pretty much all beige open plan living spaces at the rear include a built-in wet bar, a roomy dining area, formal sitting area and family room with bookshelf flanked and television surmounted fireplace and a built-in aquarium. The (also very beige) adjoining kitchen has a sizable center island, room for a breakfast table next to a sizable center island, speckled granite counter tops, completely average although probably custom-crafted raised panel cabinetry and medium-grade stainless steel appliances.

The second floor has an informal lounge area, four guest/family bedrooms -- two with private balconies, and a spacious master suite with sitting area, fireplace, elevated bed platform, two walk-in closets, a slender wrought iron railed balcony, and an all-beige bathroom with jetted garden tub separate stall shower.

The main living spaces on the lower level open to a fairly compact backyard with stamped concrete terracing around a circular spa that spills in to a small free-form swimming pool and a built-in barbecue center with stone-countered bar, wine fridge and warming drawer.

Listing photos: Sotheby's International Realty

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

23.54 | 0 komentar | Read More