Exploiting Online Games: Cheating Massively Distributed Systems

Exploiting Online Games: Cheating Massively Distributed Systems
Author: Greg Hoglund, Gary McGraw
Greg Hoglund has been involved with software security for many years, specializing in Windows rootkits and vulnerability exploitation. He founded the website darkreading.com, and is frequently quoted in the press. Besides serving as a strategic counselor for top business and IT executives, Gary is on the advisory boards of Fortify Software and Raven White. His dual Ph.D. is in cognitive science and computer science from Indiana University where he serves on the Dean s Advisory Council for the School of Informatics. Gary is an IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors member and produces the monthly Silver Bullet Security Podcast for IEEE Security & Privacy magazine.

Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design, and Implementation

Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design, and Implementation
Revised to reflect the needs of today’s users, this 10th edition of Database Processing assures that you will learn marketable skills. By presenting SQL SELECT statements near the beginning of the book readers will know early on how to query data and obtain results-seeing firsthand some of the ways that database technology is useful in the marketplace. By utilizing free software downloads, you will be able to actively use a DBMS product by the end of the 2nd chapter. Each topic appears in the context of accomplishing practical tasks. Its spiral approach to database design (incorporating all 3 sources: from the integration of existing data, from new information, and the need to redesign an existing database) provides users with enhanced information not available in other database books on the market. Topics include: SQL, database design, implementation, processing, access standards, and business intelligence. An excellent reference and handbook for information systems professionals such as database administrators, database designers, systems analysts, web-database developers, and programmers of database applications.

Toshiba MEV30K V-Series Portable Video Player

Toshiba MEV30K V-Series Portable Video Player
It seems that every electronics company has its own version of a portable media player on the market these days. If it’s not a video iPod it has to fight for whatever piece of turf is not already ruled by Apple. The Toshiba Gigabeat is a worthy contender in this category. Its high-tech look and features, portabililty, and ease of use make it a great choice for all lovers of Windows Media Player looking to go mobile with their music, photos, and video. Crisp video in the palm of your hand. What It Does The Gigabeat MEV30 synchronizes with Windows Media Player on your PC via USB cable to its 30 Gigabyte hard drive, allowing you to bring your photos, video, and music with you wherever you go. Depending on the type of camera you have, it is also possible to connect directly to you digital camera when you out and about, so you can view, share, and store your photos without having to hook your camera up to your PC first. With the included audio/AV cable you can also watch video or slide shows on your TV. Design With its shiny silver and black finish, and small and sleek design (4.9 x 3.0 x 0.7 inches (W x H x D)) the MEV30 looks both high-tech and sophisticated. It’s a little too big for the pocket of your jeans, but fits nicely into a jacket pocket or purse. The front of the device is dominated by its 3.5-inch diagonal LCD screen, which supports 320 x 240 resolution and up to 65,000 colors. While a a 640 x 480 with support for millions of colors would be better, the display is still bright and crisp. The widescreen format is also very welcome and gives it an edge over the square screen of the video iPod. To the right of the screen you’ll find the buttons that let you interface with the device. Logical controls and a user-friendly interface. Chief among these is the small joystick that lets you quickly navigate lists in four directions, and make selections by simply pressing down. Just beneath, there’s a Home button displaying the Windows symbol, and a return button. Volume controls and a small speaker round out the main controls. Along the top are buttons to control the video player, as well as a sliding lock and power button. The left side is responsible for input/output and charging. This includes USB, a single jack for audio and video, and the AC power adapter. On the bottom are two tiny holes that allow you to reset the device or switch off the battery for storage. Setup Aficianados of Windows Media Player will find it a snap to the get the MEV30 up and running. The device itself is powered by Microsoft Portable Media Center Version 2.0. It comes formatted and ready to go right out of the box, and no additional software is needed for your PC beyond the free Windows Media Player. We had no trouble all using WMP 11 to load photos, video, and music onto the device. To move photos onto the device, The joystick is all you’ll need for most tasks. simply drag and drop them into the synce window within Media Player. For video and music it’s important to remember that since the MEV30 runs only with Windows Media Player you can only add content allowed by Windows. Try to sync an album you bought on the iTunes Store, for example, and all you’ll get is an error message. If you can create playlists, organize video and photos, and generally get Widows Media Player to do what you want it to do, you will have no trouble at all using the MEV30. If Media Player is new to you, however, you will need to spend some time working with it before attempting to go mobile with your media. Operation Once you are synced up, the intuitive interface makes it easy to find what you’re looking for. The main menu lists media by type: tv, music, pictures, and videos. You’ll also find a “settings” feature that lets you adjust functions for all media types. Moving through these menus is a snap with the four-way joystick; simply point and click. The photo viewer plays slide shows and also allows you to zoom in on a picture and pan and scan to see exactly what you want up close. The video player is simple to use and does everything you want–one click on the joystick pauses, a push to the right lets you fastforward, and a push to the left rewinds. The music player likewise contains most functions you would expect from a serious media player: shuffle, equalizer, support for playlists, repeat, and time display. Here it would be nice to have a few other options, such as alarm and sleep timer functions, but as a basic music player it is functional and easy to use. One click on the menu button returns you directly to the main menu. To sum up, the Gigabeat MEV30 faces stiff competition both from the iPod, as well as from Microsoft’s new Zune media player. If you are looking for a fully-functional and sleek portable media player that uses Windows Media Player, however, you won’t go wrong with this device. Pros Easy to setup and operate. Multi-functional: video, photos, music. A/V out lets you watch on tv. Sleek and stylish design. 30 GB hard drive lets you store lots of pictures, music, and video. Cons Only works via Windows Media Player. Knowledge of WMA required. Higher resolution would be nice. What’s in the Box MEV30K portable video player, A/V cable, USB cable (A-miniB), USB conversion cable (miniA-A), headphones, AC adapter, CD-ROM (software, owner’s manual), and quick start guide.

Samsung NV10 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera

Samsung NV10 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera
Samsung NV10 offers still pictures that are sharper and more detailed than most digital cameras around. This 10-megapixel digital-camera features the distinctive Life-Style appearance along with an innovative Smart-Touch control pad, a sleek, brushed black aluminum body and compact design. The NV10, measuring just .7-inches thick, includes a Schneider 3x optical zoom lens (35-105mm equivalent), a 5x digital zoom and a large, 2.5-inch color LCD display. Advanced Shaking Reduction (ASR) provides enhanced image clarity by electronically compensating for excess hand shake and improving color in environments lacking sufficient lighting where the use of the electronic-flash is not desirable. For crystal-clear images under various shooting conditions, the NV10 features 11 scene modes, including Night, Portrait, Children, Landscape, Close-up, Sunset, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow and Text Recognition. Text Recognition, a feature unique to Samsung digital still cameras, allows users to shoot documents such as books, papers and magazines and then extract text from the image taken using the bundled ?Digimax Reader? text recognition software. In addition to its incomparable still picture quality, NV10 can record in VGA (640×480) at 30fps, for smoother video and a larger view of the movie on LCD and TV screens. It also includes a movie stabilizer function that automatically detects and corrects minor lateral and vertical camera movement. For additional control, the continuous video recording function allows the user to pause and resume video recording at any time, while the built-in movie editing function allows users to edit video in-camera. There are also several special effects functions for creative control in-camera, such as Color Effect, Highlight, Photo Frame, Negative and Composite Shot. Color effects include B/W, sepia, blue, green and red. Overall, a great camera for all seasons and reasons. Autofocus

Fuji FinePix F-650 6.0 MegaPixel Digital Camera

Fuji FinePix F-650 6.0 MegaPixel Digital Camera
Form and function come together beautifully in the FinePix F650. This sleek, super compact camera gets you closer to the action. Ergonomically engineered on-board controls for moviemaking and big-screen viewing, right at your fingertips. 6.0 Megapixels delivers clear, detailed images – and the 5.0x opical and 4.4x digital zoom help you capture every detail. An extra-large 3.0″ LCD monitor lets youpreview shots and footage without squinting, and 10 selectable pre-programmed scene modes help you create the perfect image. You can even record movie clips with sound. Auto/Macro focusing Shooting Modes – Auto, Preprogrammed Scene Position (SP), Macro, Movie, Burst/Contonuous Scene Modes – Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Night, Beach & Snow, Sunset, Museum, Partym Flower, Close-Up, Text Image management modes – Best framing, Frame Number Memory Movie recording resolutions – 640 x 480 (30 frames/sec),320 x 240 with monaural sound (zoom cannot be used during movie recording) Playback options – Trimming, Image Rotate, Automatic Playback, 30 Multi-Frame Playback, Sort By Date, Voice Memo Audio recording mode Effective Range – 2.3 – 15.1 ft (Wide), 2.3 – 8.5 ft (Tele) Flash Modes – Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro, Red-Eye Reduction + Slow Synchro White Balance – Automatic, Preset (Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light) Camera Terminals – USB, 5V power, NTSC/PAL video out 32MB internal memory Memory type – xD-Picture Card 2/10 sec. self timer Finepix Photo Mode (F-button) PictBridge, DPOF and EXIF Print 2.2 compatible Tripod socket Lithium-ion rechargeable battery for extended shot life Dimensions(WxHxD) – 4.1 x 2.4 x 1.2 Weight – 6.0 oz (without accessories, batteries xD Card)

16 Blocks (Full Frame)

16 Blocks (Full Frame)
From Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner comes a hard-to-beat thriller (Gene Shalit, Today/NBC-TV). Bruce Willis hits the mark as Jack Mosley, a broken-down New York City police detective assigned to escort a petty criminal (Mos Def) from the precinct to the courthouse. The seemingly simple 16-block journey becomes a test of character fro them when Jack’s ex-partners attempt to stop them.. Its’ the gripping story of how two men change each other during a tense 118-minute struggle between life and death.

Garmin Streetpilot C530 Noth America

Garmin Streetpilot C530 Noth America
The portable StreetPilot c530 comes ready-to-go right out of the box with plenty of options. Garmin Lock anti-theft feature that disables the unit from performing any functions until you type in a specific 4-digit PIN or take the unit to a predetermined location. Monitor traffic tie-ups with the addition of an optional traffic receiver. In select metro areas, with the addition of the GTM 20 FM TMC traffic receiver, the SteetPilot c530 notifies you of accidents, road construction, and weather-related traffic delays and then offers an alternate route. Simply touch the screen icon to calculate a new route. The c530 comes with preloaded maps of North America and includes automatic routing, 2D or 3D map perspective, and turn-by-turn voice directions for simpler navigation. Configurable vehicle icons allows you to select a fun, customized car-shaped icon that displays when autorouting Display – Automotive-grade, sunlight-readable, anti-glare TFT LCD display, Width 2.8 x Height 2.1 (7.2 x 5.4 cm), 320 x 240 pixels with touch screen Battery life – up to 8 hours Receiver – New high-sensitivity WAAS-capable GPS receiver by SiRF Configurable car icons Fingertip touch-screen interface Choose 2D or 3D map perspective Upload custom POI (Points of Interests) including alerts for speed zones and safety cams Add optional software with SD memory card expansion slot Unit Dimensions – Width 4.4 x Height 3.2 x Depth 2.2 (11.3 x 8.2 x 5.6 cm) Unit Weight – 0.59 pounds (269 grams)

Toy

Toy
For the first time in motion picture history, the outrageous talent of Richard Pryor and the comedic sense of Jackie Gleason are combined in the same film. Gleason is U.S. Bates, a megalomaniac millionaire who owns most of central Louisiana. Pryor is Jack Brown, a former journalist who has worked his way down the vocational ladder to the position of janitor in Bates’ department store. Among Bates’ other vast holdings is a young son Eric (Scott Schwartz) who visits his father for one week a year. Typically, Eric is chauffeured to the department store after-hours to pick out anything he wants. This time, Eric has a more elaborate toy in mind–Jack Brown. So begins the unique friendship that teaches Eric more about life than fun and games.