Definition of a Hacker

After reading through a CNN article today revolving around "hacking", I figured I would clarify the true definition of a hacker.


When people misuse the term "Hacker", I cringe. The term hacker has come to mean the evil persons in the world attacking websites or shutting down servers. This, by NO means, is the definition of a hacker. The true definition of a hacker is someone who analyzes and utilizes various forms of knowledge to solve a common problem. This doesn't even have to be computer related! Finding loopholes in internet security is known as a cracker. Crackers are commonly mistaken for hackers. Where as all crackers are hackers, not all hackers are crackers. Even when the term "hacker" or "cracker" is used, it is most often used to label what are known as "Black Hats". Black Hat Hackers are hackers whom use their hacking/cracking ability and knowledge to bypass security for destructive/intrusive purposes. The "White Hat" hacker is the security administrator who uses their hacking knowledge to protect a network from malicious attacks by Black Hats.


CNN Hacker Article

Why the iPad will Fail...

The iPad, announced back in January has received some good and bad press over the last few months. So what makes this device so controversial. It's sleek, shiny, and has support for millions of apps already available via the App Store. So what are we missing here? It's thinner than any notebook and has the largest touch screen of almost any device... but for the $500+ price tag, it lacks in some very important features. The iPad has no room for expansion, no USB available, is still running the same Safari from the iPod touch prevents any flash sites from being viewed, and in the end, it doesn't bring anything new to the table. The oversized iPod Touch is simply that... an oversized iPod Touch. For anyone interested in tablet computers, there are a few Android-based devices going to be available soon. Expect them to be cheaper and have the standard expansion you would expect from a non-Apple device.

Life Goal: Grad School

Nothing says "I'm smarter than you," than attending MIT, the most prestigious school in the U.S. Thus, I have decided as a Life Goal, to do everything in my power, to attend MIT. Grades are important, but doing something outside of school is the real trick to achieving my goal. Yes, I can build computers and write code in a half dozen languages, but I must master something or create something that could change the IT world. I would enjoy making advancements in the programming field, creating ubreakable algorithms, or inventing something amazing. Challenge accepted!

Masamune v1.7

Masamune v1.7 Specs:
*Asus M4A785-M
*AMD Phenom X4 9750
*2GB G.Skill DDR2 PC6400
*Seagate 300GB ATA100 with 16MB Cache
*Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 with 512MB GDDR4
*Buffalo Evercool
*DVD/RW with Lightscribe
*Acer 19" 1680x1050
*480watt PowerColor

Tasty Hardware, Low Price

Asus M4A785-M $79

 

AMD Phenom 9750 $59

The Perfect Laptop?

Did ASUS just release the perfect laptop? The New ASUS G Series G73JH-X1 is a gaming powerhouse with a low price tag. For the price of $1499, you get a Core i7 720QM running at 1.6GHz with 6MB L2 Cache, 8GB DDR3 RAM, an ATi Mobile Radeon HD 5870 with 1GB GDDR5 graphics card,  500GB HDD, a 17.3" 1920x1080 Monitor, a DVD Super Multi drive, a 2.0MP built-in webcam and Windows 7 Home Premium. It's a bit heavy, as it's designed for gaming, but the sleek matte black styling and simplistic design, put it way beyond those cheesy Alienware computers. And since it's and Asus, you know your motherboard isn't going bad anytime soon.

PC Collection

When you start working on computers, parts tend to gather from all sorts of places. People give them to you like candy. I have decided to compile a list of all of my working and in progress computers, just for kicks.

Victoria

-2.5 GHz Athlon 64 X2

-2GB RAM

-300GB HDD

-Radeon HD 3870 512MB GDDR4

-Windows XP 64-bit (Uprading to Windows 7)

Lucy

-Dell Inspiron 6000

-1.5GHz Celeron M

-2GB RAM

-80GB HDD

-Ubuntu 9.10

Zen TV

-1GHz Pentium III

-256MB RAM

-10GB HDD

-Zenwalk Linux

Dell Dimension 2350 (in progress) 

-Pentium 4 (unknown GHz)

-512 MB RAM

-80GB HDD

-Windows XP Pro

iMac G3 (in progress)

-333MHz PPC

-288MB RAM

-6GB HDD

-Slackintosh 12.0

BP6 (in progress)

-Dual Celeron (Unknown MHz)