Paste Web URLs in File Upload Dialogs for Quick Uploads from One Web Site to Another [Windows Tip]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5582432/paste-web-urls-in-file-upload-dialogs-for-quick-uploads-from-one-web-site-to-another

If you want to upload a file to a web site and that file's already on another site—say, an adorable dog photo from Flickr to your blog—this handy shortcut shaves a few steps off how you're probably doing it.

Rather than save the file to your desktop, then opening the upload file dialog and navigating to where you downloaded the file, you can just copy the URL to the file and paste that URL in the Select File dialog. When you hit Open, Windows takes care of downloading the file from the original server and then uploads it to the server in question without requiring the extra steps from you. It's maybe not a life-changing revelation, and it's also not new, but it was new to us, and is a nice shortcut to have in your arsenal.

[via @spolsky]

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The Government's "Perfect Citizen" Program Will Protect Companies By Monitoring Them [BigBrother]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5582348/the-governments-perfect-citizen-program-will-protect-companies-by-monitoring-them

In order to curb cyber attacks on companies that control critical infrastructure, the US federal government is launching a new surveillance program dubbed "Perfect Citizen." The people behind it are already calling it "Big Brother."

The purpose of the "Perfect Citizen" program is to monitor critical infrastructure like electricity grids and nuclear-power plants and prevent cyber attacks from occurring. The NSA would place sensors in computer networks and watch for any unusual activity. An internal e-mail said, "Perfect Citizen is Big Brother", which is damn scary but the truth is, many large, older computer control systems like subway systems, air-traffic control networks, etc, weren't designed to connect to the internet but are now linked in to it, making them vulnerable to such attacks. These old systems could maybe use a big brother.

A US military official said:

The program [is] long overdue and any intrusion into privacy is no greater than what the public already endures from traffic cameras. It's a logical extension of the work federal agencies have done in the past to protect physical attacks on critical infrastructure that could sabotage the government or key parts of the country

The overall goal of the program, according to the US government, is to close the holes in our critical infrastructure and eventually, when the government builds up enough data, help other companies deal with cyber attacks (like Google earlier this year). That sounds very charitable of our government.

The truth likely lies somewhere in between that and "Big Brother", but as long as "Perfect Citizen" keeps the important things running and doesn't extend a peek into unimportant ol' me, I'm actually okay with it. I think. [WSJ]

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The Pirate Bay Hacked, 4 Million Usernames, Email Addresses and IPs Compromised [Security]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5582418/the-pirate-bay-hacked-4-million-usernames-email-addresses-and-ips-compromised

Oops! It looks like Argentinian "researcher" Ch Russo hacked The Pirate Bay, acquiring a whopping four million usernames, email addresses and IP addresses.

I didn't even realize you could sign up for an account at The Pirate Bay! If you've just visited the site and downloaded some things, you should be fine, as you don't need to have an account to do that. Presumably, these accounts are for uploaders and more heavy users.

Luckily for them, Russo claims that he has no plans to give out or sell the data, even though the copyright cops would surely find it to be very valuable. And TBP has since plugged up the hole that allowed for the breach to occur. So, uh, carry on, I guess. [Krebs on Security via Boy Genius]

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If You Buy an iPad Mag, It Might As Well Be Popular Mechanics [IPad Apps]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5582442/if-you-buy-an-ipad-mag-it-might-as-well-be-popular-mechanics

The latest big magazine iPad app is here: Popular Mechanics. It's very possibly the best. Though for now, it's a glorified beta test.

That is, Pop Mech's Interactive Edition isn't the first "issue" of monthly apps—those won't arrive until later this year—it's more of a tech demo that mixes up older and newer material to show how they're thinking about a digital magazine. (Fortunately, it's just $1.99. I doubt this price will stick.)

It's essentially the same app I saw a couple months ago, which is mostly a good thing. It's down to a mere 27MB package—compared to 500MB for the similar Wired app. Video clips are seamlessly integrated with the page. (Though a couple, like the video for the article "Epic Air," were choppy and froze.) The neato interactive earthquake app, showing a wealth of data from the USGS, is built directly in the mag now.

Its color-coded navigator, for quickly skimming the entire magazine, is perhaps my favorite table of contents in an iPad mag yet (seen above). Except for the occasional moments when the app breaks its own navigational scheme—typically, swipe left-to-right to go to the next page—it's fairly easy to use, taking care to explain interactive wonkiness when it arises without feeling too fored. Which is more than can be said about some mag apps.

Pop Mech manages to mostly walk the line between being a "magazine" and some glimpse of the future of slick digital content you might pay for, though it never quite escapes that sensation of requiring "work" to read, versus leisurely flipping through a magazine. Which is the feeling I hope digital magazines really learn to mime in the end. Zippy videos don't replace the feel of high quality, glossy paper between your fingers. (Ironically, for the moment, my favorite iPad reading experiences are Instapaper, Reeder and BoingBoing's slick web features.)

If you're going to buy a fancy iPad mag, though, it might as well be this one. It's good. And it's the cheapest, at any rate. [iTunes, Popular Mechanics]

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This Bendable Bike Can Tie Itself to a Lamp Post [Biking]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5582565/this-bendable-bike-can-tie-itself-to-a-lamp-post

I'm slowly customizing my new bike with the help of some friends from Ohio. I love it except for one thing: The massive lock that I've to use in NYC. This awesome bendable bike, however, doesn't need any lock.

This has to be one of the best bike inventions in the history of bike inventions. It was created by the guy in the photos, 21-yo designer—and Adam Frucci impersonator—Kevin Scott.

I know it's hard to believe, but this thing actually works and could go into production. The bike can literally bend around a lamp post. Again: The whole bike bends to lock onto itself. First, it's rigid. Then, you push a lever and it's flexible enough to tie it to a post. Rigid. Lever. Bendable. Lever. Rigid. Lever. Bendable. I'm sorry, but I just can't stop marveling at this invention. [DMU via Daily Mail]

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