- Apple really does not like Java 7 web plug-ins. Java plug-ins allow for various types of graphics
and animations on Web pages and Apple’s beef with Java and its maker, Oracle,
is well-documented. As the latest step in the fight, the house that Steven Jobs
built has essentially blacklisted Java on its machines for a second time in
less than a month by enforcing a minimum version for the software — a
version that has yet to be released by Oracle. Apple blacklisted Java 7 update
11 — the latest version available — by using the anti-malware system built into its OS X operating system to
remotely block the software. So far, Apple has not offered any official
explanation for the decision, although rumors have circulated this week that despite
Oracle's efforts to harden Java security, the latest version allows unsigned
code to be executed. The initial block early in January was considered out of
the ordinary in large part because Apple has typically used its Xprotect to
block malware such as the widespread Flashback Trojan for Macs in 2011. Serious
risks posed by zero-day vulnerabilities in SE Java 7 update 10 were enough to
diverge from that policy and later in the month, Apple moved to fend off
attacks exploiting those vulnerabilities by adding "build 19" of Java
7 update 10, denoted by "1.7.0_10-b19", to its
"Xprotect.plist" blacklist. Oracle had only released “b18” at that
point, which meant that Java 7 web plug-ins were effectively blacklisted until
Oracle released a version that superseded it. Yet even when Oracle complied by
releasing Java 7 update 11, which satisfied Apple's minimum requirements under
Xprotect, some vulnerabilities remained and enough are present for Apple to say
no. The government is also concerned and the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security went so far as to urge Internet users to disable Java web plug-ins
despite the latest update. Sounds as if Oracle has some work to do……..
- And boom go the fireworks. China has long been a titan in
the work of blowing sh*t up for the purposes of noise, color and entertainment,
just not in the way that a truck carrying fireworks on an elevated
highway in central China made those pyrotechnics happen. The truck exploded and
detonated a 262-foot section of road on the G30 expressway in Henan province. In the
collapse, at least five people were killed, although an early state media
report put the number of dead at 26 before it was taken down. Several vehicles
along the affected section of road reportedly fell as far as 100 feet to the
ground below and witnesses said some cars were thrown over the edge by the
force of the blast. Although the fireworks truck was the point of origin for
the blast, the official cause of the blast has not yet been determined. State
media reports said six vehicles were retrieved from the wreckage, with search
and rescue efforts were continuing at the site. In addition to the six
fatalities, eight people were injured. Footage from the scene showed rescuers fighting
their way through the rubble, where they found 10 trucks buried under the
remains of what used to be a highway and news photographs showed another truck
perched precariously at the broken edge of the carriageway. Losing a chunk of
the G30 is a bitter hit for China, as it is the longest road in the country,
stretching some 2,700 miles from the coast of eastern Jiangsu province to
Urumqi, close to the Kazakhstan border. The fireworks were being transported
for sale to those looking to set them off to celebrate the Lunar New Year,
which is just over a week away. The government has debated whether to curb the
use of pyrotechnics and this accident inadvertently helped in that pursuit……..
- Comedy ruled the box office for Super Bowl weekend as “Warm
Bodies” debuted in first place with $19.5 million, knocking last week’s
champion from the top spot. “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” ceded its crown and
settled for second placed, making $9.2 million in its second weekend for a
cumulative domestic total of $34.4 million. “Silver Linings Playbook” continued
its Oscar nomination-inspired resurgence, sticking in third place with $8.2
million and boosting its overall take to $80.4 million in the process. Horror
flick “Mama” slid two spots to fourth place with a $6.7 million weekend and has
banked $58.2 through its first three weeks of release. “Zero Dark Thirty”
snagged fifth place with $5.4 million as it nears the two-month mark of its
run. After seven weeks, the controversial film has brought in $77.8 million. Sylvester
Stallone took a cue from fellow past-his-prime action star Arnold
Schwarzenegger, whose new film “The Last Stand,” fell out of the top 10 after
just two weeks, and Stallone’s latest started its run in a way suggesting it
will follow the same downward trajectory. “Bullet to the Head,” a movie in
which Stallone’s acting in commercial promos alone is cringe-worthy, opened
with a mere $4.6 million and that’s not the sort of debut that portends a long
run in the top 10. “Parker,” which falls into the same testosterone-heavy
category, slipped two spots to seventh place in its second weekend. With $3.3
million, the movie has made a mere $12.4 million after two weeks. “Django
Unchained” ranked eighth for the frame, making $3 million, and it has now
brought in $151 million in six weeks of work. “Les Miserables” remained in
ninth place for a second consecutive weekend with its $2.5 million outing to up
its six-week haul to $141.6 million. “Lincoln” completed the top 10 by
returning to the list after a week on the outside looking in, banking $2.4
million for a 13-week bounty of $170.8 million. “Gangster Squad” (No. 13), “Movie
43” (No. 15) and “Broken City” (No. 18) all dropped out of the top 10, while “Stand
Up Guys” never made it in, debuting in 17th place despite the presence of Al
Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin………..
- When is a bankrupt city not really bankrupt? When it needs
to buy vital firefighting equipment to protect itself from burning to the
ground, that’s when. No, Detroit isn't involved in this story, but Stockton,
Calif. is. Stockton is in bankruptcy because its debts vastly outstrip its
resources at present, but that wasn’t enough to prevent a federal
judge in Sacramento from confirming the city’s right to spend $1.9 million to
lease four new fire engines. Fire Chief Jeff Piechura argued that half his
fleet of trucks and engines are unreliable in an emergency because they are 20
years old or older and regular breakdowns among the fleet cause a delay in
response times because back-up units have to come from other stations. “When
people call 911 they’re already having a bad day. We don’t want to make
it worse by having equipment break down,” Piechura said. Making matters worse,
some broken parts on older units have to be fabricated and that only delays the
process more. However, the fire department signed a lease contract for the new
trucks before the city filed for bankruptcy. Because of that, the makers of the
four fire engines wanted assurances from the judge that the city could indeed
spend the money and would be obligated to pay. The real winners here, aside
from the companies who will be turning a solid profit on the new trucks, are
the people of Stockton. Their chances of their homes burning to the ground and
further torching the sagging morale of a bankrupt city are much lower if their
fire department has improved odds of making it to their property without having
to stop and wait for a couple of hours while one of their broken-down trucks is
repaired. With the court’s approval, the deal will go forward and the four
engines could be delivered and operational by the end of April……..
- His decision to return for his senior season could not
have gone much worse for Matt Barkley. Coming back to USC for one final run and
a supposed shot at a national championship and Heisman Trophy proved to be a
giant swing and a miss for the highly-ranked quarterback, as the Trojans tumbled
from a preseason No. 1 ranking,
finished 7-6, and lost in a third-tier bowl game to a sub-.500 team. Barkley
was injured and didn’t even play in a 21-7 Sun Bowl loss to Georgia Tech and
after the game, USC players reportedly scuffled in the locker room over Barkley
and other seniors either not playing or not giving their full effort in the
game. It was an ignominious end to a year in which the preseason Heisman Trophy
favorite threw 15 interceptions, the most of his four-year career as the
Trojans starter. In spite of that long list of negatives, Barkley doesn’t believe
any of them should affect his stock in April's NFL draft. "People have
been looking at stats over the past year, who's hot, who's not," Barkley
said. "We didn't finish the year strong, I know that. But that doesn't
mean I'm any less of a quarterback this year. I'm excited just to put that back
in people's minds. I haven't lost any confidence in myself and haven't doubted
my ability to p lay quarterback, not once." It is the right shoulder
injury he suffered late in the fourth quarter of USC's loss to UCLA on Nov. 17
and which kept him out of the bowl game that is most likely to concern teams
that would consider drafting him. Barkley is confident that he is just as good,
if not better, than he was in 2011, when he threw 39 touchdowns and seven
interceptions. He still isn't sure if he will throw at the NFL combine in
Indianapolis next month, but plans to attend and meet with interested
teams even if he doesn’t participate in any of the combine’s physical
activities………
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