Kevin Doran

What are supercomputers used for?

2011-05-07T01:17:00.000-07:00

Supercomputers are used in military, scientific research and business. Research institutes provide the time of their computers peer-reviewed scientific projects, the list is often publicly available. For example, on computers in the ICM are carried out simulations of astrophysical, biochemical, hydrological, epidemiological and aerodynamics, as well as belonging to the study of number theory and linear algebra. The following graphics show a few sample visualizations of simulations which are performed on supercomputers.

The construction of supercomputers

2011-04-30T01:14:00.000-07:00

Modern supercomputers get its performance through a combination of many thousands of processors and zrównoleglaniu of the calculation. For economic reasons, used processors available in mass production because the costs of the design and manufacture of new types of processors are significantly higher than the cost of production supercomputers. To enable efficient use of computing power of these processors, uses a specially designed memory hierarchy and the most efficient available connection to transfer data between them. Because of this architecture, however, supercomputers can achieve high performance only to the calculations, which can be highly parallelizable.

Comparing the performance of supercomputers

2011-04-23T01:12:00.000-07:00

The main measure of performance currently used for supercomputers is the number of performed operations during the second floating point (FLOPS). It is often administered with an appropriate SI prefix. For example TeraFLOPS (TFLOPS) is 1012 FLOPS, a petaflops (PFLOPS ") is 1015 FLOPS. It is measured using appropriate test standard. The most common such test is LINPACK, which measures the speed of solving a dense system of linear equations using the Gauss method. Because many of the problems posed supercomputers can be reduced to solving such equations, this test is a convenient abstraction for measuring the effectiveness in solving such problems. Supercomputers obtaining the highest scores in this test since 1993 are published on the TOP500 list, which is updated twice a year. Another measure of the performance of supercomputers is the measure of FLOPS / watt, taking into account the speed of calculations in addition to the current consumption by supercomputers. The most effective measure supercomputers by the TOP500 list is published since 2007 on the Green500 list.

Supercomputers

2011-04-16T01:11:00.001-07:00

Supercomputer is a computer far exceeding the capabilities commonly used computers, in particular Featuring many more computing power. This term has emerged in the '60s in relation to computers manufactured by the CDC and later by Cray. They were produced in dozens of copies and cost several million dollars. Currently, most supercomputers are single copies, designed and manufactured to order. The costs of their production back to 200 million U.S. dollars [1]. The fastest supercomputer is currently Tianhe-1A, which is installed in the NSC Tianjin, China. Technological advances in information technology makes the machine counted several years ago to a class of supercomputers today, can hardly compete in terms of productivity with personal computers. For example, the computing power of one of the most powerful supercomputers in the eighties Cray-2 was about 4 GFLOPS, which is comparable to the computational power of one core processor to the low-cost personal computers. Supercomputers are primarily used to carry out complex physical simulations such as weather forecasting, climate research, modeling of chemical reactions, the study of aerodynamics and aircraft study of aging nuclear weapons.

How to recognise a hacked computer

2011-04-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

Determination of whether the computer has become a zombie is not easy. Some symptoms may be:
- increased hard disk activity
- excessive use of network link
- some of the typical functions of the system is not available (eg, task manager)
- e-mails from unknown people.

To safeguard against attacks, we must first have a working and current antivirus program, and do not open files from unknown sources (eg, suspicious e-mails).

Botnets - the dangers

2011-04-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

Merge even several computers connected to the Internet can be a major weapon in the hands of the cracker. This situation makes the greatest threat botnets modern Internet and puts in a state of readiness all the computer industry.
Dramaturgy gives also the fact that the Web has so far revolve worms that can be removed even by the simple, often free antivirus software, which gives an idea of how many computers are completely unprotected. Sometimes even the same connection "vulnerable equipment" to the Internet to download an antivirus program or personal firewall you may end up an infection.
In most cases, botnets are used to:
- Sending unsolicited mail - spam
- theft of confidential information (eg personal data, credit card numbers)
- DDoS attacks (Distributed Denial of Service)
- sabotage
- Online Scams
- surveillance

DoS attacks, or DDoS become a dangerous weapon in the hands of criminals forcing tributes for withdrawing from the attack (as in the case of companies dependent on a network connection, such as portals and stores a considerable threat.)

Btw. If you're concerned about your online privacy and security, visit StalkInfo.com, to see if you're being cyberstalked.

How botnets work

2011-03-31T18:52:00.000-07:00

A single computer in the network is called a zombie computer. The total number of zombie computers in the world is estimated at several million - can not be accurately determined because it is constantly growing. Worms spread by exploiting various bugs in the software or the ignorance of computer users. Currently, besides the most popular e-mail, send out new worms are also using instant messaging clients like MSN Messenger, MSN Messenger, ICQ, Konnekt, Jabber, and AIM. Experts point to a tendency to create ever smaller, and at the same time much harder to detect botnets. Already a botnet consisting of approximately 3000-7000 computers can cause serious risks if only computers connected to it have a suitably fast Internet connections.

Botnets - history

2011-03-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

November 2, 1988 Morris was running the worm Worm that can automatically infect other systems using the Internet. Infected more than 6 thousand. computers, which accounted for approximately 10% of the then-Fi. Losses were estimated at 10 to 100 million dollars. The suspect pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years of judicial observation, 400 hours of community service and a fine of 10 thousand. U.S. dollars. The first real botnet network formed in 1993. These worms were connected to an IRC network and are controlled by sending messages through the network. It is still the most popular, although not the only, way of controlling botnets. In January 2007 the Storm botnet has been identified. Based on data from September 2007 found that has the ability to cut off the internet all over the country and has the potential to perform more calculations per second than the best supercomputers. April 22, 2009 World company Finjan announced that a botnet made up of at least 1.9 million computers seized.

The end of Rustock botnet

2011-03-20T18:48:00.001-07:00

Microsoft managed to close another big botnet. A year after defeating the botnet Waledac company from Redmond Rustockowi struck the final blow. Corporation by a judicial lawsuit against the anonymous operator Rustock, complaining that it violates his trademarks. He managed to get the court's consent to the physical seizure of a botnet server. Of course, this was done in collaboration with the relevant authorities. On the basis of a court order seized five servers hosting companies in seven U.S. cities. Also seized control of the IP addresses used by the botnet. "Now we work with ISPs and security specialists and help owners of computers around the world in cleaning their machinery with the botnet code - said Richard Boscovich of Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit. The main lesson of our work is that if we are to succeed in the fight against botnets, we must work together - he added.
Experts estimate that the botnet was connected to a million computers. Rustock could send 30 billion emails per day.

Botnet - a group of computers infected with malicious software (such as a worm), remaining in hiding from the user and allows the designer to exercise remote control over all computers in a botnet. This control allows you to remotely spamming and other attacks using infected computers.

The new iPad

2011-03-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

Apple has included a new central body in it's new iPad - dual-core processor, Apple A5, which is to be two times faster than its predecessor (A4), with a 9-fold more efficient graphics and at the same time is to collect as much power as Apple A4. The device has two cameras - front and rear. There was also a place for the gyroscope. All this is enclosed in a housing of the thinner one-third (a mere 8.8 millimeters thick!) than the first generation of IPAD, and even thinner than the iPhone, the fourth case Weight also went down - now is only 601 grams. White color version will be available from the first day of sales. Faster and more efficient the unit does not reduce battery life - iPad 2 will operate for 10 hours without a break, the same as the first iPad.

Website templates make web design easy

2011-02-17T11:31:00.000-08:00

Page design becomes simpler because there are more ways to make your own website. Some possible ideas for making your own web page: html, this way of doing your own website is recommended for all those people who want to create more pages. HTML is not a simple language, so it may take some time before he own up and learn to use it. Well-known programs, even Dreamweaver, which has become very popular, but it is paid. There are also many other programs that are less complicated, but free. We are able to benefit from the ready web templates that are available on the Internet, or make our site from podstawzalecany mainly for those people who want to perform more extensive service. Most importantly, it has no knowledge of HTML to ensure that the complete page. We have many templates, so that we can distinguish the Internecie.Możemy also change the functionality of web pages. Alone we can do in the discharge suits us the best service. Niezapominajmy that the service can not do every day, unless we want to be totally involved in it is worth it to try to create the page. People who will come to our site may be disappointed if our party is crudely made.

How to make a website?

2011-02-16T11:30:00.000-08:00

Dreamweaver, a program used to design and publish web pages, there is on the market for eleven years. It is therefore a tool mature, refined, taking into account the needs of web developers. Used by people with different levels of advancement in this field, which has several facilities that allow easy to obtain desired effects. CS3 version of this program in addition to templates, buttons, Flash, editors, and code auto-completion of projects, etc. visualization capabilities also provides integration with other CS3 applications, features can transfer files between programs and simplifies application development for mobile devices.

The book, "Dreamweaver CS3 CE. Practical exercises" is written for novice web designers in a simple and convenient way to allow you to enter the world of wizards, the Internet and to cope with the challenge of creating their own web pages. Included in the exercises include all the basic elements of the process - from designing the structure of the site, by creating the appropriate format and the various parts of the site, adding multimedia elements, providing an instant update, use of cascading style sheets, to the testing site and placing it on the server. You will find all necessary information, ready for immediate use in practice.

MSI R6870 Hawk with Propeller Blade technology

2011-02-09T03:38:00.000-08:00

After the successful launch of the card N460GTX Hawk, MSI introduces the next piece of this series. The new graphics card is R6870 Hawk goes on sale. This product is equipped with an advanced cooling system Twin Frozr III contains technology "Propeller Blade," which in comparison to traditional solutions delivers 20% increase in air flow, resulting in a reduction in GPU temperature by up to 21 degrees C. In addition, Hawk is equipped with a power supply section 8 +2- phase, and the function of the triple oveclockingu voltage. All this makes the Hawk R6870 is the model in terms of performance, power consumption, stability and low temperature operation. MSI and technology "propeller blades" of air flow increased by 20%. The new R6870 Hawk is equipped with an advanced version of the Twin Cooling System Frozr III with a unique technology, "propeller blades". Specially designed fan blades cause the increase in air flow compared to standard solutions, as much as 20%. In addition, technology and coated SuperPipe nickel base heat sink allows for rapid removal of excess heat from the GPU. Comparing the reference solution, decreasing the GPU temperature by up to 21 degrees. In addition, the card has the fan mode switch. In a simple way, we can set the mode or performance mode "silent." Each user has full control over the card, whether you're watching a film or play. A powerful section of the power and function of the triple overclocking.To obtain stable performance, R6870 Hawk has a section type 8 +2 power phase. Compared to the reference section of salting 4 +1, provides a dual power supply, while ensuring a stable voltage for the GPU and memory. Afterburner with software you can increase the possibility of liability. R6870 Hawk supports the function of a triple voltage overclocking (GPU / Memory / VDDC).

Docking station for iPad

2011-02-03T05:30:00.001-08:00

An interesting device appeared on the market - Octiv 450 MP Stage Altec dancing. Docking station is designed for IPAD, equipped with loudspeakers and remote control system allowing the tablet to match the position requirements. 450 MP Stage Octiv you can use the tablet from Apple. With turnover wysięgnikowi user can set the IPAD in any position - depending on whether you intend to surf the Web, watch a movie or write an e-mail. The docking station also has a built-in speakers sound pretty dobrejj generating quality. Octiv MP Stage 450 can also be used to charge the batteries placed in the tablet. The set will also find the remote control.

Honeycomb

2011-01-31T02:14:00.001-08:00

Google recently released a set of Software Development Kit (SDK) for its new Android operating system Honeycomb 3.0. As it turns out, has a primary diagnosis of OS smartphones, which means that after applying the appropriate patches, may also be back for smartphones, and not only tablets, on which has been optimized. When reducing the resolution to 480 x 800 pixels, admittedly, not all elements are usable as Web browser, but most of the user interface works. Despite the fact that everything could work as smoothly on devices with smaller screen and lower resolution, would have involved a third party, or just Google has left the door open for future use Honeycomb on smartphones.

DJ Mehdi

2011-01-27T02:35:00.000-08:00

DJ Mehdi (born Mehdi Favéris-Essadi in 1977 in Paris) is one of my favourite French DJs and music producers. He played in the Ideal J and 113, created music for a French film collective Kourtrajmé. Just got his latest album and it's really alwesome. I love French club music, it's like no other.

Lumix DMC-TZ20

2011-01-26T02:25:00.000-08:00

Panasonic unveiled the latest model of compact camera TZ Series - DMC-TZ20. Digital camera is equipped with an impressive arsenal of new solutions, to facilitate shooting and recording.

The heart of the camera is upgraded CMOS sensor with a resolution of 14.1 megapixels, acting under the control of the Venus Engine FHD. Compact has a completely redesigned, ultra (24 mm) Leica lens with 16x optical zoom and a new focusing mechanism Sonic Speed AF, which - as the Japanese manufacturer provides - is about 49 percent. faster than the previous model.

The camera also has an improved built-in GPS and uses a new 3-inch LCD touch screen with a resolution of 460 000 points, which allows you to use during the recording of the touch function AF (Touch AF), zoom, touch (Touch Zoom) or touch the shutter (Shutter Touch). IA (Intelligent Auto) has also been improved. For conventional optical image stabilizer OIS POWER was added to active mode (Active Mode), which increases the effect of correction.

Facebook's new privacy policy and data available to application developers

2011-01-18T14:41:00.000-08:00

The recent changes to privacy policy on Facebook caused a storm on the Internet. Angry Internet users criticized the secret change in the Zuckerberg's social network. Facebook acted on the voices and has not remained indifferent. It has already announced on it's blog that it has stopped the function for application developers to access the addresses and phone numbers of users. Stopped, at least until the "users will be more aware" of their privacy settings.

Meanwhile, the "new feature" for application developers are not much different from the current privacy policy on Facebook. When you want to install an application, you are always informed that it will have access some of our data on the site.

Just on the subject of Facebook, check out how your favourite pages are doing on the Dutch FBranking. Cool stuff and a great tool if you're an admin of a Facebook page.

"GodMode" in Windows 7 and Vista

2011-01-10T08:26:00.000-08:00

The "GodMode" is an interesting feature in Windows 7 and Vista.

It's easy to access: simply create a new directory and change its name to the appropriate string. This way we get access to the so-called "GodMode", a central control panel where you can change the key system parameters, ranging from the shape of the cursor, ending with the formation of a new hard drive partition.

And here is a string, which you have to enter as the name of the new folder to gain access to the features of "GodMode":

ED7BA470 {-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Note: Be careful when using it with the 64-bit version of Vista, it causes BSOD-s.

Geinimi Android Trojan

2011-01-01T17:10:00.000-08:00

A trojan named Geinimi is by far the most sophisticated mechanism to collect personal data, because not only can act by itself, but also can be controlled remotely from the server. Geinimi camouflages it's presence by encrypting the data responsible for the operation of the program and the Java byte code obfuscation.

In addition to the address book, the Trojan is also able to read position data cell, the device ID (IMEI) number, SIM card (IMSI) and a list of installed applications. We do not know what is the goal of the developers Geinimi.

A Trojan is distributed as a supplement to the popular applications, mostly games, which can be found in the catalogs of software from external suppliers. The issue affects the following applications: Monkey Jump 2, Sex Positions, President Vs. Aliens, City Defense and Baseball Superstars 2010. Apparently, bearing the same name programs from the official Android Market are not infected.

The Zerol bug targets Facebook users

2010-12-26T09:12:00.000-08:00

In recent days, experts from Kaspersky Labs have detected a new spam messages with malicious links that are shipped via various instant messengers. It turned out that the worm is Zeroll, which dispatched a message in differnt different language, depending on the recipient. To cut the long story short: a link to a page on Facebook is used in spam sent via instant messaging instead of a direct link to the specified object. One can say that Facebook is used in the same way as services such as bit.ly, it allows you to modify the links so that they are targeted to the Facebook domain.

Skype downtime on the 23rd December 2010

2010-12-24T00:26:00.000-08:00

Around 6pm yesterday users worldwide experienced problems with Skype. It has been the biggest system failure since 2007 and the alert box swelled with error reports. Skype reported the problems almost immediately on their Twitter account and indicated that the problem arose from the failure of one of their super-nodes network. The company apologized for the trouble.

No Caps Lock key in Google computers

2010-12-09T05:41:00.000-08:00

Computers operating under the new Chrome OS are to be deprived of the Caps Lock key. In return, users will get the key to start the search engine.
According to Google's assurances, users do not need the Caps Lock key, however those who can't live without it, will be able to turn on the Caps Lock key again. In the instruction manual for the netbook Cr-48 there is a smallprint text for people who miss the Caps Lock. To turn it on, one simply needs to go to system settings and change the default fro web browser to capital letters.

The Social Network

2010-12-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

Last night I watched "The Social Network" by David Fincher with Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker and Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin.

What a great movie! Of course one of the reasons why I can't forget about it is that I go on Facebook all the time (by the way did I tell you about the ranking of Facebook pages I found recently?). I've been wanting to watch this movie for a few weeks now, but never had the time. I could see my friends' reviews all the time onn their Facebook walls and in my news feed!

So I finally found the time and was not dissapointed! Great acting, great screenplay and a fantastic job from the director! The movie is quite disturbing but inspiring at the same time. Made me think about how quickly things happen these days and what it takes to be a great entrepreneur.

Google's Cloud Connect

2010-11-25T03:01:00.000-08:00

Google is testing the Cloud Connect service with selected companies. The system allows the use of MS Office as a web interface for Google Apps platform. In the future other companies will be able to recive the right to participate in verifying the service. After completion of the experimental phase interface will be developed for private users.

Plug-in application components of Microsoft Office 2003, 2007 and 2010 are to enable users to save documents directly to the disk space of Google Apps for Business and share them with other users. Stored there, text documents and spreadsheets can be edited either using the services of Google Docs, as well as Microsoft Office's applications. Although it is curcial to verify that the import filters can cope with the processed documents. In the event that a document was at the same time edited by the larger number of users, the server should recognise all changes in a form of a separate version and be able to withdraw it if necessary.

Ranking of Facebook Pages

2010-11-16T08:09:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some research on Facebook Pages (Fan Pages, as we used to know them) and tried to find some non-Facebook resources. One of the best websites dedicated to the ranking of Facebook Pages was FanPageRanking.com.

FanPageRanking compiles data for pages for the folllowing countries:

The Czech Republic, Spanin, or rather pages in Spanish, Finland, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal (Portuguese language), Slovakia.

They offer a lot of interesting data abd I'll probably use some of this information in my future posts.

The Lake

2010-11-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

Today I remebered about my favourite poem by Edgar Allan Poe. He has always been one of my favourite authors of both prose and poetry. This American author was a true romantisist and one of the best writers of what we now know as horror and fantasy. His work is very deeply psychological and surrealist. You can see the symptoms of WeltShmetz in his characters, which was a common sore for many romantic heroes.

The Lake by Edgar Allan Poe

In spring of youth it was my lot
To haunt of the wide world a spot
The which I could not love the less-
So lovely was the loneliness
Of a wild lake, with black rock bound,
And the tall pines that towered around.

But when the Night had thrown her pall
Upon that spot, as upon all,
And the mystic wind went by
Murmuring in melody-
Then- ah then I would awake
To the terror of the lone lake.

Yet that terror was not fright,
But a tremulous delight-
A feeling not the jewelled mine
Could teach or bribe me to define-
Nor Love- although the Love were thine.

Death was in that poisonous wave,
And in its gulf a fitting grave
For him who thence could solace bring
To his lone imagining-
Whose solitary soul could make
An Eden of that dim lake.

Interior design

2010-11-09T03:36:00.000-08:00

As I'm more and more seriously considering buying an apartment I also started looking at the interior design (I'd love to design my own home from scratch). I'm looking for something really minimalistic, modern and bright.

I've been looking at different small agencies - I'm looking for a really personal approach. I found a comapany called Digital Pigment and really love their designs!

The comapny is based in Warsaw and provides all sorts of interior design services, from full apartment design to personal shopping.

Their work is just awesome, exactly what I'm looking for, just have a look at their gallery at: http://digital-pigment.com/

Adware and spyware

2010-11-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

Did a virus scan on the other computer today and was amzed to find out that I had 479 adware and spyware! How annoying is that all this stuff gets planted on your disc. I wish I could just block all the adware and spyware. I mean I use an antivirus program, firewall and all that stuff but it still failed to protect me from some. Just imagine how much stuff did actually bounce form my protective software!

Anyway I know know to scan my computer regularly and don't go even for a day without an antivirus.

Open source software

2010-11-02T06:14:00.000-07:00

Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is available in source code form for which the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, and improve the software. Open source licenses meet the requirements of the Open Source Definition.

Social networking sites should be open source, after all with all this "intellectual property rights" who knows who really came up with the first unique idea for Facebook? Probably me.....when I was 15!

It's great to see hundreds of people arriving at a remote place to participate in an Open Source seminar.

New computer

2010-10-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

I need a laptop that:

Looks good in Starbucks.

Is future proof.

Has long battery life.

Good graphics.

4GB RAM.

At least 500GB hard drive.

Has at most 14" screeen.

Is good for computer games.

Computer crash

2010-10-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

Great, its that time of the year again- the annual computer crash. Like a bleeding clockwork, tick tock ,tick tock, bam, bam - screw you, its October, I'm off. Oooh I now wish I'd bashed the screen in earlier...

I think people are generally unhappy only because everyone else is doing so much better than them or so it seems.

So, it's time for me to be happy again and buy a new coputer. A Mac, a PC? Any suggestions my friends?

All about Political Science!

2010-10-18T05:34:00.000-07:00

I love monday morning 8:40 Political Science: International Relations exams in a class of my minor right after fall break, lets see what i remember from class...never not studied for a test (let me go ahead and clarify that by specifying college) before but hey it might be alright.

But.. The weekend is over now! I wish we could go back again, got a test today!!!! I'm seriously considering a political science internship for the next semester. I think it would be way fun, but it might be waaay to much work.

...I forgot i have to type a paper for my class...next time to remember... i like to see things in the positive side!

Chris Rock, Live Earth

2010-10-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

I thought the 'Net would be crawling with response to Chris Rock saying, 'I'm just jokin', motherfuckers. Shit.' on live television at five in the evening, but it isn't. Hilarious, 'twas.

I'm suprised that, in London, with the exception of Pussycat Dolls and Madonna, the line-up consisted of real bands and musicians -- no Britney Spears, no The Spice Girls, and while i might possibly consider him real -- certainly so in comparison to the 'forementioned people -- nonetheless no Craig David.

Watched KT Tunstall. The song they showed merely sounded like Sarah McLachlan, whom i'm not really impressed by. Shame because i caught her performance on Later with Jools Holland -- a performance that was so vibrant -- and thought her palpable talent, the song (Black Horse and the Cherry Tree), and that great loop pedal -- an anti-backing track device that ensured the performance was nothing but truly live -- was all fantastic.

Also, the hegemony box finally gets the chance to sprinkle some reality into the masses' brains, and they reject doing so by cutting short performances by Spinal Tap and Metallica; and, also, The Beastie Boys, to show some crap by someone called 'Xuxa', which the BBC, strangely, also recognised as crap and in turn cut away from mid-song.