Author Archives: Zaaba

The Rise and Fall of Flickr

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Once upon a time, Flickr was the darling of the internet. It was THE place for you to setup an account on if you were serious about taking photos and sharing them on the internet. This brilliant piece on Gizmodo talks about how it was all downhill after Yahoo! acquired Flickr. A great read about a significant piece of the internet’s history.

As a result of being resource-starved, Flickr quit planting the anchors it needed to climb ever higher. It missed the boat on local, on real time, on mobile, and even ultimately on social—the field it pioneered. And so, it never became the Flickr of video; YouTube snagged that ring. It never became the Flickr of people, which was of course Facebook. It remained the Flickr of photos. At least, until Instagram came along.

I still have my Flickr stream here. It doesn’t have many photos on it though but I am very happy with my set of football stadium panoramas.

PSA: A New Mac Virus

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There’s a new Mac virus out there that could be infecting up to 1% of all Macs. The virus is a trojan called Flashback that tricks users into installing it by masquerading as an installer for Adobe Flash. The latest iteration of the virus is a bit more rude though: it uses an unpatched Java vulnerability to install itself whenever a user visits a compromised website.

Macworld has a pretty good article detailing the virus here. Once you’re infected, Flashback harvests your internet browsing information, which includes username and passwords and sends it back to its evil overlords.

If you want to check if you’re infected, F-Secure has detailed instructions on how to detect and remove the virus on their website here. Caution: some tinkering about the Terminal required.

With Macs getting more ubiquitous these days, its not surprising that Macs are becoming a target for malicious coders. Be vigilant: just as you don’t allow any stranger from entering your house, treat your Mac the same way too. Always keep your software updated, make sure your software isn’t from dodgy sources, and don’t enter your admin password when your system prompts you unless you have a darn good reason for doing so.

Update 11.04.12: Apple has issued a statement saying that they’re working on a patch in addition to working with ISPs worldwide to shut down Flashback’s command and control network. Apple recommends disabling Java in the meantime.

Update 12.04.12: Apple’s released a security update for Java that removes the common strains of the Flashback virus. Check your software updates.

iProducts now cause… haemorrhoids?

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We’ve had antenna-gate in the past, now there’s arsegate!

“We’ve known for a while that sitting on a Western-style ‘throne’ toilet for excessive lengths of time can lead to hemorrhoids,” Dr. Fulano says. “But iPad usage accelerates the process. People will sit there as if in a trance, sometimes for as long as half an hour, playing Angry Birds or reading news articles rather than [performing actions appropriate to the setting]. All the while they’re putting incredible strain on veins and arteries that, once inflamed, develop into hemorrhoids.”

The above article may read like an April Fool’s joke, but I think some elements of truth remain.

Fact of the matter is that it has only been as recent as the past couple of years that we’re getting used to have the internet literally, in the palm of our hands. Just don’t forget to sanitize afterwards.

Next Level Artwork

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My divelog looks like this:

Divelog

Its unruled pages are awesome for sticking pictures, drawing fish and getting awesome dive buddies to scribble all over them once the dive trip is over. This beats the hell out of having an official PADI divelog with set boxes and lines for documenting your dive depth, surface intervals and what not. I much prefer the option of having the page as canvas that I can scribble anything on.

But this concept isn’t new. People have been sketching on notebooks forever. But this new app could take my Moleskine wannabe divelog to a whole different level. Just checkout the video on the page and you will be blown away. It’s called Paper by Fifty Three Inc and it just looks gorgeous. The app is free, but some of the brushes and effects are not. If there is a reason to be bringing an iPad with you on divetrips to do just more than log your dives, its this.

Lost at sea: A chronology of events

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Cikgu Selam recounts the chronology of events that happened that led to the drowning of Nasir Mokhtar, 52 off Pulau Sembilan, Malaysia. An excerpt, slightly edited for clarity:

10:40am The victim began sinking as the Divemaster (“DM”) went to assist him. The DM descended and chased after the sinking victim but he victim was sinking too fast for the DM to catch him. Experiencing vertigo due to ear squeeze, the DM aborted and returned to the surface.

An investigation into the event is still ongoing.

Whether or not the events that occurred at Pulau Sembilan happened in the way that was reported above, reading the post was a stark reminder that a lot of things can go wrong when diving, even on the surface. Currents can be strong, even if they don’t seem apparent at first. Always do a buddy check before stepping into the water and always urge caution whenever possible. There is a reason why you check for weights before diving too: you may find yourself with an unsecured weight belt which, upon losing it may cause you to shoot right up to the surface. Diving may be a recreational activity, but it is not one without risks.