china posts

Circuit Boards Pulverized for Use in Roads

by Caleb Johnson — Jul 8th 2009 at 9:24AM

Researchers in China may have found a way to cut down on waste created by old electronics and give drivers a smoother ride. For cities plagued with cracked highways or anyone who is constantly realigning their wheels, this news could herald smooth roads ahead.

According to the Scientific American, Xu Zhenming and other researchers at Jiao Tong University discovered a way to crush discarded circuit boards into a fine powder, which can be used as a binding agent in asphalt. The powder, stripped of harmful metals, reduces rutting by improving the asphalt's stiffness when exposed to high temperatures. Low temperatures also seem to prevent cracking by improving pliability. The researchers discovered that these qualities improved even more the finer the boards were crushed.

Tags: china, circuit board, CircuitBoard, computer, electronics, recycle, top

Computers

$300 Billion Pentagon Project Hacked (Data Compromised, Again)

by Terrence O'Brien — Apr 21st 2009 at 6:17PM

According to a front page Wall Street Journal article this morning, it looks like piles of data related to the $300 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter military plane have found their way in to the hands of hackers. According to government officials the newspaper spoke with, the Defense Department was the subject of a concerted cyber attack over the past few months in which terabytes (yes plural) of data related to the project were intercepted and fed to IP addresses that have been tracked to China.

Of course, the Chinese embassy issued a statement denying any involvement and said it "opposes and forbids all forms of cyber crimes," but we know it means that in the same way Ted Haggard meant that he opposed homosexuality.

"We aggressively monitor our networks for intrusions...," Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh told the WSJ. Now, anyone who has ever tried to download an HD movie via BitTorrent knows how long it takes to download a few gigabytes of data, which leads us to believe the monitoring couldn't be too aggressive if spies were able to siphon off several thousand gigabytes before setting off alarms.

Tags: china, computer spies, ComputerSpies, crime, defense department, DefenseDepartment, espionage, f-35, f-35 joint strike fighter, F-35JointStrikeFighter, hack, hacker, hackers, hacking, joint strike fighter, JointStrikeFighter, military, pentagon, security, spy, top

Computers

Canadians Uncover Chinese Cyber-Spies

by Terrence O'Brien — Apr 1st 2009 at 7:30AM

Desperate to prove there's more to their country than socialized medicine and Mounties, a group of Canadians has uncovered a major international cyber-spy network originating in China. According to Canadian research group Information Warfare Monitor (IWM), the spy network has hacked over 1,000 PCs in over 100 countries, including those of foreign embassies and the offices of the Dalai Lama.

In the report, titled 'Tracking GhostNet: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network,' the IWM suggests that the network of spies used malware to obtain access to and take control of computers in the foreign affairs offices and embassies of Iran, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, South Korea and Pakistan, among others.

The Dalai Lama seems to have been a major target; the IWM found evidence that substantial amounts of private and sensitive data relating to the Tibetan exile had been offloaded to China.

Tags: china, dalai lama, DalaiLama, hack, malware, security, spies, spy

Web

Tibetans Use Social Networks to Avoid China's "Great Firewall"

by Dan Reilly — Mar 23rd 2009 at 5:03PM

Well, it appears social networks are good for something more than just posting funny pictures and committing adultery. According to the Times's Jeremy Page, a group of Tibetan expatriates are logging on to Chinese social networks to chat about the Dalai Lama and their country in an effort to get around laws banning Web sites on the topic.

The Tibetans, fluent in Mandarin, peruse the networks from an office in India and try to initiate conversations in chat rooms and message boards. They're often unsuccessful, since many don't want to discuss politics or talk with another man (the Tibetans often pose as women online in hopes to lure guys into talking with them). One member of the 11-member group says he contacts about 50 people a day, half of whom will respond, and, of those, five or six will get into a serious political conversation. To combat censors, the Tibetans often have to change avatars and screen names, as well as send sensitive information via e-mail, which is harder for the government to police.

According to the group, the goal isn't to get these ordinary people to revolt or protest, but rather to educate them in hopes that someday things will change. "We don't say this is right or wrong, or that the Chinese Government should be overthrown," one messenger told the Times, "we just give people an alternative source of information." There are now several of these outreach groups of Mandarin-speaking Tibetans popping up, and we'd be just fine with seeing even more people joining the cause. [From: Times Online]

Related Links:

Tags: china, mandarin, politics, social networking, SocialNetworking, tibet

Computers, iPod, iPhone

iTunes Gift Card System Hacked

by Terrence O'Brien — Mar 11th 2009 at 4:15PM

We're sure this one has Apple's panties in a bunch: Chinese hackers have cracked the iTunes gift card system. Fake, but functional, cards have found their way onto Chinese auction site Taobao.com and are selling for a tiny fraction of their value.

Using a custom program, hackers are able to generate viable gift card codes without actually purchasing them. These fake codes are then being auctioned off on Taobao.com for as little as 18 Chinese yuan (or, about $2.60 for a $200 card). As for whether or not these codes can be used in places other than China, we direct you to Wisebread.com, where, this past January, Torley Wong reported having successfully spent a pirated gift card at the U.S. iTunes store.

Apple is going to have a hard time battling this scheme. Invalidating the fake codes being sold (of which there are thousands, according to music industry consultation site Outdustry.com) may mean changing how gift card codes are generated. That could make many legitimate cards that are already in circulation worthless.

Whatever solution Apple concocts, we're sure they'll act soon. In the meantime, we won't lie; we're tempted to pick up a $200 card ourselves. We'd never have to pay for an iPhone app again. Too bad we can't read Chinese. [From: TrustedReviews Via: Slashdot]

Tags: app store, apple, AppStore, china, hack, hacks, itunes, itunes store, ItunesStore, piracy, retail, security, shopping

Cameras

Chinese Execution Bus a Reality

by Evan Shamoon — Feb 14th 2009 at 4:54PM

In China, the precise number executions performed is kept a state secret; estimates by Amnesty International say there were at least 1,770 executions in the country in 2005, but says that the number could be as high as 8,000. In comparison, only 60 prisoners were executed in the US the same year.

The number is so high, apparently, that the Chinese government sees fit to operate something that seems like it's right out of one of the 'Saw' movies: a lethal injection bus, which comes complete with a camera for transmitting a live video feed of the deaths back to central command.

Apparently, prisoners are strapped into an automatic sliding stretcher then given their injection on the bus. The video is watched by authorities to make sure the killing is up to snuff.

Rather chillingly, the bus is produced by Chinese ambulance manufacturer Jinguan Auto. [From: Jalopnik via Buzzfeed]

Next: 'Warning: These Gadgets Can Kill'

Tags: bus, china, execution, top

Cell Phones

Exploding Cell Phone Kills Chinese Man

by Chris Ziegler — Feb 2nd 2009 at 12:19PM

Here's the thing about batteries: they store energy. Lots of it. Channeled correctly, that energy does really awesome things for us -- but channeled chaotically, and... well, you know where this is going, don't you? A man shopping in a Lenovo store in mainland China has been killed after the phone in his chest pocket exploded, severing arteries and leading to massive blood loss. The make and model of the phone and battery have yet to be identified, but seeing how this is the seventh high-profile case of an exploding phone in China in the last six years, it really gives you pause before installing that shady off-brand juice, doesn't it?

Tags: china, exploding gadgets, ExplodingGadgets, killer gadgets, KillerGadgets

Computers

Chinese Centers Respond to Rising Web Addiction With Tough Love

by Lee Bains — Jan 13th 2009 at 2:43PM

While modernizing agents and consumer culture are descending upon China, some of the country's people have found the changes to be too much to bear; at present, as many as 17 million Chinese people, around five percent of Chinese Internet users, are addicted to the Web, treatment center director Dr. Tao Ran told Australia's NineMSN.

Considering there are 300 Chinese treatment centers bent on addressing Web addiction, there is certainly some weight to Dr. Tao's high figures. To be included in the ranks of Web addicts, Dr. Tao believes, an individual should spend more than six hours a day online, in activities unrelated to professional or academic pursuits. Many, he points out, are addicted to online games.

In response to this daunting problem, treatment centers like Tao's are going to rather serious lengths, treating patients with 'nanometer wave machines,' strenuous military exercise programs and even electric shocks.

While Chinese experts are ready to meet the problem head-on, their Western counterparts continue to debate the characteristics -- and even the existence -- of Internet addiction. [From: NineMSN]

Tags: addiction, china, expire-images2010-1-12, expire-images2010-1-13, web

Car Tech, Computers

In-car Fingerprint Scanner Keeps Drunks, Thieves From Starting Your Car

by Darren Murph — Dec 16th 2008 at 8:55AM

How's this for dual purpose? Zhao Wencai and Li Zhoumu, two graduate students at the China University of Geosciences, have concocted a prototype device which checks for two important bits of information before allowing a car to start. First, it scans your fingerprint to make sure you're on the authorized driver database; second, it takes a long, hard look (okay, so maybe 20 seconds isn't all that long) at the sweat on your digit to determine just how sober or inebriated you are. There's no telling when this will hit motorcars en masse, but we'd say the whole thing needs to get a whole lot smaller before it's a viable option. [Via Wired]

Tags: alcohol, china, driving, drunk driving, DrunkDriving, research, safety, scanner, university

Video Games

'World of Warcraft' Restaurant Opens in China

by Dan Reilly — Dec 11th 2008 at 11:44AM

Balancing reality and virtual worlds can be a problem for some gamers, but one Beijing restaurateur is hoping it leads to a booming business with his 'World of Warcraft'-themed eatery. Geeks need to eat too, right?

The entrance to the restaurant is a recreation of the Dark Portal, the intro animation from 'WoW: The Burning Crusade.' Once you get inside, the walls are lined with pictures and TVs showing scenes and footage from the game, and the dishes get their name from WoW's characters. To top it all off, the main dining area, "The Hall of Snow Storms," features a large tree at its center and warriors clad in replica armor, which we assume is to protect diners against food poisoning and slow service.

The owner of the establishment says he opened it as a comfortable meeting place for other people who love the game like he does. We're sure the restaurant will be popular, especially in China where games like this have massive audiences, provided the game's creators, Blizzard Entertainment, let it stay open. Maybe the next step will be to open a 'Second Life' diner that looks and functions exactly like a normal diner accept everyone becomes a hundred times cooler, sexier, and more confident once they get inside. [From: WoW Insider]

Next: 'Which Party Game Parties Hardest?'

Tags: blizzard, china, dining, food, restaurant, top, travel, world of warcraft, WorldOfWarcraft, wow, wow insider, WowInsider

Computers

Internet Addiction Clinically Defined in China

by Tim Stevens — Nov 10th 2008 at 2:49PM

Internet addiction defined in China, entire Engadget staff now officially certifiable

While American psychiatrists continue to debate whether an unhealthy affinity for all things online is really a illness or just a passing fancy, their Chinese counterparts have made up their minds. After creating halfway-houses and clinics to wean netizens off of their dependency, doctors there have now created an official classification of Internet addiction for people who spend six hours or more online daily. The affliction's symptoms include poor sleep, irritability, mental distress, and (surprise, surprise) a "yearning to be online" -- a condition that we typically call "visiting the in-laws."

We're not entirely sure if this means that Chinese physicians can now subject anyone who is symptomatic to mandated shock therapy, but we've gone ahead and indefinitely postponed our 2009 Shanghai MeetUp just to be safe.

Tags: addiction, china, health, internet, internet addiction, InternetAddiction, killer gadgets, KillerGadgets, medicine, studies

Computers, TV, Green Tech

'60 Minutes' Explores America's Massive E-Waste Exports to China

by Thomas Ricker — Nov 10th 2008 at 2:01PM

Any self-respecting gadget hound knows that China is responsible for packing millions of shipping containers with the consumer electronics we crave. What you may not know is what we ship in return: our waste for recycling. Of growing concern is e-waste, resulting from the deluge of PCs, cellphones, televisions and crapgadgets we churn through at an accelerating clip each year.

While domestic recycling programs are good-intentioned, often the most toxic of our e-waste is shipped illegally back to China and boiled down for its precious metals under some of the most crude conditions you can imagine. When faced with the choice of familial poverty or the slow accumulation of poison in their bloodstream (for $8 per day), it's not hard to imagine what many rural Chinese people will choose.

So while we give Greenpeace's self-congratulatory promotions and oft-subjective "Guide to Greener Electronics" company ratings the occasional hard time, its attempts to raise e-waste awareness are commendable. Now go ahead, check the video from 60 Minutes's intrepid reporters after the break and let the guilt wash over you (especially after you see how some particularly angry e-waste workers try to jump the CBS news crew).

Update: As noted by reader Jason, a more thorough (and disturbing) exploration of these e-waste dumps can be found in a Current TV video shot last year in the same region. [From: CBS News]

How to Recycle Your Gadgets

Tags: 60 Minutes, 60Minutes, china, crt, e-waste, environment, ewaste, online video, OnlineVideo, poison, recycle, recycling, video, waste

Cell Phones, Computers

China Caught Snooping and Censoring Skype Messages

by Tim Stevens — Oct 2nd 2008 at 12:14PM

By now, you've surely heard of China's so-called Great Firewall, the country's continued efforts to restrict access to material that the government deems questionable. We've also covered how Skype is becoming a bit of a haven for those with questionable intents because of the difficulty of monitoring conversations there. China, however, has found a way to track at least some traffic, filtering and censoring text messages sent via Skype.

A service in China called Tom-Skype enables users to exchange text messages directly with Skype users from their phones. Privacy rights advocates at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto have discovered that eight Chinese servers intersect every message and process it against a list of censored words and topics, relating to things like the banned religious group Falun Gong and even references to the current controversy relating to tainted milk powder. Messages that match are often blocked and archived, along with the identity of the individual sending them.

Those servers were apparently not adequately protected, enabling the Citizen Lab members to access them and download millions of messages, as well as information about the senders. Scary? Yes, very much so, as it reveals more signs that Big Brother is most certainly watching in China. [From: The New York Times]

Tags: breaking news, BreakingNews, censorship, china, great firewall, GreatFirewall, skype, tom-skype

Video Games

Millions of Chinese Kids Addicted to Internet Games

by Peter Mychalcewycz — Sep 1st 2008 at 3:01PM

According to Chinese state media, close to four million Chinese youth are addicted to "unhealthy " Internet games. The Chinese government also think political descent and free speech is "unhealthy," but we digress.
Li Jianguo, a vice chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress, was quoted by the Beijing Times as saying "Internet-addicted teenagers" make up approximately 10 percent of China's Web users under the age of 18.

To combat this moral corruption, the committee is calling for tighter monitoring of games consisting of objectionable content. That could literally mean anything they don't like, but restrictions will most likely concentrate on pornographic and/or violent games. Another pet peeve is games depicting Chinese authorities or military personnel as antagonists. Surprise, surprise.

The big push is for automatic time restrictions on Internet games. That's nothing though. In 2006, Internet game manufacturers in China were forced to demand that players reveal their real name and ID number when logging on.

Play on kids. Play on. [From: Yahoo!]

Tags: china

China Lifts iTunes Block, Except for Tibet Album

by Evan Shamoon — Aug 26th 2008 at 3:30PM

Seems that the Chinese government woke up on the bright side of the hard, stone floor this morning! The iTunes music store is apparently back up and running again in the country, after it was blocked last week by local officials.

Not all is ice cream and puppy dogs, however. While 50 Cent and Bon Jovi downloads are back and in full effect, "Songs for Tibet" -- an album released by the Art of Peace Foundation, an organization that supports Tibetan independence, and which features songs by Sting, Dave Matthews and Alanis Morissette, along with a 15-minute speech by the Dalai Lama -- remains blacklisted. It was the pro-Tibet album that was initially suspected of starting the shutdown in the first place.

Michael Wohl, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Art of Peace, said that 40 American Olympic athletes in Beijing had downloaded the album as a symbol of protest against the government; they decided to remain anonymous, however, because of fear of retribution on China's part.

A spokesman at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., was unavailable for comment about the situation. As well as being inaccessible on iTunes, the album cannot be reached from China on either Amazon.com or YouTube, which is, as they like to say in the trade, "no coincidence". [From: SF Gate]

Tags: apple, bans, breaking news, BreakingNews, china, itunes, olympics, tibet

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Elderly Amish Man Caught on Film With Prostitute, Blackmailed
When a 75-year-old Amish widower slept with a prostitute, he -- we feel certain -- felt pretty bad about it the next morning. As if that guilt weren't enough for the old man, the prostitute and her boyfriend demanded $67,000 from him, claiming that they had filmed the scene with wall-mounted cameras and would upload the recording to the Internet. The pair was later arrested and, we can only imagine, the Amish man abhorred technology more than ever.

Bank Robber Gets Away With the Help of Craiglist
In October, a bank robber -- wearing a safety vest, blue shirt, face mask and goggles -- eluded police with the help of Craiglist. Just outside the bank, while the robbery was in progress, stood a group of men who were responding to a Craiglist day labor opportunity. As the advertisement required, they were all wearing safety vests, blue shirts, face masks and goggles.

Nude New Zealander Arrested After Responding to Fake Sexy Text Message
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Fake Craiglist Ad Costs Man Most of What He Owns
Last Spring, a post appeared on an Oregon Craigslist board stating that the owner of a specific house was leaving all of his worldly possessions (still in said house) to whoever wanted them. When homeowner Robert Salisbury rushed home -- on a tip from a woman suspicious about the offer of a free horse -- he found his house being ransacked by 30 strangers. We suggest he take that horse and collect some vengeance Clint Eastwood-style.

17-Year-Old Jailed for Stealing Virtual 'Furniture'
When a 17-year-old Dutch boy hacked into several accounts on the Second Life-style site 'Habbo' in 2007, the the law got involved. The boy was discovered to have stolen $5,800 worth of virtual furniture and knick-knacks. Apparently, crime -- whether actual or virtual -- does not pay.

Phishers Going After Your Phones in New 'Vishing' Trend
Over the past year, sneaky spammers have begun to forsake the worn-out territory of e-mail in favor of cell phones' fertile frontier. The result? "Vishing." Get it? Voice mail phishing. It might be more ominous if it didn't sound like a James Bond villain saying, "Wishing."

Burglars Break Into Restaurant, Steal HDTV, Leave Money / Food Behind
Around Halloween of last year, a truckload of thieves drove into -- that's right, into -- a Pennsylvania Mexican restaurant, where they -- apparently uninterested in the cash register -- stole a mid-grade 47-inch HDTV and fled the scene. We've all heard about how this generation is lacking in ambition, but this generation's thieves, too?

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