They were originally part of Anonymous and branched off to act on a specific target and message with a handful of hackers with similar ideals, then disbanded after "50 days of mayhem on the internets" which, on their rampage, made Operation #AntiSec (which they encourage flaunting everywhere, and is apparently still active among independent hacktivist groups). Once their 50 day rampage was done, they 'disbanded' and re-merged with Anonymous. Anonymous has no leader, unlike LulzSec who's leader was reportedly 'Sabu', and therefore don't really have a clear direction, they just collect ideas among the group and target who's on their hit-list first.
The difference between Anonymous and other hacktivists: exposure.
By all technicality, nobody is responsible for the "Anonymous" group since they have no leader, but they act on their own without needing a directing force.
The problem with the current form of hactivism, though, is that the exposure doesn't come without severe collateral damage to private citizens who have nothing to do with the "fight of the day"; collateral damage which is not only seen as not an issue and a justified means to an end, but "lulz-worthy".
Hactivism would make a stronger case if approached in a way that exposed only the issue targeted - or at minimum does less harm to innocent bystanders.
TV Anchorman: In a surprise announcement, the Republican National Committee has revealed it is bankrupt. A spokesman for the party said they had plenty of money in their accounts last week, but today they just don't know where the money has gone. But not everybody is going begging. Amnesty International, Greenpeace and the United Negro College Fund announced record earnings this week, due mostly to large, anonymous donations.
Data security is only interesting to data security people until it has an effect on something that matters to everyone else.
Not just data security but pretty much any issue, really. As long as "things are just fine" nobody cares; you have to hit them in the pocketbook (or present that type of threat).
Yeah, that's pretty much their position on the issue. Until you get grassroots support, nothing gets done. Well, hacking Sony's site and giving away normal people's subscription information qualifies for that. But, if you look carefully, nobody's credit card information was released in this hacking spree. At least, I do not recall seeing that... just account information (which is still bad, but nowhere near as bad as a credit card).
The big problem with Anonymous is that their goals started out sort of worthy, but with each new target they get more and more self-centered and inane. Like pissing on Sony just because they want to enforce their DRM.
hm, i'm pretty shure they had, since they knew all the other credentials.
Indeed. Plus, releasing individual email addresses does not bankrupt Sony - but does lead to lots of identity theft since most email users can still be reeled in with fishers. So, yeah, I get the thought behind it; I just think the execution needs a bit of modification.
http://www.magic-jack.com/category/magic-jack-plus/
They're doing a new version of the Magic Jack that doesn't require a computer.
It costs slightly more but ... it doesn't require a computer. At $29.95/year it still seems like a bargain, and you can port a landline number to it now.
An acquaintance from where I lived over a year ago used magic jack, he liked it. I have used Vonage since 2004 in one way or another. I like the web interface of Vonage and I can set it up to ring my cell phone at the same time as my "land" line phone.
It's a bit pricier at $70 for the gizmo, and since I already have a computer running it doesn't buy me much.
You have to hook it to your router anyway, so it's not much help.
Now when they make it speak wifi then they'll have got something good.
Anyway if they're going to offer this level of service, where the startup cost is higher and the recurring costs are slightly higher, in exchange for no advertising ... I'd like to see them offer a version that uses no hardware at all. Gimme the SIP credentials and let me connect with Asterisk or with the ATA of my choice.
I suppose the main reason that isn't being done is because most people aren't well versed enough in IP telephony to configure SIP on their own and the tech support costs would eat up any profits.
What can you do with this? Well, it completely opens up the Android OS so that you can bend it to your will.
http://hackaday.com/2011/11/16/i-am-root-kindle-fire-edition/
Since it's designed to host a POTS line, which has to be plugged in,
I'm not sure I see the value in making the Ethernet side wireless. And
it's got to get power from somewhere. Do you have an all-wireless
the wirelessness of the ethernet side is to allow you to move the whole shebang around your house more convienently.
Most phones I've seen lately (not that I've looked much) are cordless, but you still have to plug in the base station to power the cordless signal.
With this gizmo you have to plug the base station in somewhere near your router, as opposed to an old classic phone where you have to plug it in near a phone jack.
Make the gizmo wifi enabled and you can move the base station anywhere there's a power outlet (within wireless range of your router)
Not that you'd move it between rooms that often, but it avoids you having to run a phone line or an ethernet line to whereever you want the base station to be.
(And then I found another charger base for $10 on eBay, so I was able to deploy the second phone to another location; the line-connected base is now sitting in my basement with no phone in it.)
Random thought for the day ...
I just realized that it's been months since I've taken a tape backup of my home server, and even if I tried right now I wouldn't be able to fit everything anyway.
I guess it's finally time to retire my tape drive.