I have just published my latest update about day 1 at Black Hat in Las Vegas. Have a look at ITRiskSpace.

Cheers
-Andreas

HOW many planets are in the solar system? The official answer is eight - unless you happen to live in Illinois. Earlier this year, defiant Illinois state governors declared that Pluto had been unfairly demoted by the International Astronomical Union, the authority that sets the rules on all matters planetary.

Three years ago, the IAU decided to draw up the first scientific definition of the term planet. After days of stormy arguments at its general assembly in Prague, the delegates voted for a definition that excluded Pluto, downgrading it to the new category of dwarf planet.

The decision caused outrage among many members of the public who had grown up with nine planets, and among some astronomers who pointed out that only 4 per cent of the IAU’s 10,000 members took part in the vote. The governors of Illinois saw the decision as a snub to Pluto’s discoverer, Clyde Tombaugh, who was born in the state.

Is Pluto a planet after all? - space - 27 July 2009 - New Scientist

Here we go guys.

Microsoft just released an Security Bulletin Advance Notification for July 2009. I described a possible scenario on my blog some hours ago. You can find the story at http://ITRiskSpace.com. The Microsoft advisory can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms09-jul-ans.mspx

Stay tuned
-Andreas

Hi guys,

like every other year when Black Hat week is coming closer the security space is waking up. We all book our trips to Vegas, try to get good deals on the Vegas hotels and we all work hard to be on the invite list of the best parties in town.

At the same time the security gurus prepare themselves for the big vendor bashing during the conference. Some days before the show starts you see the first information leaks into the community. This year in general is not different at all beside the fact that this time we see vendor reactions even before the show has started and I guess that what we have seen the last couple of days is only the tip of a bigger iceberg.

Without any proof at hand I have the feeling that the next couple of days and weeks will be really hot and my advice to all of you is, prepare yourself for a major unplanned patch exercise. Let me explain you why I strongly believe in that.

Have a look at my blog story at ITRiskSpace

Let me know what you think
-Andreas

Audiences are voicing snap judgments on movies faster and to more people than ever before on Twitter, and their ability to create a box office hit or a flop is forcing major studios to revamp marketing campaigns.

The stakes are especially high this summer season when big budget movies like “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which opened on Wednesday, play to a core audience of young, plugged-in moviegoers.

Box office watchers say Twitter, a micro-blogging service that allows anyone to post on-the-fly wisecracks for all the world to see, is the latest weapon in an arsenal of cell phones and computers that audiences use to critique films quickly, often when they are still sitting in theaters.

Movie studios try to harness Twitter effect | Technology | Reuters