Development

Monday, October 25, 2010

Bocah Cilik Sabet Rp 27 Juta dari Mozilla

Alex Miller menemukan cacat di memori saat browser Firefox dijalankan.

Juli lalu, Mozilla secara terbuka sempat mengiming-imingi hadiah uang sebesar US$3000 (sekitar Rp 27 juta) kepada siapa saja yang bisa menemukan bug (cacat) pada program browsernya.

Ternyata, sayembara tersebut berhasil dimenangkan oleh seorang bocah 12 tahun asal Amerika Serikat bernama

Alex Miller, dengan hadiah cek US$3000 dari Mozilla (San Jose Mercury News)

Alex Miller. Ia berhasil menemukan sebuah cacat kritis di memori saat program berjalan.

"Mozilla sangat tergantung dengan kontributor seperti dia untuk bisa bertahan," kata Brandon Sterne, Security Program Manager, Mozilla, dikutip dari situs San Jose Mercury News.

Menurut Sterne, sebagai organisasi nonprofit dan proyek open source, temuan terpilih Miller merupakan masukan berharga bagi Mozilla.

Alex sendiri memang merupakan pengguna loyal Firefox. Sebelumnya, ia pernah mencoba menemukan celah lain di Firefox, tapi temuannya kurang begitu besar. Ia pun berusaha lagi.

Alex menghabiskan 90 menit setiap hari di depan layar komputer memelototi setiap celah yang ada. Akhirnya pada hari kesepuluh, Alex mendapatkannya. Ia pun berhak menggamit hadiah uang itu.

Alex memang bukan anak sembarangan. Anak-anak seusianya biasanya masih duduk di kelas dasar. Sementara saat ini, Alex telah duduk di Grade 7 dan tengah menempuh tingkat persiapan Universitas.

Menurut Ibunya, Alex memahami pemrograman dengan mempelajarinya sendiri. Selain gandrung dengan komputer, Alex menyukai olahraga tepok bulu dan gemar memetik gitar.

Ia juga berdiskusi berbagai masalah politik seperti layaknya orang berusia 40 tahun. Alex pun tengah belajar bahasa Mandarin, dan ia juga berencana untuk turut dalam Olimpiade Fisika dengan membangun proyek sebuah robot.

Namun, mendapat hadiah cek US$3000 tak membuat anak kecil gelap mata. Ia justru mendonasikan sebagian hadiahnya untuk organisasi nonprofit penyayang binatang dekat rumahnya, Unconditional Love Animal Rescue. Ia juga berniat memberikan hadiah natal kepada keluarganya dari uang itu. Sisanya ia akan menabungnya ke Bank.

Yang jelas, Alex mengajarkan anak-anak seusianya, bahwa uang tak hanya bisa dicari dengan cara menyemir sepatu, atau pekerjaan yang kerap dilakukan anak-anak seusianya. Kini bocah seusia sekolah dasar juga bisa mencari uang dengan menguasai pemrograman komputer. (hs)

• VIVAnews

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Everything You Need To Know About 4G Wireless Technology

While most of us are used to getting high speed Internet connections at home, the office or even the local coffee shop, once we are on the road those high speeds have to stay behind. With 4G the promise is that you can get real mobile broadband to go. In this piece we are going to tell you all about the technology and its benefits, who offers it or plans to, how much it costs, and the gear you need to enjoy the next generation of wireless broadband today.
But first, some background: 4G is the short name for fourth-generation wireless, the stage of mobile communications that will enable things like IP-based voice, data, gaming services and high quality streamed multimedia on portable devices with cable modem-like transmission speeds. It's a successor to 2G and 3G wireless, whereby the first signified the shift from analog to digital transmissions, bringing data services like SMS and email to mobile phones for the first time, and the second refers to the advent of things like global roaming as well as higher data rates.

Think of wireless generations as a handful of services that get faster and more feature-rich as newer technology becomes available. The 3G networks that we use today allow us to stream video, download music and files, and surf the web at average download speeds from 600Kb/s to 1.4Mb/s. With 4G you'll be able to do the same but at much faster rates, while the extra bandwidth opens the door for newer applications.

War Games The-dead code

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (July 29, 2008)

For a long-overdue sequel to 1983’s WarGames, we head to 2008’s direct-to-video WarGames: The Dead Code. The film introduces us to a sophisticated US defense system called RIPLEY. On the surface, it exists as a game site, but it keeps tabs on potential terrorists and nails them via remote attacks.
Teenager Will Farmer (Matt Lanter) possesses great computer skills and sometimes gets into trouble due to hacking. He stumbles onto the RIPLEY games and becomes a top-flight player in no time. That ain’t good, for RIPLEY targets the best gamers as probable terrorists, which turns Matt into a suspect. Matt struggles to clear his name and stay alive.
When I recently viewed the original WarGames, I was surprised to see how well it held up over the last 25 years. Sure, the technology dates it, but the premise remains realistic and the film provides a solid piece of dramatic entertainment.
Since the idea of threats from computer hacking has become even more believable and scary since 1983, WarGames boasted a premise well suited for an update. That meant Code had the potential to become something more than a cheap direct-to-video knockoff made long after its predecessor.