Hacker group Anonymous organizes biggest cyber-attack in history in protest of SOPA

Posted by John Ball Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Mods / Hacks,

The hacktivist group ‘Anonymous’ launched its biggest cyber-attack ever last Thursday on a bunch of governmane and corporate Web sites after the FBI shut down the ever-popular file sharing destination Megaupload. The sites attacked include The Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, and the Recording Industry Association of America. Later, CBS and Universal were targeted and taken down. Just this morning, Anonymous attacked the UFC site. These attacks started the day after the SOPA and PIPA blackouts which, according to some, could not have come at a worse time.

Anonymous is taking responsibility for the attacks, however no individual persons have come out and claimed that they took part in the operation, which is to be expected. As of right now, the government sites that were attacked are now back up and functioning.

UFC site hacked by Anonymous due to company support of SOPA

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Internet,

Looks like the site of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) just got hacked due to the UFC's unwavering support of SOPA. As you can see in the image above, the site now redirects to a placeholder page, and the sub-pages in the site default to a HostGator error page. The hacker group Anonymous is behind this latest attack, as the group has spent the last few days targeting companies that have yet to withdraw their support of the controversial SOPA bill.

Tom Ziuko Update

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,

Daniel Best at 20th Century Danny Boy has an update on the health of legendary comic book colorist Tom Ziuko. If you have a little something to spare, please consider helping Tom out.

[Artwork: A nice example of Tom's coloring, taken from Daniel Best's blog post, © DC Comics]

P. Craig Russell: Graphic Storytelling

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,

One of the great, eclectic masters of comic book art is P. Craig Russell.

Since he burst on the scene in the Marvel comics of the 1970s (Killraven), then jumped to projects like Night Music, Michael Moorcock’s Elric, Sandman, Fables and so many others.

He's worked with everyone from Roy Thomas and Don McGregor to Neil Gaiman and Mike Mignola.

And along the way, he’s collected Kirby and Eisner awards and an army of fans.

Now, thanks to Kickstarter, he’s getting ready to launch P. Craig Russell’s Guide to Graphic Storytelling, a “a web series (and companion DVD) consisting of educational videos that teach the art of graphic storytelling, also known as ‘Comics.’”

Here’s the coolness from their Kickstarter pitch:

Click to continue reading P. Craig Russell: Graphic Storytelling

Weekend Reading: John Carter, Captain Underpants & Stieg Larsson

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Interviews, Movies, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,

Greetings, Weekenders! Still up in arms about DC’s new logo? The wrongness of SOPA/PIPA? Forget it. Let’s just enjoy the internets while they’re still free:

The John Carter Files poses some questions about the upcoming John Carter movie.

Two new Captain Underpants books by Dav Pilkey are coming in 2012.

Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is getting the graphic novel treatment via DC Comics (and their Vertigo imprint). Denise Mina - no slouch as a mystery novelist - is writing with Leonardo Manco, art is by Andrea Mutti, but just check out the kick-ass cover by Lee Bermejo. Omnimystery has all the deets.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: John Carter, Captain Underpants & Stieg Larsson

ElfQuest Movie: No Go

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Independent,

This was posted by WaRP Graphics employee “Wendy Masque,” on Elfquest’s official Facebook page:

“After close to four years of suspense - and longer than four years of your much-appreciated interest and support - the word has come down from Warner Bros. And the word is ‘no.’ Their simple explanation is that they don't want to compete with The Hobbit. This was a possibility, among several, that we were prepared for. It is a relief, at last, to know.”

Sad news for fans.

Movie studios make similarly-themed competing movies all the time (Armageddon and Deep Impact, anyone?) so that can’t be the real reason. In fact, it sounds like movie studio bs.

Click to continue reading ElfQuest Movie: No Go

Absinthe A5 iPhone 4S and iPad 2 jailbreak tool now available

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Mods / Hacks, Software,

Many iPad 2 owners have waited almost a full year for this moment, and it has finally come. Both the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S now have their own bona fide jailbreak tool in Absinthe A5. To be clear, Absinthe A5 is an untethered jailbreak method - this is the one you want, otherwise you have to have your iOS device connected to your Mac or PC with a cable whenever it boots up. This has no such requirement.

iOS hacker p0sixninja says that the jailbreak software works for A5 devices that are running iOS 5.0 and iOS 5.0.1. If you've updated to the iOS 5.1 beta, then you're out of luck if you wanna jailbreak. Your best bet might be to downgrade. To get started, you'll need to download the latest version of greenpois0n, and it currently only works on a Mac (Windows is "coming soon".) The specific builds that are supported are iPhone 4S with iOS 5.0 build 9A334 and iOS 5.0.1 builds 9A405 and 9A406, as well as iPad 2 running iOS 5.0.1 build 9A405.

Bleeding Edge TV 412: Monster Diamond Tears - Edge over-ear headphones

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, CES, CES 2012, Features, Music, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos,

In this episode we give you a look at the Monster Diamond Tears - Edge over-ear headphones, which they made in collaboration with J.Y. Park and JYP Entertainment. The design of these over-ear headphones is based on J.Y. Parks musical talent, including Rain, Wonder Girls, and more. They say these headphones are "edgy like diamonds, but smooth like tears." If that strikes your fancy, then you can look forward to picking them up in the first quarter of the year for $279, with an in-ear model to follow in the second half of the year. We give you a look at both the light and dark diamond models in this video.

Big thank you to MozyPro and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! MozyPro provides simple, automatic, and secure data backup. As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like on the site.

The future of commuting: Toyota Fun-Vii

Posted by Andrey Malskiy Categories: Science, Transportation,

We’re all attached to our vehicles one way or another. They’re an extension of ourselves. With all that said, would you be willing to give up driving?

Now, we're not talking about giving up your car and relying on public transportation. Rather, we're talking about the general act of driving, controlling the speed of your vehicle, changing directions with a gripped steering wheel and the like. For many this might sound sci-fi-ish, but for manufactures like Toyota, it’s a concept for the near-distant future.

The Toyota Fun-Vii is a vehicle like no other. It allows the user to completely customize the vehicle to their choosing, be it to match their shoes or personality. The Fun-Vii concept allows the driver to place the vehicle into auto-drive, following a set route to preplanned destination. While the vehicle is in motion, passengers are immersed a fully customizable multimedia experience. Furthermore, the vehicle acts like a social hub. It can be used as a racing simulator or as a concert back drop for DJs.

Though it will be interesting seeing this vehicle on the road, there is no set date yet; other than the project release date of 20XX. So, you know, sometime in the next 89 years.

Comic Book Jobs: Course Director

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Video Games,

Economics professors and Psych teachers are no longer needed. Full Sail University, “an innovative educational leader” located just outside of Orlando, FL is accepting applications for a new teaching position: “Course Director of Developing New Worlds position in its Creative Writing Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree Program.”

And what’s a Course Director then?

“Course Directors are instructors who ensure excellence in teaching skills and classroom content. They develop curriculum, teach, and oversee the integrity of their classes.”

But what’s all that about “Developing New Worlds”?

Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Course Director

Read More | Full Sail University