ONLINE NEWS FLASH

Facebook is a social networking websitePopular social networking website Facebook went down for unknown upgrades, possibly to circumvent multiple holes that were published in a white paper earlier. From roughly 1:00 to 4:15 pm ET, users reported the site was down.

Blogs have speculated it may be simply a server upgrade, or it may be new features. One web development blogger has even raised the theory that the site was hacked, with the login box showing multiple random email addresses, through ““coding. Another user replied to this posting, saying that they were even able to read the other, random user’s inbox. Both a blogger who works at a computing company’s office in Johannesburg, South Africa and a Norwegian news outlet reported similar troubles. Many blogs received comments from people with similar circumstances, worldwide.

A white paper by Adrienne Felt, posted on July 27, 2007, explained step-by-step how to use an exploit to hijack a user’s account. The white paper was then partially censored by the author, until the vulnerability has been fixed by Facebook. Regardless of whether the change was prompted by this paper, both the XSS hole and problem with forms described by the author were fixed during the upgrade.

The site read “We’re upgrading. We’ll be back soon.” with no further explanation.

This is the first known global outage for the site.

This comes as a rival site, ConnectU, has filed a lawsuit against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly stealing the idea and the code. The hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.

Also on Wednesday, the Black Hat Briefings computer security conference begins. The conference unites people from “government agencies and global corporations with the underground’s most respected hackers.”

/*scanned*/

September 14, 2007

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) a large magnitude 6.4 quake has struck Indonesia, the seventh such major earthquake in two days. The Meteorology Agency of Indonesia recorded the quake at a magnitude 6.9.

The epicenter was located 164 kilometers (102 miles) west, southwest of Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia with a depth of 47 k.m. (29.2 miles), and the Meteorology Agency recorded it at a depth of only 10 k.m. (6.2 miles).

The Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for the west coast of Sumatra, but was called off a short time later. The USGS did not believe a tsunami will occur saying “the earthquake is not big enough” and that they “generally need to be over 7.2″ to generate one.

Indonesian quakes in the past week.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had issued a bulletin stating that “no widespread destructive tsunami is expected based on historical earthquake data,” but that there could be “local tsunamis” located “not more than 100 k.m.” from the quake’s epicenter.

There is no word on any injuries, deaths or damage. The region has been almost continuously rattled by earthquakes and aftershocks since a major magnitude 8.4 quake struck the region on September 12 killing at least 13 people and injuring hundreds. Several towns report that most of their buildings have been destroyed.

Volcanologists say that the domino effect of the quakes could make some volcanoes in the region active, especially ones which have shown recent activity in the past few years.

“Therefore, we expect a triggering effect on volcanoes in the region which have already shown some activities in the last couple of years,” said a Department of Earth Sciences Professor in Indonesia.

*screened from other sources..

Call number
LC-F9-02-4712-072-10 [item] [P&P]
Reproduction number
LC-DIG-ppmsca-10079 (digital file from original print)
No known restrictions on publication.

Summary

Photograph shows underwater view of a woman, wearing a long gown, floating in water.
Medium
1 film negative.
Created/published
[1947]
Creator
Frissell, Toni, 1907-1988, photographer.
Notes
Title from item.
Published in
Harper’s Bazaar, Dec. 1947; Sport’s Illustrated, 1955. Also published as a frontispiece in Photographs, 1933-1967 / Toni Frissell : Doubleday, 1994.
Subjects
Floating–1940-1950.
Format
Underwater photographs 1940-1950.
Film negatives 1940-1950.
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Digital ID
(digital file from original print) ppmsca 10079 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.10079

Development

At the 1995 Detroit Auto Show, the Ford GT90 concept was shown and at the 2002 show, a new GT40 Concept was unveiled by Ford.

The GT is similar to the original Ford GT40 cars, but bigger, wider, and three inches taller than the original 40 inches (1.02 m) - as a result of which, a potential name for the car was the GT43. Three production prototype cars were shown in 2003 as part of Ford’s centenary, and delivery of the production Ford GT began in the fall of 2004

A British company, Safir Engineering, who made continuation GT40s in the 1980s owned the GT40 trademark at that time, and when they completed production, they sold the excess parts, tooling, design, and tradmark to a small Ohio company called Safir GT40 Spares. Safir GT40 Spares licensed the use of the GT40 trademark to Ford for the initial 2002 show car, but when Ford decided to make the production vehicle, negotiations between the two failed, and as a result the new Ford GT does not wear the badge GT40. It is rumored that Safir GT40 Spares asked $40 million dollars for the rights, but this has never been verified. The partners at Safir GT40 Spares state they have correspondence from Ford declining Safir’s $8 million offer. Early cars from the 1960s were simply named “Ford GT”. The name “GT40″ was the name of Ford’s project to prepare the cars for the international endurance racing circuit, and the quest to win the 24 Hours of LeMans. The first 12 prototype vehicles carried serial numbers GT-101 through GT-112. The “production” began and the subsequent cars, the MkI, MkIIs, MkIIIs, and MkVs, numbered GT40-P-1000 through GT40-P-1145, were officially “GT40s”. The name of Ford’s project, and the serial numbers, thus show the story that “GT40″ was only the car’s nickname to be false.

Production and sales

Production startup began in spring 2004. The first customers took delivery in September 2004. The GT was assembled and painted by Saleen in their Saleen Special Vehicles facility in Troy, Michigan. The GT is powered by an engine built at Ford’s Romeo Engine Plant in Romeo, Michigan. Installation of the engine and transmission along with interior finishing was handled in the SVT building at Ford’s Wixom, Michigan plant.

Of the 4,500 GTs originally planned, approximately 100 were to be exported to Europe, starting in late 2005. An additional 200 were destined for sale in Canada. When production ended in 2006, the full planned lot of 4500 were not produced. Approximately 550 were built in 2004, nearly 1900 in 2005, and just over 1600 in 2006, for a grand total of 4038.

As with many highly desirable new vehicles, when the Ford GT was first released, the demand severely outpaced supply, and the cars initially sold for premium prices. The first unit available to the public sold at a charity auction for over $500,000 to a retired Microsoft executive. Other early cars sold for as much as a $300,000 premium over the suggested retail price range of $450,000 to $700,000 depending on selected optional equipment. Starting in 2007, the average price for a new Ford GT was down to $100,000. By June 2005, retail sale prices had dropped to around $10,000 to $20,000 over MSRP, and in August 2005 several new GTs were sold on eBay for no more than the suggested retail price. Nevertheless, recognizing that there was ongoing demand and support for the car, Ford raised the base sticker by $10,000 to $150,000 in late 2005.

The production run of the GT ended with the 2006 model year on 21 September 2006, with 4038 cars produced [1] out of an originally-planned 4500, and the Wixom Assembly plant, where the GT was finish-assembled, is scheduled for closure in 2007[citation needed]. Sales of the GT continued into 2007, from cars held in storage and in dealer inventories

General Motors discontinued the Chevrolet Camaro after the 2002 model year which had been in production since 1967. After a six year hiatus, GM will begin production of the fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro for the 2009 model year.

2006 Camaro Concept

The return of the Camaro name has been anticipated by enthusiasts since fourth generation production ended in 2002. In January of 2006, the first official word regarding a fifth generation Camaro from General Motors came at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, where the 2006 Camaro Concept was released.AutoWeek editors unanimously awarded the Camaro Concept “Best In Show.” The concept is based on the new GM Zeta platform. Road & Track offered an exclusive first look at the car which had photos as well as a short video on the day the concept was released.

The concept car features the same formula the Camaro has also stuck with; 2-doors, 4-passenger, rear-wheel drive, coupe. The wheelbase is 110.5 in (2806 mm), which is 9 in (230 mm) longer than the previous generation, but an overall length of just 186.2 in (4730 mm), 7 in (180 mm) shorter. The Camaro Concept is powered by a 400 hp (298 kw) 6.0 L LS2 V8 with Active Fuel Management and is equipped with the T-56 six-speed manual transmission. Other features include a four-wheel independent suspension system, four-wheel disc brakes with 14 in rotors and four-piston calipers, and 21 in front / 22 in rear wheels covered in huge 275/30R21 front / 305/30R22 rear tires.

There are three known 2006 Camaro Concept cars in circulation;[citation needed] a fully functional silver vehicles with complete interior, a non-functional silver fiberglass shell currently touring the auto show circuit in Australia and the far east, and a non-functional red fiberglass shell like the silver one, but is in circulation on the North American auto show circuit.

2007 Camaro Convertible Concept

The 2007 Camaro Convertible Concept was announced 6 January 2007 at the 2007 North American International Auto Show. Early speculation by many automotive publications proved to be true when early embargo was broken on 4 January, 2007.

“ For some of us, an emotional bond was formed when we introduced the Camaro coupe last year. It is magnificent. But now this year, if this Camaro convertible doesn’t make your heart beat faster, you should see either your optometrist or your cardiologist, because you have a problem. ”

At a glance it would seem that the only difference between the coupe and convertible concepts would be the roof and Hugger Orange pearl tri-coat paint job with a pair of dark gray racing stripes, but this is not the case. Besides the obvious convertible top, there are subtle changes to the exterior as well. Every surface was changed from the door-cut back. The rear fenderlines drop off from the horizontal surface to the verticle surface a couple of inches farther out than on the coupe to keep proportions good and the rear spoiler was reshaped. The 21 inch front and 22 inch rear wheels were also redesigned and a thin orange line was applied to the outer edge, a nod to redwalls available circa 1969.

There are many interior changes that were incorporated into the new concept. The retro houndstooth-pattern seats of the coupe were replaced with leather moderne and orange stitching. The metal finishes, accept panel finishes, and seats are all different colors. The rear seats are 6 inches closer together to make room for the tonneau cover. The clarity of the circular gauges in square frames were improved by making the faces white with black chrome numbers and a red anodized needle. The deep-dish three-spoke steering wheel and four-pack gauge cluster carryover over from the coupe concept. Chrome seatbelt buckles are designed to look like the iconic belts buckles in late 1960s GM cars. This reworked interior of the Camaro Convertible Concept is now a very close representation of what will be seen in the production version of the Camaro.

2009

On 10 August 2006, GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner announced that GM would build an all-new version of the Chevrolet Camaro muscle car based on the award-winning concept that debuted at the Detroit auto show in January 2006. The all-new Camaro will begin with early production versions at the end of 2008 and will go on sale in the first quarter of 2009.

“The overwhelmingly enthusiastic response to the Camaro Concept continues to remind me of the uniquely iconic place our products can have in customers’ hearts,” Wagoner said. “Camaro is much more than a car; it symbolizes America’s spirit and its love affair with the automobile.”
Although the production version of the vehicle was not shown, GM said it would follow very closely the style of the 2006 Camaro Concept. GM confirmed the Camaro would be rear wheel drive, have an independent rear suspension, be offered with both V6 and V8 engines, and have available automatic and manual transmissions. GM is expected to show the production version of the vehicle in a massive debut at the 2009 North American International Auto Show.

Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper said the new Camaro will appeal to both men and women, and unite customers with fond memories of previous Camaros with those who first experienced a Camaro when the concept was unveiled in January.

“We intend to make the all-new Camaro relevant to younger buyers while retaining its appeal to current fans,” said Peper. “The beauty of the best Camaros is that they have always been beautiful to look at with performance that rivals expensive European GTs. Yet they were practical enough to drive every day and priced within the reach of many new-car buyers.”

Pricing or convertible availability has not been officially announced, but the new Camaro will be produced at the Oshawa Car Assembly manufacturing plant. 2,750 jobs would have been lost at the Oshawa manufacturing plant which had been originally scheduled to be closed in 2008; some of these jobs will be saved now due to the new Camaro’s production (GM of Canada’s president Arturo Elias couldn’t give firm numbers). This new product program and conversion of the Oshawa plant to a state of the art flexible manufacturing facility represents a $740 million investment, with preparatory work beginning immediately.

Bob Lutz’s post on the GM FastLane Blog for 10 August, 2006 thanked everyone in the blogosphere who commented and offered feedback on the Camaro.

*Scanned* From Wikinews