Military Bans Removable Media
In an interesting twist in the WikiLeaks saga, the U.S. military has banned the use of all CDs, DVDs, thumb drives and every other form of removable media. The punishment isn’t death, but transferring files via Sneakernet may risk a court martial.
Maj. Gen. Richard Webber, commander of Air Force Network Operations, issued the Dec. 3 “Cyber Control Order” — obtained by Danger Room — which directs airmen to “immediately cease use of removable media on all systems, servers, and stand alone machines residing on SIPRNET,” the Defense Department’s secret network. Similar directives have gone out to the military’s other branches.
Pfc. Bradley Manning, who claims to have leaked a number of documents to WikiLeaks, says he “downloaded hundreds of thousands of files from SIPRNET to a CD marked Lady Gaga.” This is only one in a number of moves the government is making to keep their data more secure. It makes you wonder if Paul Carr is right. In a recent post, he says that “maybe millions” of people previously had access to these “secret” government documents. Now, since this whole WikiLeaks thing, we may never see a leak like this again.
Now, however, thanks to Wikileaks, all of that is likely to stop. What’s also likely to stop is the routine documenting of casual conversations, the candid sharing of opinions between allies – and a whole bunch of other acts of openness which if Wikileaks actually meant a word it said, the organisation should be all for. And for… what? So that millions of us who had no real business – beyond a basic prurient interest – in knowing what conversations are being had behind closed diplomatic doors could feel important. Well, great. Responsible openness’ loss is a few million busybodies’ gain.
via Wired
Google eBooks, Google Maps, and Gmail for Android
Google, as usual, made big moves this week across some of their most important apps. Google eBooks launched earlier this week, giving you access to millions of eBooks on your own terms. Cloud storage makes it easy to access your ebooks from multiple devices and screens. The simple interface keeps the focus on the content. Google also officially launched Chrome OS and began sending out free CR-48 netbooks pre-installed with Google Chrome OS to developers, reviewers, and a few other random folks. As part of the Chrome OS launch, the Google Chrome Web Store opened it’s doors to make it easy to find and install web applications in both the Chrome browser and Chrome OS. Google also put rumors of a Nexus Two to rest by announcing the Nexus S.
Google Maps 5.0 is coming to an Android near you and it looks pretty awesome. Not only are maps drawn using 3-D vector graphics, but the simpler data format allows for downloads of 100 times less data than the old format. This gives you faster load times, smooth zooming, rotation, and did I mention the maps are now in 3D?
The new 3D building models will start to appear as you get down to the street view level, and you can even tilt the map using a two-finger swipe gesture, altering the map’s vertical orientation to offer a sense of a building’s height. Imagine popping out of the subway in NYC and instantly recognizing where you’re at by checking out the buildings around you in 3D. 100 cities, like New York, will be supported from the outset. — via Gizmodo
The most important updates for me are in the Gmail for Android. Almost since the first day I got my phone, there were a few things I didn’t like about the Gmail app and it looks like Google was reading my mind because they’ve fixed every one in this update.
- A more advanced Compose feature allows for inline replies, so I can delete personal information from emails before forwarding them to my blogs or other social sites.
- Send messages from any of your accounts that are already configured in the desktop/web version of Gmail.
- More advanced support of Priority Inbox, including setting it as your default Inbox and manually changing priority of email messages.
Angry Birds Flies the Coop
With their insane popularity across iPhones and Android devices, it was inevitable that Rovio’s Angry Birds would get too big for their britches. Frustrated with Android’s purchasing system, Rovio made Angry Birds free with ads on the Android platform. Now, they will take that idea a step further, allowing in-app purchases of the ad-free version of the Angry Birds game via a carrier-billing system called Bad Piggy Bank. They will also begin selling virtual goods through this system, starting with The Mighty Eagle.
via GigaOm