Archive for the ‘electricity’ Category

Australian power grid attacked by virus, Linux saves the day

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of an institutional virus outbreak — even the crew of the International Space Station had a neat little scare not too long ago — and now various outlets in Australia are reporting that Integral Energy, which supplies energy to homes and businesses in New South Wales and Queensland, has suffered a particularly nasty visit by the W32.Virut.CF virus. When all was said and done, the company had to repair all 1000 of the facility’s desktops. Furthermore, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the company’s anti-virus software hadn’t been updated since at least February. Between the lack of anti-virus updates and the fact that segregation between the company’s main network and the grid was “typically none at all” this story has all the makings of a disaster. Luckily, the grid itself runs on Sun Solaris — and when control systems became infected, how did they fix the mess? That’s right: by replacing them with Linux machines. A word to the wise: they do make anti-virus auto-updates for a reason.

[Via The PC Report]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Australian power grid attacked by virus, Linux saves the day originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba’s DMFC fuel cell seen ‘powering phones’ at CEATEC (video)

Toshiba has been promising the world a healthy dose of fuel cell chargers for what feels like ages now, with its most recent swearing happening just two months ago. Here at CEATEC, the company’s wares were being trumpeted by KDDI. We witnessed a standard handset have its stock battery removed and replaced with an admittedly bulky fuel cell container. The booth attendant proudly juiced up the cell, clipped it onto the phone’s rear and mashed the power button. Within seconds, the device booted up normally, and a handy level indicator on the charger itself kept us in the know on how much life was left. Or — you know — maybe the whole thing was just an elaborate hoax to fool English-speaking media into thinking this stuff was really nearing its commercial release. Have a look at a brief video just beyond the break, but try not to get your hopes up too high. No need in having your heart broken again unnecessarily.

Continue reading Toshiba’s DMFC fuel cell seen ‘powering phones’ at CEATEC (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals

Toshiba’s DMFC fuel cell seen ‘powering phones’ at CEATEC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony dives into wireless power game, makes it way more interesting

We’ve been watching wireless power startups spin their wheels for years on end, and while we’ve netted a few contact-charging solutions along the way, there’s still a dire need for bona fide wireless power. A most unlikely candidate has just shown up to deliver that very need, with Sony’s wireless power supply system reportedly pushing some 60 watts of juice across 50 centimeters (nearly two feet) of crisp, cool air. Currently, the magnetic resonance setup is running at about 60 percent efficiency, but we’re sure the engineers behind the breakthrough aren’t satisfied yet. So, should we expect to see a prototype BRAVIA HDTV at CES 2010 that needs no AC cable to function? Please Sony, say yes. Say it emphatically.

[Via Impress]

Filed under: Wireless

Sony dives into wireless power game, makes it way more interesting originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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