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Australian teen pleads guilty to hacking Apple
An Australian teenager pleaded guilty today to charges over repeatedly hacking into Apple's computer systems, The Age reports. He reportedly was able to access authorized keys, view customer accounts and download 90GB of secure files before being caught. Once alerted to the repeated intrusions, Apple blocked the teen and notified the FBI of the breaches. The agency in turn contacted the Australian Federal Police who raided the teenager's home last year, seizing two Apple laptops, a mobile phone and a hard drive.
6 world-changing innovations by teenage geniuses
By Cat DiStasio Solutions to some of the world's most challenging problems are coming from an unlikely place: teenagers. Around the world, young inventors are developing gadgets and techniques that address issues ranging from ocean pollution to biofuels to food production. These incredible inventions are just a few highlights from teens who bring a fresh perspective and a hunger for real-life problem-solving. Hopefully, we'll be reading about these young geniuses again years down the road, as they become stars of their own STEM careers.
London police arrest second teenager over TalkTalk data breach
The hack which exposed millions of TalkTalk customer account details may have been orchestrated by more than one individual. Following the arrest of a 15-year-old boy on Monday, Metropolitan Police today confirmed that a second individual has been apprehended in connection with the case. A 16-year-old boy was cuffed on Thursday at an address in Feltham, London, by detectives from the Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit. The property was searched and the teenager has since been released on bail. In a statement, officers confirmed that a second property in Liverpool has also been examined, although it's unclear how this relates to the overall investigation.
Teen texting can be just as compulsive as gambling
There's no question that modern teens are more comfortable with cellphones than earlier generations, but there's now evidence to suggest that some of them are a little too comfortable. A recent study shows that some teen texters exhibit the same compulsive behavior you see from gamblers, including the inability to cut back, sleep loss and lying to cover up habits. For the girls in the study, this frequently translated to poorer grades at school (though they still fared better overall than the boys). The quantity of texts didn't affect the teens so much as their inability to pull away from their devices. Sending just a few messages doesn't matter if your eyes remain glued to the screen, after all.
Paralyzed teen to kick World Cup's first ball with mind-controlled exoskeleton
This year's World Cup could be host to something more exciting than a bicycle kick scoring the winning goal. Thanks to an international collaboration between universities such as Colorado State University, the Technical University of Munich and the Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience of Natal in Brazil, a paralyzed teen is set to open the sporting event by kicking a football while wearing a motorized exoskeleton controlled by his or her brain. Colorado State University in particular recently published a video of its portion of the Walk Again Project, describing just how the mind-control helmet was 3D-printed layer-by-layer in order to fit the wearer's head and connect the electrodes. Take a peek after the break to see the video in question, which also offers a fascinating look into how advances in robotics and 3D printing can improve people's lives. Which is a hell of a lot more entertaining than watching Nigel de Jong roughing up Xabi Alonso again.
AT&T developing tech to help parents keep teenagers from texting and driving, hopes to save lives
By now, you're likely aware of some of the repercussions that come with shooting an innocent text to a friend while being behind the wheel. Well, in an effort to keep these unfortunate accidents from ever occurring, the AT&T Foundry's been hard at work, hoping to come up with solutions to help with this serious matter. Most recently, the Rethink Possible outfit showed off an application that's currently in the works; one that allows parents to track their teenage drivers' every move, as well as remotely turn off calls and disable all messaging features -- which the carrier says will be a great compliment to its DriveMode app. It's worth noting the unnamed application was being showcased on one of Cupertino's slates, but AT&T's said it's willing to work with "device makers, car makers and developers," as the ultimate goal is to ultimately "encourage more solutions." There's a video past the break for your viewing pleasure, and we think it's worth all of its 197 seconds of airtime.
Drama Mamas: Is WoW cool? Should you care?
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. Drama Mama Lisa got a letter from a fan, and we've stolen it for this week's drama. Hi Lisa My name is Joe. I'm a 15 year old student from the UK. I've been a reading of your blog for a long time now and have been enjoying it for just as long. I'm writing to you today with a WoW related issue that I need advice on and I've come to you as not only do I want a experienced professional but also long-period, friendly WoW gamer. I played World of Warcraft for around 2 years, then I quit but got back into it. Last December I quit my subscription again and haven't played since. I have only recently began reading Wowinsider again and have been engrossed with the posts for 2 weeks. Now, I'm also watching cinematic videos, gameplay videos and anything recently on Wowinsider. This has confused me about whether or not to re-join the World of Warcraft community. I really need some advice.
Teenager invents low-frequency radio for underground communications
You know what's really annoying? Teenagers. Even more annoying? Teenagers inventing legitimately useful things and getting awards for it. Meet Alexander Kendrick, the 16-year old inventor of a new low-frequency radio that allows for cave-texting, which isn't some fresh new euphemism, it just means people can finally text while deep underground. How deep, you ask -- well, Alexander's team of intrepid explorers went far enough (946 feet) to record the deepest known digital communication ever in the United States. What you see the young chap holding above is the collapsible radio antenna, though plans are already afoot to ruggedize and miniaturize the equipment to make it more practical for cave explorers and rescuers. Way to go, kid.
Drama Mamas: Is it time to leave?
Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We're taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com.When an elephant walks into the room, it may be time to leave. OK, I admit the above picture is a stretch for the topic at hand, but I just couldn't resist the elephant butt. The picture for the Officer with No Respect letter may also be an obscure choice, but I just felt that the Dead Bunny Police Officer depicted in that photo didn't look like he got the respect he wanted. And I could probably hold my own in a layman's debate as to whether or not Mary, Queen of Scots was a Manipulating Queen, though I doubt that I would do well against a real historian. But enough of my excuses for this week's choices from The Commons, let's get to the letters.
Video: 15 year old spends summer hacking iPhones
When we were fifteen we were too busy smoking Winstons behind the Country Fair on Pennsylvania state route 99 to do anything of real value for society, so perhaps that's why whenever we cover one of these "teenager does good" stories it's with a slight tinge of regret. Ari Weinstein, the precocious spawn of a real-estate developer and a social worker, says he began his career as a "hacker" at the age of 7 when he figured out how to get around AOL's parental controls. Since then its only been onward and upward for the lad, who has since made short work of the iPod mini, the iPod touch (which led to the development of iJailbreak) and, with as a member of the Chronic Dev Team, the iPhone 3GS. Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, "he's going legit, as he spends his summer tooling up a new app." Sure. As we know, once the hacking bug bites, there's no going back to the straight world. That is, until AriX (as he's known on the street) discovers girls. Jailbreaking fans, please enjoy a rather confused (and wildly conflated) video after the break.
Teen invents pen-sized pico projector while your kid's busy beating up honor roll students
Life can sure be confusing for a teenager in this fast-paced techno-world we live in. Without the proper guidance, a kid could find himself unplugging someone's life support, or going to jail for borrowing the neighbor's WiFi. Hell, if old man General Tommy Franks (retired) has his way you won't even be able to hang out behind the Safeway and enjoy a six pack with your fellow juvenile delinquents without being tracked via GPS! So it warms our hearts when we do hear of a youngster that's bucked the odds and done something constructive. For example, a 13-year-old named David Baker has received a patent for his Light Beam Delivery System, a pico projector that fits in a pen casing, and works by combining three RGB lasers with an optics assembly that creates a light ray that is then shined through a rotating disk to the screen. "When the light goes through the lenses," he explains, "they take each light pixel and shine it onto a screen or wall. The lenses run back and forth until it fills the screen. This process repeats 30 times per second to make it appear as though you're looking at a solid image and not a series of pixels, and you have the image projected." And where did he find the inspiration for all of this? "I was sitting in church thinking about how to make projectors easier to handle and I just thought of it," he says. Here's to daydreaming during mass![Via About Projectors]
Mischievous teen arrested for turning camera into taser
Regardless of what the UN / Taser thinks, the fuzz around Clinton, Connecticut aren't too fond of taser-like weapons being in the hands of teenagers. Case in point: a 14-year old with a certain knack for wandering around the intarwebz and filling his brain with all sorts of hacktastic methodologies managed to stumble upon directions (what, these?) for transforming a vanilla disposable camera into something "capable of zapping people with an electrical charge." School Resource Officer Kyle Strunjo even said that the improvised weapon was "potentially capable of a 600-volt shock," though it wasn't actually used on anyone before it got swiped by the boys in blue. Chin up kid, you've got a future waiting for you yet.[Image courtesy of DIYLive, thanks Ninad]
Is it time for age restricted servers?
Anyone who has been playing WoW for a bit knows that this game is unique in that both adults and children can enjoy it at the same time. Indeed this duality can be considered one of the best features of the game. How often can you sit down with your son or daughter and truly enjoy the same video game? Besides the amazing adventures of Dora The Explorer, other kid friendly games like Disney Online's Toon Town and Club Penguin just don't provide the same level of enjoyment for adults and their children. (What's the game in Dora, you ask? Assisting her in finding the red berries or yelling at Swiper. See this not-safe-for-work Kevin Smith YouTube excerpt for an explanation.)However with that in mind, there are some compelling arguments that its due time for World of Warcraft to get a few age restricted servers.For starters, take a look at what Second Life has done. They're a pretty successful venture, and have a lot of parallels to MMORPGS like WoW. They've created a server called Teen Second Life in which they do their best to only allow teenagers between the ages of 13 – 17 access. When you turn 18 you're moved up to the adult server along with all your gear and property. Of course this has the same pitfalls as any other internet site where you can fake your identity, but it is a start; and a good one since Linden Labs actively polices age restrictions.
Annoyed, hospitalized teen unplugs neighbor's life support
It should probably go without saying that anything connected to a power source within the confines of a hospital has a fair shot at being pertinent to the livelihood of at least one individual, but obviously a 17-year old teenager in Germany needed the memo. After the perpetual noise of what would prove to be his neighbor's life support machine "got on his nerves," he proceeded to simply unplug the device without precaution in order to ensure that "he got his peace and quiet." Of course, we can only assume that the sirens and squeals that were emitted due to his misreckoning were immensely louder than the prior hum, but some folks just love to learn the hard way. Thankfully, medical personnel stepped in and saved the man from perishing, but the teen at fault lost a lot more sleep after that whilst being questioned by police.[Via El Reg, image courtesy of NAIAD]
Singapore teen dealt 18-month probation, internet ban for WiFi stealing
While folks have been receiving various forms of punishment after jacking somebody's lingering WiFi signal without consent, it looks like the poor internet-addicted teenager from Singapore just barely missed out on the maximum fine. Proclaimed as the first victim of Singapore's newly-enforced Computer Misuse Act, the 17-year old Garyl Tan Jia Luo picked up 18 months of probation (some of which will be at home) instead of jail time, but what's potentially worse is the fact that he is not allowed to access the internet during his stint. Apparently, the judge felt this was the best way to break him of his internet addiction, and also recommended that the kiddo receive treatment for his online gaming obsession. Of course, we're sure his school grades will plummet and he'll miss out on a critical amount of technological development during the next 1.5 years, but hey, serving up justice is what it's all about, right? So if you're stuck in Singapore without a connection to the digital world, hold out just a bit longer for that free nationwide variety before hopping onto whatever jail-bait WiFi signal you find floating around.[Via TechDirt]
Today's lesson: don't mow the lawn while listening to your iPod during a lightning storm
The Denver Post is reporting that Bunch, a 17-year-old teenager in Castle Rock, CO, was struck by lightning while mowing the lawn and listening to his iPod. While scientists aren't laying any money down on how likely it is that lightning sought out the teenager's iPod, the boy and his mother suspect Apple's little white player acted as a sort of lightning rod in this most unfortunate of accidents. The strike traveled all the way down his earbuds, burning his ears and the side of his face, causing Bunch to lose some of his hearing.All things considered, Bunch and his mother are just happy that he is alive.[via iLounge]Thanks Gidge.
