Aurora Borealis Timelapse From Iceland

Another cool view of the Aurora Borealis from Iceland.

 

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Bin Laden Announcement Has Highest Sustained Tweet Rate Ever, At 3440 Tweets Per Second

Twitter has just revised its preliminary measurements of 4,000 tweets per second from last night’s announcement of Osama Bin Laden’s death, tweeting out the new measurements below. At the event’s peak (11pm EST) there were 5,106 TPS, beating out Super Bowl 2011 (with 4,064 TPS) but not NYE 2010 (with 6,939 TPS).

The event had the highest sustained rate of tweets ever according to Twitter, reaching 3,000 tweets per second between 10:45 and 2:20am, raking in 38,7 million tweets in 3 hours and 35 minutes. At its peak it averaged 3440 TPS from 10:45pm  to 12:30pm EST, at an average of 12,4 million tweets an hour. For comparison, this year’s Super Bowl had sustained 20 minutes at 3,000 TPS.

From Twitter PR:

“Last night saw the highest sustained rate of Tweets ever. From 10:45 – 2:20am ET, there was an average of 3,000 Tweets per second. At 11p.m. ET, there were 5,106 Tweets per second. At 11:45p.m. ET, when Pres. Obama finished his remarks, there were 5,008 TPS. Note: The TPS numbers we reported last night were incomplete”

The timeline of the event on Twitter was as follows: At 1:00pm EST last night, Sohaib Athar (@reallyvirtual) unknowingly liveblogged the helicopter raids that eventually killed Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. At around 9:45pm EST White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer notified the press corps that Obama would make an impromptu announcement at 10:30 EST, then tweeted out the same information to his followers.

At 10:25pm former Donald Rumsfeld Chief Of Staff Keith Urbahn tweeted, “So I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden. Hot damn.” ABC, NBC and CBS then followed suit, announcing the death of Bin Laden on television at 10:45pm EST. Obama’s speech began at 11:30pm EST and by 11:35 EST the President had confirmed Osama’s death. At 11:45pm EST the announcement was over.

For perspective, here is a list of other notable TPS event records:

* The all-time record is still NYE 2010 in Japan, with 6,939 TPS at its peak

* On the day of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami (On March 11th) Twitter usage reached 5,530 TPS. (Passing the 5,000 TPS mark five times that day).

* The 2011 Super Bowl reached 4,064 TPS

* Japan’s victory over Denmark in the World Cup reached 3,283 TPS

* Final game of the 2010 NBA finals peaked at 3,085 TPS

* Last Friday’s Royal Wedding reached a peak of 3,966 TPS at 4pm London time

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Police Device Used To Steal Your Cell Phone Data During Traffic Stop

 

You may have heard about the Cellebrite cell phone extraction device (UFED) in the news lately. It gives law enforcement officials the ability to access all the information on your cell phone within a few short minutes. When it became known that Michigan State Police had been using the tool to access cell phones during traffic stops, it raised concern with the ACLU. Now, everyone is wondering if cops will be using devices like this elsewhere. Will this new law enforcement tool be abused, or will it be used responsibly in the pursuit of justice?

Call us paranoid, but we obtained a law-enforcement-grade software extraction tool for the iPhone to see exactly what data is up for grabs. You'd be surprised to see just how much data today's smartphones can store -- and police can access.

 

These tools can be very useful to law enforcement. Say, for example, a homicide was being investigated. Officers would be able to scan cell phone data to obtain the whereabouts of a suspect or victim in hopes of gaining more insight into the investigation. Legally, during traffic stops, officers need a warrant to search your cell phone; however, if you give them your phone voluntarily, they can use these tools to search it. Next time an officer asks you to give up your phone, ask to see a warrant first.

 

After the data has been snagged from the cell phone, it's stored on a USB flash drive. The officer can then load the data into Cellebrite's app to analyze in an easy to read interface.

With the information above, officials could discover your exact past locations for as long as you've owned your phone. There is even a 'map this item' button that will bring up Google Maps, displaying the location. Luckily, this application isn't available for jealous girlfriends or unwanted admirers. Only law enforcement and government officials are able to gain access to Lantern.

There is a software program that is called Lantern from Katana Forensics http://katanaforensics.com/. Although  Lantern is not the same software Cellebrite uses, its a similar law-enforcement-grade data extraction application, which can nab surprising amounts of data from an iPhone. After a simple extraction that took only a few minutes, Lantern was able to get all of our contacts, call logs, voicemails, text messages (deleted ones too), all our notes, recent map searches, Facebook contacts, all locations (WiFi and Cellular), and current and deleted photos.

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Operation Iran

Most respectable and honorable citizens of Iran,

It is a time of action. An era of change is sweeping the world. Everywhere, workers are taking their proper place, to lead and control their destiny. To speak on their own behalf, to speak for their future generations, and to speak on behalf of their dead.

This change is embodied by the people of Iran – it started in Iran. Though your suffering is great, your strength is greater. Though your trial is long, your will persists. The people of Iran have the admiration of Anonymous, and the entire world.

We can see that Iran still suffers at the hands of those in power. Your former government has seized control, and tries to silence you.

People of Iran – your rights belong to you. You have the right to free speech and free press, the freedom to assemble and to be safe in your person. Your have the right to live free and without fear.

As Labour Day (International Workers Day) dawns – Anonymous stands with you!

 

You and I who are anonymous are fearless of the discriminating regime. They already know of us, but can do nothing to stop us. They already fear us, but stand helpless to what will be unleashed upon them.

But most of all they fear you, which is why they have kept you in shackles for so long.

This is your time, you can now seize it and pave the way for your own future.

The government of Iran deliberately confuses dissent with disloyalty. It unjustly makes examples out of those who speak against its actions, hoping that it can scare others from doing the same by delivering harsh punishments. The government needs to be held accountable for its crimes against you, its citizens.

People of Iran, you will not be denied your right to free speech and free press; your right to freedom of assembly, uncensored information and unlimited access to the Internet; your right to a life without oppression and fear.

We are Anonymous.

We are Legion.

We do not forgive.

We do not forget.

Expect us.

Iran currently has one of the highest, if not the highest, execution rates in the world. It has been estimated by Human Rights Watch that within the month of January alone, at least 74 people have already been executed. At this rate more than a thousand may meet this fate by the end of 2011 - a sharp increase from previous years.

We will never forget!

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Iranian commander warns Saudi of domestic unrest

TEHRAN, Iran – One of Iran's top military commanders warned Saudi Arabia on Sunday that its decision to send forces to Bahrain to quell protests by Shiite Muslims would spark unrest at home, a semiofficial Iranian news agency reported.

Gen. Hasan Firouzabadi, head of Iran's joint chiefs of staff, didn't offer any evidence to back up his claim. But his comments reflected growing tension between Shiite-majority Iran and Sunni-dominated countries in the Gulf like Saudi Arabia.

Iran has repeatedly denounced Gulf leaders for dispatching a Saudi-led military force in March to prop up Bahrain's Sunni monarchy and try to quell the protests by Shiites, who comprise 70 percent of the population but are excluded from key government and security posts.

"Unfair and unIslamic moves will hurt the honor of Muslims in Saudi Arabia, and it will threaten the security of Saudi Arabia," Firouzabadi was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

Firouzabadi, who is known for his anti-Saudi rhetoric, also lashed out at the United States, claiming Washington was behind Riyadh's move into Bahrain so that it could preserve an American naval base there.

"Washington ordered Saudi Arabia as its mercenary to thwart the Bahrainis' popular revolution so that the U.S. can maintain its base," Firouzabadi was reported as saying.

Again, he offered no evidence to back up his claim.

Firouzabadi lashed out at Arab countries on Saturday as well, according to the official IRNA news agency.

"The Arab dictatorial regimes in the Persian Gulf are unable to contain the popular uprisings," he was reported as saying. "The dictators should relinquish power, end their savage crimes and let the people determine their own future instead of ... opening an unworkable front against Iran."

 

 

 

 

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Twitter Confirms It Has Passed 200 Million Accounts, 70% of Traffic Now International

 

 The number of people who have registered accounts on Twitter has now surpassed 200 million, a representative of the company said publicly yesterday. Katie Stanton, Twitter's VP of International Strategy, said at the Guardian Activate conference in New York that there are now more than 200 million Twitter accounts worldwide and more than 70% of all Twitter's traffic comes from outside the U.S. That means Stanton's job is very important and whatever her International Strategy is, it seems to be working. Roughly 25% of all tweets come from Japan alone, she said.

Twitter said last month that it was adding just under a half million new accounts per day and its business-facing page says there are 175 million registered users.

Independent research by the blog Business Insider concluded last month that there are 56 million people who are following 8 or more other people on Twitter, a number that site used to estimate the number of active Twitter users. Twitter typically doesn't comment on third party estimates regarding its users or their engagement. The company is focused on a long-term strategy of emphasizing read-only use cases for its service, as a means of increasing its user retention. Facebook's user numbers are several times higher than Twitter's.

The Huffington Post's Bianca Bosker wrote first about Stanton's public statement of 200 million registered users last night. We've requested comment from Twitter PR and have not yet received a reply; presumably the company will make a formal announcement soon. Update: Twitter PR responded to my inquiry by email just as I put this post up and said that this was not the first time these numbers have been discussed publicly and that neither number is in fact new. If anyone can find me a link to a report online about that number as a fact and not an estimate or fast-approaching number of registered users - I will say very nice things about you. I certainly looked, myself, before writing this.

Only a portion so far of the 200 million people registered to use Twitter have discovered the joy that comes from engaging with us on Twitter yet, but we consider each and every one of you who has to be absolutely precious. New friends should come and join us there; we can chat about current events, fascinating things we find to read online and what we all ate for breakfast.

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Does This Man Really Walk Away After Being Struck By Lightning?

Sure, it looks too good to be true. But it's also too good to look away. The conditions are right for a lightning storm, and this old man has unfortunately gotten caught in it. When a bolt cracks from the sky, he's in the wrong place at the wrong time. But how can one really survive a lightning strike, let alone walk away from it?

According to the National Weather Service, about 300 people are in More..jured by lightning strikes each year and 58 are killed on average. But if the tale of this tape is true, the man's direct hit should surely mean lights out, right?

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