AI Chatbot Robot

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Sports Card Investor

Sports Card Investor is an American sports collectibles media platform and mobile application founded by Geoff Wilson. The platform provides market data, analysis, and editorial content focused on sports trading cards and related collectibles. It operates a website, mobile app, and digital media channels covering developments in the sports card industry. The company posted its first YouTube video in July 2019, shortly before a period of rapid growth in sports card collecting in the early 2020s, which was marked by increased trading volumes and mainstream media attention. == History == Sports Card Investor was founded by Geoff Wilson, an entrepreneur and collector who began publishing sports card–related content online before launching the platform's dedicated app and subscription tools. In February 2020, the company launched Market Movers, the first website and app to chart sports card prices and track card collections. The platform expanded its media presence through partnerships and distribution agreements. In 2023, Yahoo Sports announced a new collectibles coverage initiative that included additional content from Sports Card Investor. In February 2024, the Sports Card Investor studio relocated to CardsHQ in Atlanta, Georgia, and visitors to the facility can watch Sports Card Investor videos being filmed. == Platform and content == The Sports Card Investor app provides users with pricing data, portfolio-tracking tools, and market-trend analysis for trading cards. The company also produces video and editorial content discussing market developments, grading trends, and major card releases. Coverage in industry publications has referenced Sports Card Investor in discussions about shifts in sports card licensing rights and hobby market reactions. == Industry context == The growth of Sports Card Investor coincided with a broader resurgence in trading card markets, including record sales and expanded retail presence. Mainstream outlets have cited the company and its founder in reporting on collectibles investing trends, grading practices, and market volatility. The Sports Card Investor app has attracted over 37,000 reviews on the Apple App Store, reflecting its strong user engagement within the sports card community.
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List of security hacking incidents

This list of security hacking incidents covers important or noteworthy events in the history of security hacking and cracking. == 1900 == === 1903 === Magician and inventor Nevil Maskelyne disrupts John Ambrose Fleming's public demonstration of Guglielmo Marconi's purportedly secure wireless telegraphy technology, sending insulting Morse code messages through the auditorium's projector. == 1930s == === 1932 === Polish cryptologists Marian Rejewski, Henryk Zygalski and Jerzy Różycki broke the Enigma machine code. === 1939 === Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman and Harold Keen worked together to develop the codebreaking device Bombe (based off of Rejewski's work on Bomba). The Enigma machine's use of a reliably small key space makes it vulnerable to brute force attacks. == 1940s == === 1943 === René Carmille, comptroller general of the Vichy French Army, hacked the punch card system used by the Nazis to locate Jews. === 1949 === The theory that underlies computer viruses was first made public in 1949, when computer pioneer John von Neumann presented a paper titled "Theory and Organization of Complicated Automata". In the paper, von Neumann speculated that computer programs could reproduce themselves. == 1950s == === 1955 === At MIT, "hack" first came to mean playing with machines. An April 1955 meeting of the Tech Model Railroad Club has one say that "Mr. Eccles requests that anyone working or hacking on the electrical system turn the power off to avoid fuse blowing." === 1957 === Joe "Joybubbles" Engressia, a blind seven-year-old boy with perfect pitch, discovered that whistling the fourth E above middle C (a frequency of 2600 Hz) would interfere with AT&T's automated telephone systems, thereby inadvertently opening the door for phreaking. == 1960s == Various phreaking boxes are used to interact with automated telephone systems. === 1963 === The first ever reference to malicious hacking is 'phreaking' in MIT's student newspaper, The Tech, containing hackers tying up the lines with Harvard, configuring the PDP-1 to make free calls, war dialing and accumulating large phone bills. === 1965 === William D. Mathews from MIT finds a vulnerability in a CTSS running on an IBM 7094. The standard text editor on the system was designed to be used by one user at a time, working in one directory, and so it created a temporary file with a constant name for all instances of the editor. The flaw was discovered when two system programmers were editing at the same time and the temporary files for the message of the day and the password file became swapped, causing the contents of the system CTSS password file to display to any user logging into the system. === 1967 === The first known incidence of network penetration hacking took place when members of a computer club at a suburban Chicago high school were provided access to IBM's APL network. In the fall of 1967, IBM (through Science Research Associates) approached Evanston Township High School with the offer of four 2741 Selectric teletypewriter-based terminals with dial-up modem connectivity to an experimental computer system which implemented an early version of the APL programming language. The APL network system was structured into workspaces which were assigned to various clients using the system. Working independently, the students quickly learned the language and the system. They were free to explore the system, often using existing code available in public workspaces as models for their own creations. Eventually, curiosity drove the students to explore the system's wider context. This first informal network penetration effort was later acknowledged as helping harden the security of one of the first publicly accessible networks:Science Research Associates undertook to write a full APL system for the IBM 1500. They modeled their system after APL/360, which had by that time been developed and seen substantial use inside of IBM, using code borrowed from MAT/1500 where possible. In their documentation, they acknowledge their gratitude to "a number of high school students for their compulsion to bomb the system". This was an early example of a kind of sportive, but very effective, debugging that was often repeated in the evolution of APL systems. == 1970s == === 1971 === John T. Draper (later nicknamed Captain Crunch), his friend Joe Engressia (also known as Joybubbles), and blue box phone phreaking hit the news with an Esquire magazine feature story. === 1979 === Kevin Mitnick breaks into his first major computer system, the Ark, which was the computer system Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) used for developing their RSTS/E operating system software. == 1980s == === 1980 === The FBI investigates a breach of security at National CSS (NCSS). The New York Times, reporting on the incident in 1981, describes hackers as: Technical experts, skilled, often young, computer programmers who almost whimsically probe the defenses of a computer system, searching out the limits and the possibilities of the machine. Despite their seemingly subversive role, hackers are a recognized asset in the computer industry, often highly prized. The newspaper describes white hat activities as part of a "mischievous but perversely positive 'hacker' tradition". When a National CSS employee revealed the existence of his password cracker, which he had used on customer accounts, the company chastised him not for writing the software but for not disclosing it sooner. The letter of reprimand stated that "The Company realizes the benefit to NCSS and in fact encourages the efforts of employees to identify security weaknesses to the VP, the directory, and other sensitive software in files". === 1981 === Chaos Computer Club forms in Germany. Ian Murphy, aka Captain Zap, was the first cracker to be tried and convicted as a felon. Murphy broke into AT&T's computers in 1981 and changed the internal clocks that metered billing rates. People were getting late-night discount rates when they called at midday. Of course, the bargain-seekers who waited until midnight to call long distance were hit with high bills. === 1983 === The 414s break into 60 computer systems at institutions ranging from the Los Alamos National Laboratory to Manhattan's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The incident appeared as the cover story of Newsweek with the title "Beware: Hackers at play". As a result, the U.S. House of Representatives held hearings on computer security and passed several laws. The group KILOBAUD is formed in February, kicking off a series of other hacker groups that formed soon after. The movie WarGames introduces the wider public to the phenomenon of hacking and creates a degree of mass paranoia about hackers and their supposed abilities to bring the world to a screeching halt by launching nuclear ICBMs. The U.S. House of Representatives begins hearings on computer security hacking. In his Turing Award lecture, Ken Thompson mentions "hacking" and describes a security exploit that he calls a "Trojan horse". === 1984 === Someone calling himself Lex Luthor founds the Legion of Doom. Named after a Saturday morning cartoon, the LOD had the reputation of attracting "the best of the best"—until one of the most talented members called Phiber Optik feuded with Legion of Doomer Erik Bloodaxe and got 'tossed out of the clubhouse'. Phiber's friends formed a rival group, the Masters of Deception. The Comprehensive Crime Control Act gives the Secret Service jurisdiction over computer fraud. The Cult of the Dead Cow forms in Lubbock, Texas, and begins publishing its underground ezine. The hacker magazine 2600 begins regular publication, right when TAP was putting out its final issue. The editor of 2600, "Emmanuel Goldstein" (whose real name is Eric Corley), takes his handle from the leader of the resistance in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. The publication provides tips for would-be hackers and phone phreaks, as well as commentary on the hacker issues of the day. Today, copies of 2600 are sold at most large retail bookstores. The Chaos Communication Congress, the annual European hacker conference organized by the Chaos Computer Club, is held in Hamburg, Germany. William Gibson's groundbreaking science fiction novel Neuromancer, about "Case", a futuristic computer hacker, is published. Considered the first major cyberpunk novel, it brought into hacker jargon such terms as "cyberspace", "the matrix", "simstim", and "ICE". === 1985 === KILOBAUD is re-organized into P.H.I.R.M. and begins sysopping hundreds of bulletin board systems (BBSs) throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. The online 'zine Phrack is established. The Hacker's Handbook is published in the UK. The FBI, Secret Service, Middlesex County NJ Prosecutor's Office and various local law enforcement agencies execute seven search warrants concurrently across New Jersey on July 12, 1985, seizing equipment from BBS operators and users alike for "complicity in computer theft", under a n
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Confidential computing

Confidential computing is a security and privacy-enhancing computational technique focused on protecting data in use. Confidential computing can be used in conjunction with storage and network encryption, which protect data at rest and data in transit respectively. It is designed to address software, protocol, cryptographic, and basic physical and supply-chain attacks, although some critics have demonstrated architectural and side-channel attacks effective against the technology. The technology protects data in use by performing computations in a hardware-based trusted execution environment (TEE). Confidential data is released to the TEE only once it is assessed to be trustworthy. Different types of confidential computing define the level of data isolation used, whether virtual machine, application, or function, and the technology can be deployed in on-premise data centers, edge locations, or the public cloud. It is often compared with other privacy-enhancing computational techniques such as fully homomorphic encryption, secure multi-party computation, and Trusted Computing. Confidential computing is promoted by the Confidential Computing Consortium (CCC) industry group, whose membership includes major providers of the technology. == Properties == Trusted execution environments (TEEs) "prevent unauthorized access or modification of applications and data while they are in use, thereby increasing the security level of organizations that manage sensitive and regulated data". Trusted execution environments can be instantiated on a computer's processing components such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU). In their various implementations, TEEs can provide different levels of isolation including virtual machine, individual application, or compute functions. Typically, data in use in a computer's compute components and memory exists in a decrypted state and can be vulnerable to examination or tampering by unauthorized software or administrators. According to the CCC, confidential computing protects data in use through a minimum of three properties: Data confidentiality: "Unauthorized entities cannot view data while it is in use within the TEE". Data integrity: "Unauthorized entities cannot add, remove, or alter data while it is in use within the TEE". Code integrity: "Unauthorized entities cannot add, remove, or alter code executing in the TEE". In addition to trusted execution environments, remote cryptographic attestation is an essential part of confidential computing. The attestation process assesses the trustworthiness of a system and helps ensure that confidential data is released to a TEE only after it presents verifiable evidence that it is genuine and operating with an acceptable security posture. It allows the verifying party to assess the trustworthiness of a confidential computing environment through an "authentic, accurate, and timely report about the software and data state" of that environment. "Hardware-based attestation schemes rely on a trusted hardware component and associated firmware to execute attestation routines in a secure environment". Without attestation, a compromised system could deceive others into trusting it, claim it is running certain software in a TEE, and potentially compromise the confidentiality or integrity of the data being processed or the integrity of the trusted code. == Technical approaches == Technical approaches to confidential computing may vary in which software, infrastructure and administrator elements are allowed to access confidential data. The "trust boundary," which circumscribes a trusted computing base (TCB), defines which elements have the potential to access confidential data, whether they are acting benignly or maliciously. Confidential computing implementations enforce the defined trust boundary at a specific level of data isolation. The three main types of confidential computing are: Virtual machine isolation Application isolation, also known as process isolation Function isolation, also known as library isolation Virtual machine isolation removes the elements controlled by the computer infrastructure or cloud provider, but allows potential data access by elements inside a virtual machine running on the infrastructure. Application or process isolation permits data access only by authorized software applications or processes. Function or library isolation is designed to permit data access only by authorized subroutines or modules within a larger application, blocking access by any other system element, including unauthorized code in the larger application. == Threat model == As confidential computing is concerned with the protection of data in use, only certain threat models can be addressed by this technique. Other types of attacks are better addressed by other privacy-enhancing technologies. === In scope === The following threat vectors are generally considered in scope for confidential computing: Software attacks: including attacks on the host’s software and firmware. This may include the operating system, hypervisor, BIOS, other software and workloads. Protocol attacks: including "attacks on protocols associated with attestation as well as workload and data transport". This includes vulnerabilities in the "provisioning or placement of the workload" or data that could cause a compromise. Cryptographic attacks: including "vulnerabilities found in ciphers and algorithms due to a number of factors, including mathematical breakthroughs, availability of computing power and new computing approaches such as quantum computing". The CCC notes several caveats in this threat vector, including relative difficulty of upgrading cryptographic algorithms in hardware and recommendations that software and firmware be kept up-to-date. A multi-faceted, defense-in-depth strategy is recommended as a best practice. Basic physical attacks: including cold boot attacks, bus and cache snooping and plugging attack devices into an existing port, such as a PCI Express slot or USB port. Basic upstream supply-chain attacks: including attacks that would compromise TEEs through changes such as added debugging ports. The degree and mechanism of protection against these threats varies with specific confidential computing implementations. === Out of scope === Threats generally defined as out of scope for confidential computing include: Sophisticated physical attacks: including physical attacks that "require long-term and/or invasive access to hardware" such as chip scraping techniques and electron microscope probes. Upstream hardware supply-chain attacks: including attacks on the CPU manufacturing process, CPU supply chain in key injection/generation during manufacture. Attacks on components of a host system that are not directly providing the capabilities of the trusted execution environment are also generally out-of-scope. Availability attacks: confidential computing is designed to protect the confidentiality and integrity of protected data and code. It does not address availability attacks such as Denial of Service or Distributed Denial of Service attacks. == Use cases == Confidential computing can be deployed in the public cloud, on-premise data centers, or distributed "edge" locations, including network nodes, branch offices, industrial systems and others. === Data privacy and security === Confidential computing protects the confidentiality and integrity of data and code from the infrastructure provider, unauthorized or malicious software and system administrators, and other cloud tenants, which may be a concern for organizations seeking control over sensitive or regulated data. The additional security capabilities offered by confidential computing can help accelerate the transition of more sensitive workloads to the cloud or edge locations. === Multi-party analytics === Confidential computing can enable multiple parties to engage in joint analysis using confidential or regulated data inside a TEE while preserving privacy and regulatory compliance. In this case, all parties benefit from the shared analysis, but no party's sensitive data or confidential code is exposed to the other parties or system host. Examples include multiple healthcare organizations contributing data to medical research, or multiple banks collaborating to identify financial fraud or money laundering. Oxford University researchers proposed the alternative paradigm called "Confidential Remote Computing" (CRC), which supports confidential operations in Trusted Execution Environments across endpoint computers considering multiple stakeholders as mutually distrustful data, algorithm and hardware providers. === Confidential generative AI === Confidential computing technologies can be applied to various stages of a generative AI deployments to help increase data or model privacy, security, and regulatory compliance. TEEs and remote attestation can protect the integrity of data during AI model training, keep
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Multimedia database

A Multimedia database (MMDB) is a collection of related for multimedia data. The multimedia data include one or more primary media data types such as text, images, graphic objects (including drawings, sketches and illustrations) animation sequences, audio and video. A Multimedia Database Management System (MMDBMS) is a framework that manages different types of data potentially represented in a wide diversity of formats on a wide array of media sources. It provides support for multimedia data types, and facilitate for creation, storage, access, query and control of a multimedia database. == Contents of MMDB == A Multimedia Database (MMDB) hosts one or more multimedia data types (i.e. text, images, graphic objects, audio, video, animation sequences). These data types are broadly categorized into three classes: Static media (time-independent: image and graphic object). Dynamic media (time-dependent: audio, video and animation). Dimensional media(3D game and computer aided drafting programs). === Comparison of multimedia data types === Additionally, a Multimedia Database (MMDB) needs to manage additional information pertaining to the actual multimedia data. The information is about the following: Media data: the actual data representing an object. Media format data: information about the format of the media data after it goes through the acquisition, processing, and encoding phases. Media keyword data: the keyword descriptions, usually relating to the generation of the media data. Media feature data: content dependent data such as contain information about the distribution of colours, the kinds of textures and the different shapes present in an image. The last three types are called metadata as they describe several different aspects of the media data. The media keyword data and media feature data are used as indices for searching purpose. The media format data is used to present the retrieved information. == Requirements of Multimedia databases == Like the traditional databases, Multimedia databases should address the following requirements: Integration Data items do not need to be duplicated for different programs invocations Data independence Separate the database and the management from the application programs Concurrency control Allows concurrent transactions Persistence Data objects can be saved and re-used by different transactions and program invocations Privacy Access and authorization control Integrity control Ensures database consistency between transactions Recovery Failures of transactions should not affect the persistent data storage Query support Allows easy querying of multimedia data Multimedia databases should have the ability to uniformly query data (media data, textual data) represented in different formats and have the ability to simultaneously query different media sources and conduct classical database operations across them. (Query support) They should have the ability to retrieve media objects from a local storage device in a good manner. (Storage support) They should have the ability to take the response generated by a query and develop a presentation of that response in terms of audio-visual media and have the ability to deliver this presentation. (Presentation and delivery support) == Issues and challenges == Multimedia data consists of a variety of media formats or file representations including TIFF, BMP, PPT, IVUE, FPX, JPEG, MPEG, AVI, MID, WAV, DOC, GIF, EPS, PNG, etc. Because of restrictions on the conversion from one format to the other, the use of the data in a specific format has been limited as well. Usually, the data size of multimedia is large such as video; therefore, multimedia data often require a large storage. Multimedia database consume a lot of processing time, as well as bandwidth. Some multimedia data types such as video, audio, and animation sequences have temporal requirements that have implications on their storage, manipulation and presentation, but images, video and graphics data have special constraints in terms of their content. == Application areas == Examples of multimedia database application areas: Digital Libraries News-on-Demand Video-on-Demand Music database Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Telemedicine
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ACLU Mobile Justice

ACLU Mobile Justice was a video live streaming application developed for smartphones by various state chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union. It was intended to allow instant, secure video recording and transmission of interactions with, and perceived abuses by, law enforcement officers. Since its release by the ACLU of California for California residents, other versions of the app have been released for 16 other states and the District of Columbia by their ACLU chapters. It was discontinued in February 2025.
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Radioplayer

Radioplayer is a radio technology platform, owned by UK radio broadcasters and operated under licence in some other countries. It operates an internet radio web tuner, a set of mobile phone apps, an in-car adaptor, and a growing range of integrations with other connected devices and platforms. Radioplayer is operated by UK Radioplayer Ltd which is a not-for-profit organisation owned by UK radio broadcasters. Initial shareholders were the BBC, Global Radio, GMG Radio, Absolute Radio and RadioCentre. After consolidation in the radio market, current shareholders are the BBC, Global Radio, Bauer Media Group and RadioCentre. == History == Launched in the UK on 31 March 2011, Radioplayer set out to offer a simple and accessible way to listen to radio via the internet. It contained 157 stations at launch. Initially working internally at the BBC for Tim Davie, then Director of BBC Audio & Music, Michael Hill led the project since March 2009; he was made Managing Director of UK Radioplayer Ltd on 28 July 2010. At launch, Radioplayer was a simple and straightforward Flash-based radio player, linked-to by radio stations on their own website. The player included searching and bookmarking across all of UK radio station content. On 5 October 2012, Radioplayer launched a mobile app on iOS phones with an Android version following shortly afterwards. The apps are unavailable for download outside the United Kingdom. This was followed by a tablet app on 25 September 2013. The apps also support Android Wear, Android Auto, Smart Device Link, Apple Watch and Apple CarPlay. They are also compatible with Chromecast and Airplay. In September 2016, Radioplayer announced it had been chosen by Amazon to integrate with their new voice-controlled 'Echo' device, ahead of its UK launch. In July 2017, Radioplayer integrated with the Sonos and Bose multi-room speaker platforms. UK Radioplayer currently contains around 500 UK stations, from Ofcom-licensed broadcasters. Online-only 'sister-stations' can also be added, but only by broadcasters with Ofcom licences which have been on the platform for over a year. == Radioplayer Car == Radioplayer Car was announced in September 2014 as a hybrid radio receiver that switches between FM, DAB and streaming to find the strongest signal. Speaking in Oslo in June 2015, Michael Hill said that he hoped to launch the product in the UK and Norway during the summer of 2015. In February 2017, Radioplayer Car was launched. It was marketed as the world’s first voice-controlled hybrid radio adaptor for car stereos. A small box, fitted behind the dashboard, links to the auxiliary input on an existing car radio. It connects wirelessly via Bluetooth to the driver’s smartphone by an app. The adaptor enabled drivers to listen to their own smartphone music collections using Bluetooth, take hands-free calls, listen to inbound text messages and receive instant audio travel news, customised by GPS to their location and direction of travel. The hardware was manufactured under licence by car audio interfaces supplier Connects2, and Hyde Park Corner was promoted as the preferred installer of the audio equipment. There were several spin-off benefits of the Radioplayer Car project, including the creation of the hybrid radio metadata API for cars, known as the 'WRAPI' (Worldwide Radioplayer API). == International == Through a separate company called Radioplayer Worldwide, Radioplayer technology is licensed to a number of different territories.
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Fantavision

Fantavision is an animation program by Scott Anderson for the Apple II and published by Broderbund in 1985. Versions were released for the Apple IIGS (1987), Amiga (1988), and MS-DOS (1988). Fantavision allows the creation of vector graphics animations using the mouse and keyboard. The user creates frames, and the software generates the frames between them. Because this is done in real-time, it allows for creative exploration and quick changes. The program uses a graphical user interface in the style of the Macintosh with pull-down menus and black text on a white background. Advertisements claimed Fantavision a revolutionary breakthrough that brings the animation features of "tweening" and "transforming" to home computers. == Reception == Compute! in 1989 called Fantavision the best animation program for the IBM PC, although it noted the inability to draw curves. == Reviews == Games #70
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Security of the Java software platform

The Java software platform provides a number of features designed for improving the security of Java applications. This includes enforcing runtime constraints through the use of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), a security manager that sandboxes untrusted code from the rest of the operating system, and a suite of security APIs that Java developers can utilise. Despite this, criticism has been directed at the programming language, and Oracle, due to an increase in malicious programs that revealed security vulnerabilities in the JVM, which were subsequently not properly addressed by Oracle in a timely manner. == Security features == === The JVM === The binary form of programs running on the Java platform is not native machine code but an intermediate bytecode. The JVM performs verification on this bytecode before running it to prevent the program from performing unsafe operations such as branching to incorrect locations, which may contain data rather than instructions. It also allows the JVM to enforce runtime constraints such as array bounds checking. This means that Java programs are significantly less likely to suffer from memory safety flaws such as buffer overflow than programs written in languages such as C which do not provide such memory safety guarantees. The platform does not allow programs to perform certain potentially unsafe operations such as pointer arithmetic or unchecked type casts. It manages memory allocation and initialization and provides automatic garbage collection which in many cases (but not all) relieves the developer from manual memory management. This contributes to type safety and memory safety. === Security manager === The platform provides a security manager which allows users to run untrusted bytecode in a "sandboxed" environment designed to protect them from malicious or poorly written software by preventing the untrusted code from accessing certain platform features and APIs. For example, untrusted code might be prevented from reading or writing files on the local filesystem, running arbitrary commands with the current user's privileges, accessing communication networks, accessing the internal private state of objects using reflection, or causing the JVM to exit. The security manager also allows Java programs to be cryptographically signed; users can choose to allow code with a valid digital signature from a trusted entity to run with full privileges in circumstances where it would otherwise be untrusted. Users can also set fine-grained access control policies for programs from different sources. For example, a user may decide that only system classes should be fully trusted, that code from certain trusted entities may be allowed to read certain specific files, and that all other code should be fully sandboxed. === Security APIs === The Java Class Library provides a number of APIs related to security, such as standard cryptographic algorithms, authentication, and secure communication protocols. === The sun.misc.Unsafe class === sun.misc.Unsafe is an internal utility class in the Java programming language which is a collection of low-level unsafe operations. While it is not a part of the official Java Class Library, it is called internally by the Java libraries. It resides in an unofficial Java module named jdk.unsupported. Beginning in Java 11, it has been partially migrated to jdk.internal.misc.Unsafe (which resides in module java.base). Its primary feature is to allow direct memory management (similar to C memory management) and memory address manipulation, manipulating objects and fields, thread manipulation, and concurrency primitives. Its declaration is: public final class Unsafe;, and it is a singleton class with a private constructor. It contains the following methods, many of which are declared native (invoking Java Native Interface): static Unsafe getUnsafe(): retrieves the Unsafe instance. It uses sun.reflect.Reflection to do so. int getInt(Object o, long offset): fetches a value (a field or array element) in the object at the given offset. (There are corresponding getBoolean(), getByte(), getShort(), getChar(), getLong(), getFloat(), and getDouble() methods as well.) void putInt(Object o, long offset, int x): stores a value into an object at the given offset. (There are corresponding putBoolean(), putByte(), putShort(), putChar(), putLong(), putFloat(), and putDouble() methods as well.) Object getObject(Object o, long offset): fetches a reference value from an object at the given offset. void putObject(Object o, long offset, Object x): stores a reference value into an object at the given offset. int getInt(long address): fetches a value at the given address. (There are corresponding getBoolean(), getByte(), getShort(), getChar(), getLong(), getFloat(), and getDouble() methods as well.) void putInt(long address, int x): stores a value into the given address. (There are corresponding putBoolean(), putByte(), putShort(), putChar(), putLong(), putFloat(), and putDouble() methods as well.) long getAddress(long address): fetches a native pointer from a given address. void putAddress(long address, long x): stores a native pointer into a given address. long allocateMemory(long bytes): allocates a block of native memory of the given size (similar to malloc()). long reallocateMemory(long address, long bytes): resizes a block of native memory to the given size (similar to realloc()). void setMemory(Object o, long offset, long bytes, byte value), void setMemory(long address, long bytes, byte value): sets all bytes in a block of memory to a fixed value (similar to memset()). void copyMemory(Object srcBase, long srcOffset, Object destBase, long destOffset, long bytes), void copyMemory(long srcAddress, long destAddress, long bytes): sets all bytes in a given block of memory to a copy of another block (similar to memcpy()). void freeMemory(long address): deallocates a block of native memory obtained from allocateMemory() or reallocateMemory(), similar to free()). long staticFieldOffset(Field f): obtains the location of a given field in the storage allocation of its class. long objectFieldOffset(Field f): obtains the location of a given static field in conjunction with staticFieldBase(). Object staticFieldBase(Field f): obtains the location of a given static field in conjunction with staticFieldOffset(). void ensureClassInitialized(Class c): ensures the given class has been initialized. int arrayBaseOffset(Class arrayClass): obtains the offset of the first element in the storage allocation of a given array class. int arrayIndexScale(Class arrayClass): obtains the scale factor for addressing elements in the storage allocation of a given array class. static int addressSize(): obtains the size (in bytes) of a native pointer. int pageSize(): obtains the size (in bytes) of a native memory page. Class defineClass(String name, byte[] b, int off, int len, ClassLoader loader, ProtectionDomain protectionDomain): signals to the JVM to define a class without security checks. Class defineAnonymousClass(Class hostClass, byte[] data, Object[] cpPatches): signals to the JVM to define a class but do not make it known to the class loader or system directory. Object allocateInstance(Class cls) throws InstantiationException: allocates an instance of a class without running its constructor. void monitorEnter(Object o): locks an object. void monitorExit(Object o): unlocks an object. boolean tryMonitorEnter(Object o): tries to lock an object, returning whether the lock succeeded. void throwException(Throwable ee): throws an exception without telling the verifier. final boolean compareAndSwapInt(Object o, long offset, int expected, int x): updates a variable to x if it is holding expected, returning whether the operation succeeded. (There are corresponding compareAndSwapLong() and compareAndSwapObject() methods as well.) int getIntVolatile(Object o, long offset): volatile version of getInt(). (There are corresponding getBooleanVolatile(), getByteVolatile(), getShortVolatile(), getCharVolatile(), getLongVolatile(), getFloatVolatile(), getDoubleVolatile(), and getObjectVolatile() methods as well.) void putIntVolatile(Object o, long offset, int x): volatile version of putInt(). (There are corresponding putBooleanVolatile(), putByteVolatile(), putShortVolatile(), putCharVolatile(), putLongVolatile(), putFloatVolatile(), putDoubleVolatile(), and putObjectVolatile() methods as well.) void putOrderedInt(Object o, long offset, int x): version of putIntVolatile() not guaranteeing immediate visibility of storage to other threads. (There are corresponding putOrderedLong() and putOrderedObject() methods as well.) void unpark(Object thread): unblocks a thread. void park(boolean isAbsolute, long time): blocks the current thread. int getLoadAverage(double[] loadavg, int nelems): gets the load average in the system run queue assigned to available processors averaged over various periods of time. void invokeCleaner(ByteBuffe
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MetroHero

MetroHero is a semi-defunct real-time transit tracking and performance analysis application for the Washington Metro rapid transit system. Originally available on iOS, Android, and the web, it allows users to view live maps of all trains on a specific line, summary statistics relating to real-time system performance, and user feedback on current Metro conditions. The app launched in 2015, followed by ARIES for Transit, a related project from the same developers, and continued functioning until its original developers shut it down in 2023. Afterwards, forks of the application went live to allow for its continued public use, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Metro's operator, announced that it would launch a similar app. The app has been described by local news media as popular and well-liked among Washington, D.C.-area residents. == History and main development == MetroHero was initially developed by James and Jennifer Pizzurro, who both attended George Washington University and studied computer science. They said that they were inspired to create the app after experiencing train delays and searching for an app to track a train after boarding; such an app did not exist for the Washington Metro. The development of the app was not endorsed by WMATA, but it did use publicly available data from the agency. MetroHero launched as an Android application in September 2015, followed by the release of an iOS-compatible web app in December of that year. A standalone iOS app launched in April 2018, but the web app remained supported. By April 2018, MetroHero had approximately 13,000 monthly active users. James Pizzurro has stated that the app's intended audience was regular Metro commuters who wanted to communicate with each other about active problems, as opposed to tourists and riders who only wanted train time data. Throughout the application's development, the Pizzurros had been advocates for Metro's transparency with riders and the community by providing more high-quality data and taking on the feedback of developers. In particular, they criticized Metro's reluctance to uniquely identify individual train trips and its decision to obscure data under certain circumstances, which have posed problems for MetroHero's data collection. In addition to their work on MetroHero, the app's developers led or participated in other initiatives related to transit in the Greater Washington area. In 2019, MetroHero partnered with a local transit group to analyze Metrobus data and publish a "Metrobus Report Card", along with proposed goals and recommendations based on the report's findings. Based on this experience, MetroHero's developers began a sister project, the Adherence + Reliability + Integrity Evaluation System for Transit (ARIES for Transit), which displays data and issues grades for Washington- and Baltimore-area transit systems. Separately, James Pizzurro used MetroHero data to inform Rail Transit OPS, an independent Metro oversight group, and assist in its documentation of Metro system incidents. == Application == The MetroHero application uses several interfaces, including an overall dashboard and a live map, to display data to its users. On the dashboard, system-wide train summary data, such as the number of operating trains and headway adherence, is visible. The map offers a visual representation of all trains' positions throughout the system, filtered by line. Individual stations and trains can be selected to see ratings and comments provided by other users, including both positive and negative notes like cleanliness and crowdedness. Additionally, a list of train wait times is given, along with aggregate data like average wait time. Any train delays or service incidents are visible in the app. MetroHero uses several data sources for the various components of its application. Train positions and other operational data are provided by WMATA as part of its initiative to release open data for third-party developers. However, MetroHero's developers noted that the Metro-provided information is sometimes inaccurate and incomplete, thereby limiting the accuracy of MetroHero. The app also collects crowdsourced data from its users, who can report conditions in train cars and stations and add to reports sent by other people. Additionally, MetroHero parses data from Twitter feeds to learn about system incidents, including delays and fires. In addition to the web app, Android app, and iOS app, MetroHero's initial developers maintained automated social media accounts that alerted customers about Metro service; these accounts were discontinued upon the original app's eventual shutdown. MetroHero also hosts archived performance data for later review, a feature that is sometimes used after major incidents. == Shutdown and future == In February 2023, James Pizzurro announced that MetroHero would be shut down on July 1, 2023, citing "positive changes ... in the app landscape and in WMATA's data management and communication" and the costs and time associated with maintaining the app. Shortly before the application's end date, the Pizzurros shared MetroHero's source code on GitHub, which prompted others to fork the code and begin maintaining new instances of MetroHero to succeed the original app. The original website went offline on July 1, as planned. Historically, WMATA has not offered its own real-time map or similar service, citing other apps from third parties which accomplished the same task. However, on June 30, 2023, Randy Clarke, WMATA's general manager, announced that Metro would begin offering a similar service as MetroHero did. The app, initially named MetroMeter, was planned to begin operating in early July and would provide real-time information on trains, headways, and service schedules. Metro also noted its intentions to extend this service to Metrobus and MetroAccess. On July 20, Metro announced that the app had been renamed to MetroPulse and launched it in beta. MetroHero's other project, ARIES for Transit, was not affected by the shutdown. == Reception == MetroHero was generally well-received and has been recognized for its usage among Washington-area commuters. DCist called it one of the "most praised" Metro tracking apps, and WMATA publicly acknowledged its popularity when announcing its decision to establish MetroPulse. Chris Barnes, a member of the Metro Riders' Advisory Council, said that the app is considered important among riders because it fulfills a need for riders to have reliable and transparent transit information, albeit somewhat hindered by flaws in WMATA's data.
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Connection string

In computing, a connection string is a string that specifies information about a data source and the means of connecting to it. It is passed in code to an underlying driver or provider in order to initiate the connection. Whilst commonly used for a database connection, the data source could also be a spreadsheet or text file. The connection string may include attributes such as the name of the driver, server and database, as well as security information such as user name and password. == Examples == This example shows a PostgreSQL connection string for connecting to wikipedia.com with SSL and a connection timeout of 180 seconds: DRIVER={PostgreSQL Unicode};SERVER=www.wikipedia.com;SSL=true;SSLMode=require;DATABASE=wiki;UID=wikiuser;Connect Timeout=180;PWD=ashiknoor Users of Oracle databases can specify connection strings: on the command line (as in: sqlplus scott/tiger@connection_string ) via environment variables ($TWO_TASK in Unix-like environments; %TWO_TASK% in Microsoft Windows environments) in local configuration files (such as the default $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin.tnsnames.ora) in LDAP-capable directory services
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Touch 'n Go eWallet

Touch 'n Go eWallet is a Malaysian digital wallet and online payment platform, established in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July 2017 as a joint venture between Touch 'n Go and Ant Financial. It allows users to make payments at over 280,000 merchant touch points via QR code, as well as perform peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers. Since then, the e-wallet further diversified for users to pay for tolls via RFID or PayDirect, street parking and various online payment spanning e-hailing, car-sharing apps or taxis, various overhead bills; top-up for mobile prepaid or in-game currencies; purchases on e-commerce websites; food delivery; renewing motor insurance and other insurance/takaful plans; and even movie, bus, trains or airline tickets. == Background == Prior to the launch of the e-wallet service, Touch 'n Go provided stored-value physical all-in-one contactless card (namely Touch 'n Go cards or "TnG cards") that users can use to pay for toll fares, public transportation and parking lots as well as purchases in some retail stores. In 1999, Touch 'n Go also markets SmartTag devices that allow road users to pass through certain toll booths without the need to unwind the car window. The high entry cost of the device (around RM 100 each) also meant that only few can enjoy the seamless experience. In 2009, Touch 'n Go partnered with Maxis to launch FastTap, a new mobile payment service that utilised Near-Field Communication (NFC). Maxis customers can make payments by placing the phone near the card readers (that also supports physical bank cards and Touch ’N Go cards). However, the venture featured only one phone model, Nokia 6212, which greatly limited the public reach. In July 2012, Touch 'n Go announced another collaboration with CIMB and Maxis to create similar NFC-based online transaction service that runs on compatible smartphones. Touch 'n Go Wallet was launched in February 2017 as an QR code-based e-wallet application, to compete with Samsung Pay that utilizes NFC modules. In the controlled pilot test in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, the correspondents can experience basic functionalities (prepaid mobile service reload, bills payment, movie tickets and flight tickets purchase, transfer of money with another user, and payments at participating stores and restaurants). While the deployed version of the app was generally well-received, the existing process to transfer the balance to the physical TnG card stored value from the app garnered unanimous backlash. Test groups felt that the need to head to a self-service terminal named "Pick Up Device" in person within 24 hours for completion, along with the failure to do so (the balance would be credited back to the wallet after 24 hours), was not divulged clearly and also defeated the purpose of convenience, not to mention there were only 2 such terminals. The feature was eventually suspended. On 15 November 2017, Touch 'n Go was granted permission by the Central Bank of Malaysia to form a joint venture with Ant Financial, a Chinese-based financial company that operates Alipay. The partnership allowed the local e-wallet to learn from and build upon the operational model pioneered by Alipay. In June 2018, it was reported that Touch 'n Go was pilot testing the uses of the Touch 'n Go eWallet in Rapid Transit, as the ticketing system was enabled on the Kelana Jaya line in the Klang Valley. Pilot testing only applied to stations in Kelana Jaya, KL Gateway–Universiti, Kerinchi, KL Sentral, Dang Wangi, KLCC, and Ampang Park. The test was reported to be successful in February 2020 and was planned to be fully deployed on the LRT and MRT. Due to unforeseen circumstances, this feature did not come into fruition, the app merely adds in-app purchase of monthly concession cards called "My50". In August 2018, Touch 'n Go announced that selected drivers may experience first-hand a new RFID-based payment (later rebranded as "myRFID") that serves to replace SmartTag devices on closed toll roads with during pilot testing phase commencing on 3 September 2018. On 2 November 2018, participation in the ongoing pilot programme was expanded, allowing more drivers to sign up ahead of the public rollout of the RFID system. During the same period, Touch 'n Go has discontinued the sales of SmartTAG devices in favor of the RFID-based payment system. Initially, the installation of the RFID chip onto the car could only be done by Touch 'n Go staff at the RFID fitment centers, at no cost. As the pilot testing concluded on 15 February 2020, a self-installation kit are being offered to the public on Lazada and Shopee. Support for taxi-hailing mobile apps was added in November 2018 when Touch 'n Go partnered with EzCab and Public Cab, allowing users to make payments via QR code. This was later expanded to support MULA on 7 January 2020, and later MyCar on 4 April 2020. Touch 'n Go eWallet was also the first eWallet to convert Kuala Lumpur's most famous Ramadan bazaar in Kampong Bahru into "Kampong Kashless", a venue that can accept cashless QR payments. It welcomed more than 250,000 Malaysians including local celebrities and government officials. On 1 October 2019, some e-commerce websites owned by the Alibaba Group (TMall and Taobao) began to support Touch 'n Go eWallet payments, Lazada joined the list on 29 October 2019. Touch 'n Go eWallet was one of the three e-wallet services in Malaysia (the other being Boost and GrabPay) that was eligible for its users to receive an RM 30 credit in conjunction of E-Tunai Rakyat program under the Budget 2020 plan, that further normalizes adoption of cashless and mobile payment among Malaysians. Unlike Boost and GrabPay, whose P2P transfers were completely disabled until users have exhausted the RM 30 first, Touch 'n Go eWallet did not impose such measures. in 2020, Touch 'n Go eWallet joined DuitNow, an electronic transaction ecosystem in Malaysia which allows the funds from Touch 'n Go eWallet to be transferred to other competing services and vice versa, by implementing a standard DuitNow QR code deisgn. Japan become the first country outside Malaysia to support Touch 'n Go eWallet payment via Alipay Connect. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the enforcement of the movement control order, use of eWallets (including Touch 'n Go eWallet) increased tremendously among citizens due to its contactless nature of the payment and increased take-out orders at home; which in turn helped small and medium-sized enterprises to thrive. Touch 'n Go eWallet launched its loyalty programme – The Goal Hunter – in October 2020 where on monthly basis, users collect stamps by paying with the app in exchange for rewards that include lucky draws and other vouchers. == Services == Touch 'n Go eWallet app is available for download on both Google Play and Apple Appstore. It utilizes QR code technology for local in-store payments. The Touch 'n Go eWallet app also diversifies payment types, including but not limited to Utility bills Purchase of motor insurance policy Pay Later facility Prepaid reload and Postpaid payment to telecommunications companies loan repayments for courts, MBSJ payments, zakat and PTPTN payment for car parking P2P transfer airline ticket bookings; movie tickets from TGV Cinemas RFID refuelling at Shell stations (defunct after Shell launched its own payment app in 2024) User can reload the eWallet credit by setting up auto-reload, purchasing reload pins from convenience stores (such as 7-Eleven, KK Super Mart, MyNews, Family Mart etc.), reloading by FPX and credit/debit card. The PayDirect feature allows users to link their physical Touch 'n Go cards into the eWallet, where the toll fare can be debited from the eWallet balance when flashing the card near the sensor. In the circumstance of insufficient balance in the app, the toll fare will be deducted from the physical card's balance instead. This also conveniently allows users to view the card's remaining balance. Touch 'n Go eWallet is the first and only eWallet to offer a money-back guarantee when an unauthorised transaction is made on the user’s eWallet account, subject to Terms & Conditions. Payment via QR code scanning, including Touch 'n Go eWallet, becomes a norm in most of the shops/restaurants across Malaysia, including roadside hawkers/stall owners and automatic vending machines. The merchants usually display their owner's individual QR or Business account that they can apply for in-app. The popularity attributes to the low merchant onboarding cost (Unlike NFC payment and debit/credit card that requires purchase or rental of a payment terminal device at a yearly fee.) The app is also one of the few ewallet that supports bidirectional liquidity (alongside MAE developed by Maybank), where funds can be transferred two-way with bank accounts. This is not possible with the other major ewallets (GrabPay, Boost, ShopeePay etc.) where the money that is reloaded to the wallet cannot be transferred to another bank account, unless through manual req
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Sample (graphics)

In computer graphics, a sample is an intersection of a channel and a pixel. The diagram below depicts a 24-bit pixel, consisting of 3 samples for Red, Green, and Blue. In this particular diagram, the Red sample occupies 9 bits, the Green sample occupies 7 bits and the Blue sample occupies 8 bits, totaling 24 bits per pixel. Note that the samples do not have to be equal size and not all samples are mandatory in a pixel. Also, a pixel can consist of more than 3 samples (e.g. 4 samples of the RGBA color space). A sample is related to a subpixel on a physical display.
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Trustworthy computing

The term trustworthy computing (TwC) has been applied to computing systems that are inherently secure, available, and reliable. It is particularly associated with the Microsoft initiative of the same name, launched in 2002. == History == Until 1995, there were restrictions on commercial traffic over the Internet. On, May 26, 1995, Bill Gates sent the "Internet Tidal Wave" memorandum to Microsoft executives assigning "...the Internet this highest level of importance..." but Microsoft's Windows 95 was released without a web browser as Microsoft had not yet developed one. The success of the web had caught them by surprise but by mid 1995, they were testing their own web server, and on August 24, 1995, launched a major online service, The Microsoft Network (MSN). The National Research Council recognized that the rise of the Internet simultaneously increased societal reliance on computer systems while increasing the vulnerability of such systems to failure and produced an important report in 1999, "Trust in Cyberspace". This report reviews the cost of un-trustworthy systems and identifies actions required for improvement. == Microsoft and Trustworthy Computing == Bill Gates launched Microsoft's "Trustworthy Computing" initiative with a January 15, 2002 memo, referencing an internal whitepaper by Microsoft CTO and Senior Vice President Craig Mundie. The move was reportedly prompted by the fact that they "...had been under fire from some of its larger customers–government agencies, financial companies and others–about the security problems in Windows, issues that were being brought front and center by a series of self-replicating worms and embarrassing attacks." such as Code Red, Nimda, Klez and Slammer. Four areas were identified as the initiative's key areas: Security, Privacy, Reliability, and Business Integrity, and despite some initial scepticism, at its 10-year anniversary it was generally accepted as having "...made a positive impact on the industry...". The Trustworthy Computing campaign was the main reason why Easter eggs disappeared from Windows, Office and other Microsoft products.
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Shape table

Shape tables are a feature of the Apple II ROMs which allows for manipulation of small images encoded as a series of vectors. An image (or shape) can be drawn in the high-resolution graphics mode—with scaling and rotation—via software routines in the ROM. Shape tables are supported via Applesoft BASIC and from machine code in the "Programmer's Aid" package that was bundled with the original Integer BASIC ROMs for that computer. Applesoft's high-resolution graphics routines were not optimized for speed, so shape tables were not typically used for performance-critical software such as games, which were typically written in assembly language and used pre-shifted bitmap shapes. Shape tables were used primarily for static shapes and sometimes for fancy text; Beagle Bros offered a number of fonts in Font Mechanic as Applesoft shape tables. == Technical details == The vectors of a two-dimensional graphic, each encoding a direction from the previous pixel along with a flag indicating whether the new pixel should be illuminated or not, were encoded up to three in a byte. These were stored in a table via the Monitor or the POKE command. From there, the graphic could be referenced by number (a table could contain up to 255 shapes), and built-in Applesoft routines permitted scaling, rotating, and drawing or erasing the shape. An XOR mode was also available to allow the shape to be visible on any color background; this had the advantage, also, of allowing the shape to be easily erased by redrawing it. Apple did not provide any utilities for creating shape tables; they had to be created by hand, usually by plotting on graph paper, then calculating the hexadecimal values and entering them into the computer. Beagle Bros created a shape table editing program, which eliminated the "number crunching", called Apple Mechanic, and a related program, Font Mechanic.
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Himmat (app)

Himmat is a women's safety mobile application of Delhi Police. It was launched by Home Minister Rajnath Singh on 1 January 2015. The app is freely available for Android mobile phones and can be downloaded from Delhi Police website. Delhi Police plans to launch app for other platforms in future. Low registrations and other problems resulted in a parliamentary panel calling the app a failure in 2018. Himmat has gone on to be called as one of India's best safety apps for women.
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