Atraktor Studio

Video: Team Fortress 2 – Meet the Medic

Nebojsa — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:44:12 +0000

Extraordinary cinematic from an online game Team Fortress 2 – a whole “Meet the..” series of presenting the game characters is really enjoyable. Models (or maybe it would be more suitable to call them actors) are skilfully crafted, the script is hilarious and the cartoonish music makes it even more funny. I had a laughing tear in my eye more than a few times while watching.

Now, let’s go practice medicine!

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glendale web design

Anonymous Bosnia – What Have We Learned?

Nebojsa — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:55:48 +0000

Today, while enjoying my regular reading routine, I read a short tweet about Anonymous Bosnia.

Being from a very adjacent (once upon a time the same) country, it grabbed my interest instantly. If you have heard of Bosnia before, that was probably due to the fact that it was heavily devastated by war during the 90′s and the problems they are facing now – as a country that doesn’t really function very well (or at all), just like the rest of the Balkans.

Too many scars, too many problems.

This is exactly why I was excited about the idea that some people in Bosnia are actually thinking and hopefully doing something about the freedom of information, which is a very important part of our lives.

Freedom of information is not just a question of internet privacy, the problem is much broader, it is so subtly sewn in our everyday lives, that most of the time we are either not noticing it, or choosing to ignore it. Until recently, we were condemned to watching carefully prepared reports on radio and tv – but today we have the tools of building and learning in our hands. Still, most of the time we end up pleased by the censored information that is given to us, instead of actively pursuing it. This is exactly the kind of thinking that leads to new wars and mass murders. This comfortable acceptance of the provided info is what turns people into mindless zombies with no thirst for the truth, only the thirst for blood.

I refuse to accept that there is only one truth in a black-and-white world. The world is not black-and-white and this is why WE ARE THE INFORMATION. Support Anonymous Bosnia by translating videos or writing articles on their blog.

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Dancing

Nebojsa — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:13:55 +0000

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Facebook ‘Like’ Button Illegal in Germany

Nebojsa — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 22:11:50 +0000

Facebook’s ‘like’ button is declared illegal in Germany, characterized as a violation of privacy. As explained by Thilo Weichart, an employee of data protection center from Schleswig-Holstein (a state in Germany) – the ‘like’ button gathers information about the users online habits and is therefore illegal by EU laws.

“Facebook can trace every click on a website, how long I’m on it, what I’m interested in,” he said.

German federal agencies are ordered to shut down their Facebook pages and remove the ‘like’ buttons from their websites until the end of September, or face a fine of up to 50,000 euros.

Facebook denies that it’s button violates user privacy and admitted the ‘like’ button could pass on information such as user IP addresses, but said the data is deleted after 90 days. The company also claims that users stay in “full control of their data” while using social plug-ins.

This is not the first time that German authorities are going against technology companies over user data and their privacy. Earlier this year, officials were demanding that Facebook’s facial recognition software is removed. Google was also a target, with the controversy over street view and opting out of it.

Sources:

http://m.thelocal.de/sci-tech/20110819-37073.html

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391440,00.asp

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Anonymous not just hacktivists? #OpFeedTheHomeless

Nebojsa — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:12:49 +0000

Since there have been several contradictions about the recent Anonymous operations and data leaks which were connected to the movement - a new operation, called #OpFeedTheHomeless was announced. The message that should be spread is that Anons are not only hackers and hacktivists, but also active participants of our everyday lives, or “voice of the voiceless”. As stated in the press release:

#opFeedTheHomeless & #opMeetAndGreet is in FULL affect for the 27th of August. We

will be handing food to the less fortunate and poor as well as greeting the very people who are

trying to make ends meet in order to survive.

Although this is not the first time that some of the members of Anonymous are distancing themselves from the leaking of the information of “innocent bystanders”, it is a clear attempt to change the public perception about Anon.

Read the full announcement on YourAnonNews Tumblr page.

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Op Feed the Homeless Com

Ebay Accounts and Passwords leaked by CSLSEC

Nebojsa — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:30:49 +0000

CSLSEC (Can’t Stop Laughing Security) announced ”dropping of booty from the ebay vessel”. User names and passwords, including the admin ones are leaked and published here, as well as the full announcement. If you own an ebay account, make sure you change your password.

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BART censoring mobile phone access in San Francisco, #OpBart under way

Nebojsa — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:14:52 +0000

Yesterday evening, people using Bay Area Rapid Transit in San Francisco were unpleasantly surprised by the fact that they couldn’t use their mobile phones on 4 stations. Government agency asked wireless providers to block access to mobile phones to prevent communication between protesters. As CNET news reports: “Activists had planned to protest the fatal shooting of Charles Blair Hill, who BART police said went after them with a knife before an officer shot him on July 3.” ( Read more here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20091822-245/s.f-subway-muzzles-cell-service-during-protest/#ixzz1Ur90sdmM )

This is a clear example of censorship and oppression and a clear example of deprivation of human rights (remember the First Amendment?). Last week BART police officers were armed with high power m16 guns.

Luckily, the people are not blind and Anonymous action #OpBart is well under way. Actions like this shouldn’t and will not be forgiven nor forgotten. You can also get more information by following #muBARTek hashtag.

If you want to have a better idea of the protests and their cause take a look at the videos below:

[UPDATE] California law enforcement website is hacked (see the pic below) and thousands of emails, black faxes and phone calls are made to the BART offices.

[UPDATE] #OpBART is definitely rolling, another website hacked myBart.org

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Anonymous vs Facebook: #OpFacebook a fake?

Nebojsa — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:55:44 +0000

Few days ago, there were announcements all over the media and RT’s on Twitter about #OpFacebook, and a video announcement that Facebook will be destroyed by Anonymous on November 5th because of its privacy regulations.

Today, @anonops wrote:

“TO PRESS: MEDIAS OF THE WORLD… STOP LYING! #OpFacebook is just ANOTHER FAKE! WE DONT “KILL” THE MESSENGER. THAT’S NOT OUR STYLE #Anonymous ”

Now, there are some things that could be interpreted as somewhat of a contradiction, since a few tweets after that @YourAnonNews actually confirm the action:

“@anonops there are in fact a Op to disrupt facebook… it may have nothing to do with the video, but I have been in the chats.”

and @anonops kind of washes their hands, distancing from the Op.

“#OpFacebook is being organised by some Anons. This does not necessarily mean that all of #Anonymous agrees with it.”

Few tweets later, they point out that

“[snip]Important things are happening in the world to deal with quirks like #OpFacebook.[/snip] “

In my point of view, it was somehow expected, since Anonymous is not your everyday single-minded organization with a head (or tail), but makes me wonder how strong and widespread #OpFacebook will be and what the consequences will be. Facebook is a giant, and perhaps Anonymous will bite more than they can chew?

On the other hand, maybe #OpFacebook is already a success, because a lot of people are already more aware that there is something fishy about Facebook’s ever-changing Privacy policy and Terms of Use.

@Unknown452 says:

“+ the OP is already a success. Ppl now know that what’s entered on FB, stays on FB & know what they do with our data.”

What the consequences of Anonymous attack on the social giant will be, remains to be seen, but one thing is certain – the battleground is getting more and more widespread and there is a cyber war going on, whether you like it or not. It is not all black and white as it was before, and there are shades of gray everywhere, so it is highly advisable to use your head and not take things for granted.

It is not just a simple matter of choosing sides, but a history (or future?) in the making, and history doesn’t walk on two, but a few million legs today and it is impossible to completely grasp it.

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Anonymous and Team Poison join forces for #OpCensorThis

Nebojsa — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 09:30:50 +0000

Apparently, a new form of activism will take place very soon. As it was announced on Twitter and YourAnonNews on Tumblr, a new song is on the way to “get the message out” and ” take youtube and iTunes by storm and flood the song into the world around us, with proceeds going to charities that are actively striving to change it.”

Especially interesting is the last part of a twitter message: “This guy is a beast on the mic.” Someone from Beastie Boys, maybe?

Full announcement can be seen here.

[UPDATE] it is not Beastie Boys, but Beast1333.

[UPDATE]

@TeaMp0isoN_

“The lyrics for the #OpCensorThis track are done & the artist should be hitting the studio within the next couple of days”

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Custom WordPress Theme for a Consulting Agency

Nebojsa — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 12:48:27 +0000

Clean and function-oriented web design for a consulting agency from Belgrade. We put many hours into design and development of a custom WordPress theme, but in the end, I think it was really worth it. The choice for the framework was Thematic (not surprisingly, since most of the themes we did in the past year or so are actually Thematic child themes) and the grid is based on 960 grid system. For the featured section of the site, we used WOW slider.

Starting point in the design was the current visual identity – especially the color pallete and the Kaizen philosophy, which is the key ingredient in the client’s business philosophy.

Atraktor Studio successfully combined several different WordPress loops – one for announcements, one for news and several different categories above the footer of the home page, using the excellent Query Posts plugin, one that became a regular tool in our toolbox. Visit the site to see the rest of the pages.