The Null Device

Port knocking is a way of letting a computer accept connections to a port (such as ssh) without leaving it open (and vulnerable to attackers). The port is typically firewalled off from the internet; however, if the firewall receives a sequence of connection attempts to a specific sequence of ports, which is kept secret, it relaxes the firewall rules enough to allow the IP address in question to connect to the protected port. (via Slashdot)

¶ port knocking security tech nouveau 0

From the Viridian mailing list, an article on the new era of biomorphic design; i.e., doovy-looking curvy blobjects and organic forms made possible by computer simulation and high-tech materials:

There is a new, witty nouveau afoot, from the Vallo watering can by Monika Mulder at Ikea, which looks like a stork, to the coffee and tea set by Greg Lynn for Alessi, which opens like a clove of garlic. Tord Boontje's chandeliers for Swarovski look like clouds of slender branches surrounding a light. A great deal of building in Britain has biomorphic roots, for instance, Snohetta's whale-shape museum addition planned for Margate, Foster & Partners' Swiss Re sea sponge building going up in London and Ushida Findlay's proposal to build a starfish-shape country manor house in Cheshire.

The movement has spawned a number of terms to describe it: Bruce Sterling's "Tech Nouveau", Ross Lovegrove's "organic essentialism", and even "sexy math".

¶ biomorphic design organic essentialism tech nouveau viridian 0