This sounds like no big news at first: Researchers found a security loophole in Windows 2000. But the scope of this potential flaw is fairly tremendous. The researchers, from the University of Haifa, say that emails, passwords, credit card numbers could all be tracked by someone exploiting the purported loophole. An industrious hacker could even access information dispatched prior to the breach, or data that is no longer stored on the computer. The computer scientists say the flaw lies in the Windows 2000 random number generator, and could apply to XP and Vista as well. You can read the paper here, and get involved in the lively conversation at slashdot here.—Gregory Mone

Its no secret that major world events send ripples of collective emotion through communities—witness the outpourings of grief and charity after 9-11, the Southeast Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina—but what if those ripples could be felt without the aid of TV broadcasts and Web news reports?  What if such events made a psychic impression independent of any sort of human communication? Sounds like a bunch of New-Age hooey, but researchers at Princeton University, and one graduate of NYUs Interactive Telecommunications program, are exploring the possibility with the help of random number generators.

Without going into too much detail about the Princeton project (you can read more about it at the link below), researchers found, over the course of a 30-year project, that during significant global events, random number generators present statistical anomalies that could conceivably be chalked up to changes in the collective human consciousness.

Even if youre skeptical about this hypothesis, NYU grad Rob Sewards thesis project, the Consciousness Field Resonator, is worthy of attention. Seward built a random-number generator (housed in a handsome copper box) that hangs on the wall and alerts users of statistical anomalies with a series of bright lights. When the lights flash, youre left to wonder whats causing the alert. Is it the bombing in Lebanon or Iraq? A World Cup victory? Shiloh Jolie-Pitts birthday? Whole new systems of superstition could be built around this thing. Sure, its art first and foremost, but its also a really interesting use of technology and a kick-ass DIY project. Download instructions for making your own here. —Megan Miller

Link via robseward.com
Link via Princeton University