|
Reamde
''Reamde'' is a technothriller novel by Neal Stephenson, published in 2011. The story, set in the present day, centers on the plight of a hostage and the ensuing efforts of family and new acquaintances, many of them associated with a fictional MMORPG, to rescue her as her various captors drag her about the globe. Topics covered range from online activities including gold farming and social networking to the criminal methods of the Russian mafia and Islamic terrorists. Plot summary Zula Forthrast, an adopted Eritrean, is given a job by her billionaire uncle, Richard "Dodge" Forthrast, at his company, Corporation 9592, which runs an MMORPG called "T'Rain." Zula and her boyfriend, Peter, visit Richard's cat-skiing resort. Desperate for money, Peter sells a database of stolen credit card numbers to a shady contact, who is in fact working for the Russian mob. The transaction inadvertently results in a T'Rain-based ransomware virus infecting the contact's laptop and renderi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neal Stephenson
Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and baroque. Stephenson's work explores mathematics, cryptography, linguistics, philosophy, currency, and the history of science. He also writes nonfiction articles about technology in publications such as ''Wired (magazine), Wired''. He has written novels with his uncle, George Jewsbury ("J. Frederick George"), under the collective pseudonym Stephen Bury. Stephenson has worked part-time as an advisor for Blue Origin, a company (founded by Jeff Bezos) developing a spacecraft and a space launch system, and also co-founded the Subutai Corporation, whose first offering is the interactive fiction project ''The Mongoliad''. He was Magic Leap's Chief Futurist from 2014 to 2020. Early life Born on October 31, 1959, in Fort Meade, Maryland, Stephenson came from a family of engineers and scienti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fall; Or, Dodge In Hell
''Fall; or, Dodge in Hell'' is a 2019 speculative fiction novel by American author Neal Stephenson. The book explores mind-uploading to the Cloud, from the perspective of Richard "Dodge" Forthrast, a character introduced in Stephenson's 2011 ''Reamde''. Plot summary Billionaire Richard "Dodge" Forthrast is declared brain-dead after a routine medical procedure. Friends and family find his last will directs that his body be cryonically preserved for the purpose of future brain scanning and eventual revival. His wishes are fulfilled, his frozen brain destructively scanned, and his connectome saved in digital form. Several years pass in which portable augmented reality viewers become ubiquitous, social media echo chambers cause rural lawlessness, commercial quantum computing is feasible, and anonymous distributed ledger identification becomes popular in business. Dodge's grandniece Sophia animates Dodge's connectome as an experiment on secure distributed computing, for her se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryptonomicon
''Cryptonomicon'' is a 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson, set in two different time periods. One group of characters are World War II–era Allied codebreakers and tactical-deception operatives affiliated with the British Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, and disillusioned Axis military and intelligence figures. The second narrative is set in the late 1990s, with characters that are (in part) descendants of those of the earlier time period, who employ cryptologic, telecom, and computer technology to build an underground data haven in the fictional Sultanate of Kinakuta. Their goal is to facilitate anonymous Internet banking using electronic money and (later) digital gold currency, with a long-term objective to distribute Holocaust Education and Avoidance Pod (HEAP) media for instructing genocide-target populations on defensive warfare. Genre and subject matter ''Cryptonomicon'' is closer to the genres of historical fiction and contemporary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gold Farming
Gold farming is the practice of playing a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) to acquire in-game currency, later selling it for real-world money.The business end of playing games bbc.com, Wednesday, 25 April 2007, 14:55 GMT Gold farming is distinct from other practices in online multiplayer games, such as power leveling, as gold farming refers specifically to harvesting in-game currency, not rank or experience points. The actual labor mechanics of these practices may be similar, and those who hold employment as gold farmers may also work as power levelers. While most game operators ban the practice of selling in-game currency for real-world cash, gold farming is lucrative because it takes advantage o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spetsnaz
SpetsnazThe term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or () are special forces in many post-Soviet states. Historically, this term referred to the Soviet Union's Spetsnaz GRU, special operations units of the GRU (Soviet Union), Main Intelligence Directorate of the Soviet General Staff (GRU). Today it refers to special forces branches and task forces subordinate to ministries including defence, internal affairs, or emergency situations in countries that have inherited their special purpose units from the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, now-defunct Soviet security agencies. As ''spetsnaz'' is a Russian term, it is typically associated with the special units of Russia, but other post-Soviet states often refer to their special forces units by the term as well, since these nations also inherited their special purpose units from the now-defunct Soviet security agencies. Etymology The Russia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Qaeda
, image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden(1988–2011) * Ayman al-Zawahiri{{Assassinated, Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri(2011–2022) * Saif al-Adel(''de facto''; 2022–present) , active = {{nowrap, August 11, 1988 – present , allegiance = {{flag, Taliban (1995–present) , ideology = {{Collapsible list , title={{Nbsp , {{Plainlist, * Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism{{refn, name=Sunni Islamism, {{cite book, editor1-last=Bokhari, editor1-first=Kamran, editor2-last=Senzai, editor2-first=Farid, year=2013, chapter=Rejector Islamists: al-Qaeda and Transnational Jihadism, chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ThiuAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA101, title=Political Islam in the Age of Democratization, location=New York, publish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
System Administrator
An IT administrator, system administrator, sysadmin, or admin is a person who is responsible for the upkeep, configuration, and reliable operation of computer systems, especially multi-user computers, such as Server (computing), servers. The system administrator seeks to ensure that the uptime, Computer performance, performance, System resource, resources, and Computer security, security of the computers they manage meet the needs of the User (computing), users, without exceeding a set budget when doing so. To meet these needs, a system administrator may acquire, install, or upgrade computer components and software; provide routine automation; maintain security policies; troubleshoot; train or supervise staff; or offer technical support for projects. Related fields Many organizations staff offer jobs related to system administration. In a larger company, these may all be separate positions within a computer support or Information Services (IS) department. In a smaller group ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Identity Theft
Identity theft, identity piracy or identity infringement occurs when someone uses another's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was coined in 1964. Since that time, the definition of identity theft has been legally defined throughout both the UK and the United States, U.S. as the theft of personally identifiable information. Identity theft deliberately uses someone else's personally identifiable information, identity as a method to gain financial advantages or obtain credit and other benefits. The person whose identity has been stolen may suffer adverse consequences, especially if they are falsely held responsible for the perpetrator's actions. Personally identifiable information generally includes a person's name, date of birth, social security number, driver's license number, bank account or credit card numbers, Personal identification ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cat Skiing
A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/ Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald. Types * Aerial lifts transport skiers while suspended off the ground. Aerial lifts are often bicable ropeways, the " bi-" prefix meaning that the cables have two different functions (carrying and pulling). **Aerial tramways ** Chairlifts and detachable chairlifts ** Funifors ** Funitels ** Gondola lifts ** Hybrid lifts * Surface lifts, including T-bars, magic carpets, and rope tows. * Cable railways, including funiculars * Helicopters are used for heliskiing and snowcats for snowcat skiing. This is backcountry skiing or boarding accessed by a snowcat or helicopter instead of a lift, or by hiking. Cat skiing is less than half the cost of heliskiing, more expensive than a lift ticket but is easier than ski touring. Cat skiing is guided. Skiing at select, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The System Of The World (novel)
''The System of the World'' is a novel by Neal Stephenson and the third and final volume in ''The Baroque Cycle''. The title alludes to the third volume of Isaac Newton's ''Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica'', which bears the same name. ''The System of the World'' won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and the Prometheus Award in 2005, as well as a receiving a nomination for the Arthur C. Clarke Award the same year. Plot Solomon's Gold Daniel Waterhouse returns to England from his "Technologickal College" project in Boston in order to try to resolve the feud between Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz over who invented calculus. Someone attempts to assassinate him with an "Infernal Device" (a time bomb), and Waterhouse forms a club to find out who did it and prosecute them. It later turns out that the bomb was intended for his friend Isaac Newton. Jack Shaftoe, under the alias Jack the Coiner, attempts a heist at the Tower of London. Currency Daniel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suicide Attack
A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is often associated with terrorism or war. When the attackers are labelled as terrorists, the attacks are sometimes referred to as an act of ''" suicide terrorism"''. While generally not inherently regulated under international law, suicide attacks in their execution often violate international laws of war, such as prohibitions against perfidy and targeting civilians. Suicide attacks have occurred in various contexts, ranging from military campaigns—such as the Japanese pilots during World War II —to more contemporary Islamic terrorist campaigns—including the September 11 attacks in 2001. Initially, these attacks primarily targeted military, police, and public officials. This approach continued with groups like al-Qaeda, which combine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Amendment To The United States Constitution
The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution protects the Right to keep and bear arms in the United States, right to keep and bear arms. It was ratified on December 15, 1791, along with nine other articles of the United States Bill of Rights. In ''District of Columbia v. Heller'' (2008), the Supreme Court of the United States, Supreme Court affirmed that the right belongs to individuals, for self-defense in the home, while also including, as ''Dictum, dicta'', that the right is not unlimited and does not preclude the existence of certain long-standing prohibitions such as those forbidding "the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill" or restrictions on "the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons". In ''McDonald v. City of Chicago'' (2010) the Supreme Court ruled that State governments of the United States, state and Local government in the United States, local governments are Incorporation of the Bill of Rights, limited to the same ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
