Space Walk Number Four

ISS Astronauts Plan 4th Spacewalk to Stow Jammed Solar Array

Astronauts from the Shuttle Discovery today will conduct a fourth spacewalk to fold a solar array on the International Space Station that became jammed when they tried to stow it.

The array, a concertina-like structure that generates solar power, was part of a temporary electrical system on the ISS that astronauts replaced with a permanent one. While they pulled the so-called P6 port array back enough to allow a new one to begin rotating and tracking the sun, the retraction wasn't complete.

The space station's broken again. The funny part about this is that they're going to fix it by "pulling on guidelines and pushing hinges" and "if necessary, the spacewalkers will shake the panel."

Microsoft Patches Zero-Day Windows Media Flaw

Microsoft Patches Zero-Day Windows Media Flaw
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The Windows Media issues are addressed in bulletin MS06-078, one of three "critical" security updates published by Microsoft on this "Patch Tuesday." The other high-risk vulnerabilities lie in Internet Explorer and in Visual Studio 2005.

Somebody could exploit the Windows Media flaws by tricking a user into opening a rigged media file or stream, Microsoft said. "An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system," it said.

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Microsoft has screwed up big time, here. They've handed out a way for people to take complete control of another person's system through a rigged music file. Better make sure to catch the next patch if you plan on downloading anything anytime soon.