Intel MinnowBoard Max

I've been spending some time over the last month playing with a pre-production Intel MinnowBoard Max, kindly supplied by Intel's John Hawley. I'm told it’s pretty close to the final production design, with most of the outstanding development being concentrated on the EFI system.

The original MinnowBoard was Intel's answer to the Raspberry Pi. Built around a 1GHz Intel Atom E640 processor, the device was notable for being a product of Intel's partnership with BeagleBoard and BeagleBone creator CircuitCo, and the resultant release of the PCB layouts, schematics, design files and even the EFI system code, under an open-source licence.

Life after hacktivism

Now released from prison, hacktivists look back on their 2011 heyday with some regret-although some still see themselves as modern-day Robin Hoods, reveals Stewart Mitchell.

The thrill of cracking security, and of striking a symbolic blow against the establishment, can seem irresistible to tcch-sawy British youngsters - but it’s an addiction that can end in a prison sentence. Welcome to the risky world of hacktivism.

Hacktivism came to mainstream prominence three years ago, os the likes of Anonymous and spin-off LulzSec nabbed headlines with their “operations” against companies and government departments; “Operation Payback” targeted PayPal and MasterCard for not accepting payments for WikiLeaks, for example. Hackers with an axe to grind were 2011’s internet subculture stars.

Their moment in the spotlight was short, however. Attacks against the FBI and the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) provoked the authorities Into action, and they clamped down on hacktlvists with a series of arrests and punishing prison sentences.

Windows 10. The full story

Fed up with intrusive Live Tiles and Microsoft’s obsession with its non-existent tablet platform? Darien Graham-Smith reveals how Windows 10 will make things right.

On paper, Windows 8 wasn’t a bad idea. The introduction of a new touch-friendly app framework, designed for both ARM-based tablet hardware and more conventional Intel devices, was bold and clever: it addressed the new tablet market head-on without sacrificing the continuity that had always been Windows’ trump card.

Unfortunately, the execution was badly fumbled. The new interface discouraged newcomers with its hidden gestures - and Microsoft failed to support the nascent platform with a competitive software library. Officially, the Windows Store launched with just over 9,000 apps, but without key names such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, Windows RT couldn’t hope to challenge the iPad.