surf

LogLogic, a software company with an open-source twist to the business of monitoring and analyzing server log files, has hired software industry veteran Pat Sueltz to be its new chief executive.

Sueltz has made the rounds in the software industry, working at IBM, Sun Microsystems, Salesforce.com, and most recently, SurfControl, which as CEO Sueltz sold to Websense for more than $400 million in April.

LogLogic sells proprietary software but also made an open-source move in 2006 with a component called Lasso, governed by version 2 of the General Public License (GPL).

LogLogic's acting CEO, Dominique Levin, now is … Read more

Now this is the kind of application that makes Bluetooth worthwhile.

We've observed the trend toward motorized skateboards with a combination of curiosity and dread, envisioning massive injuries caused by jet-fueled skater boys--especially those who get tangled in the wires connecting their remotes to the boards. But "GroundSurf" is a new three-wheeled model that's controlled by a "touchsreen Bluetooth mobile phone device" or, if you're really adventurous, by sensor pads embedded directly onto the board. ("You lean forward to accelerate, backward to slow down or brake," its Web page says.) The … Read more

If the "HyperBike" ever had training wheels, they might look something like the "WheelSurf." Actually we should say training wheel, not wheels, because this contraption is just one giant ring big enough to fit a human being inside.

Hailing from the Netherlands, this $6,900 precarious-looking "mobile circle" runs on a gas-powered Honda engine that can reach more than 18 mph. The scariest-sounding thing of all is how you ride this thing: "The outer wheel revolves around propelling you forward while keeping the center level with the horizon. Steering is accomplished by moving … Read more

Mahalo launched a new Firefox extension last week at Gnomedex. It's called "Follow," and once installed, it does just that. It's a mix of a toolbar and sidebar that pulls up related search results from whatever page you're on. It's got a built-in Mahalo search box in an attempt to ween you off your Google and Yahoo search tendencies. It's also got a StumbleUpon-like function to recommend whatever page you're looking at to others with yes, no, and maybe buttons, along with a button to take you to a random Mahalo … Read more

A new security company, Haute Secure, is offering a free beta version of its safe surfing toolbar for Internet Explorer that blocks malware from downloading onto your desktop. Firefox support is expected soon. Entering an already crowded field, the Haute Secure toolbar hopes to distinguish itself by taking the best of Exploit Prevention Labs Linkscanner Pro and McAfee SiteAdvisor, and then adds additional layers of protection. If they can pull it off with the final release, Haute Secure could be a must-have add-on for both Internet Explorer and Firefox.

The Haute Secure toolbar hooks into 70 processes running on your … Read more

Hang onto your boards, there's a big one coming--next winter. In lieu of some serious Mavericks surf, you can check out the latest science findings on how these high waves are formed. A whole raft of government and educational groups combined efforts to map the Pacific Ocean floor, track the incoming waves, measure the currents, and generally scope out the Mavericks wave-making machinery.

They found "the abrupt topography of the bedrock reef at Mavericks causes wave energy to converge...causing the wave to rapidly slow down, shorten in length and substantially increase in height." Makes a surfer'… Read more

In a paper (PDF) presented at last month's HotBots 2007 conference, researchers from Google say they've found malware downloads lurking on 1 out of every 10 Web sites visited. For this study Google analyzed 4.5 million URLs. The researchers determined that 450,000 of these contained some form of malicious code. The researchers identified four methods used to infect the unsuspecting Internet surfer. One is site-based, such as compromises in Web server security, but the others involve common user activity such as downloading user-contributed content, clicking Web advertising, and installing third-party widgets.

Attacking Web servers can be … Read more

Die-hard surfers, rejoice. You needn't fret the effects of global warming or other elemental obstacles any longer.

With the "Hydroglider," a motor-powered board from Inventist, you can get you can rip to your heart's content under just about any aquatic conditions--with or without waves. Coolest-Gadgets says a hourlong charge provides enough power for two hours of shredding goodness.

"Powered by a quick-charge, high-torque electric motor, Hydroglider's patented design has a wing that lifts the surfboard and you up out of the water, greatly reducing drag and allowing you to achieve speeds up to an … Read more

Surfing in shark-infested waters isn't exactly our idea of fun, but we feel obligated to mention this item for all the California Cravers out there. Australia-based Shark Shield (gotta love that name) has released the board-mounted "Surf," which it describes as "the first electronic shark-deterrent system specifically designed for surfers."

Creating a "shark-safe zone" that's about 26 feet in diameter, the system supposedly generates an electrical field that the offending shark senses through receptors in its snout. (We're not making this up.) The fish then goes into "muscular spasms" … Read more