The Hacker’s Tribute Vol. 53: Algorithms and Beats

To My Dearest Digital Demagogues,

You’re a savvy bunch – able to conform to whatever situation approaches you. You bring power where it is needed, intelligence where smarts beckon, and sophistication, for when class is needed most of all. Consider yourselves the guardians of the world beyond the screen. That world belongs to you. But so does this one, and the world before it!

We explore the emerging power of Internet Archive, setting up a MIDI synthesiser using Raspberry Pi to create 80’s music once more! We will also be looking into the TikTok algorithm, Azure patches, and cracking into Zoom. It’s going to be a sneaky, but sensational issue.

Welcome back.

Dan ‘the Man’ Kowalski

Editor-in-Chief, The Hacker’s Tribute

Archived for Your Eyes Only

Open-access journals are feared to be escaping our clutches. That’s bad news if you’re seeking out genuine information. Scholarly articles are at risk of closure, for many reasons. But that goes to show that nothing’s forever. That is – unless you turn to Internet Archive. It’s for all purposes an extraordinary time machine, with saved samples of virtually any website out there. Curious to see Facebook in 2006? Wondering what the BBC was reporting in 2001? That information is available for your viewing pleasure. It looks like freedom of information had just saved its own bacon!

MIDI + CV + PI

Oh, I just cannot get enough of the acronyms. For those who need an extra minute catching up, we are talking using a Raspberry Pi to add MIDI to a CV synthesiser. A brave pioneer turned the music industry on its head, with just a shimmer of insight, and a blast of 1980s musical enthusiasm. His efforts allowed adding MIDI to the Korg Monotron synthesise. Join Shollz.com on what is a technical, and fully bestowing acoustic adventure.

Algorithms and Beats

Ever hear of TikTok? Oh, it’s big. It’s big everywhere. Some might even say ‘too Big’. But we’re not here to chisel at a Social Media goliath. No – we’d like to praise a modern day enigma code. The code used to select user-uploaded videos is set for exposition. And, no, you can’t even imagine our excitement. Learn how the global video app associates videos, identifies similar videos, collects data, and leverages machine learning. It’s a treasure trove of tech stacks and fascinating practices.

Patch Me Up – When You Can

Microsoft’s Azure can begin experiencing guest VM patching. With virtual machines taking the slack, cloud operators mind the racking, stacking, power, cooling, and all the perks of working a data centre. Initially, the patch won’t be recommended for more pressing tasks. But in the meantime, make do with some manual patching, to get ahead of the Microsoft posse.

Zooming In for the Zoom of It

Why not drop in on some Zoom calls? Well – NO – we don’t condone eavesdropping. But there is a way to test the robust security of some of these popular platforms. Alessando will be able to share this. All you’ll need to begin is to instrument applications with uprobes, poke into Zoom, instrument OpenSSL, trace network connections, extract, and map. It’s all here, and more!

Knowledge is free and shared. We’re always on the lookout for new insights into the world of Web and Mobile App Development.

We’ll be in touch with more news, as it happens!