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A pair of security researchers has picked January 2007 as the starting point for a month-long project in which each passing day will feature a previously undocumented security hole in Apple's OS X operating system or in Apple applications that run on top of it.

The "Month of Apple Bugs" project, began on Jan. 1, and is being orchestrated in part by a security researcher who asked to be identified only by his online alias "LMH." This is the same researcher who in November ran the "Month of Kernel Bugs" project. LMH's partner in this project is Kevin Finisterre, a researcher who has reported numerous bugs to Apple over the past few years.

The security researchers told the Washington Post that, as with Apple bugs featured during the MoKB project, Apple would receive no advanced notice of the forthcoming security problems. The security researchers hope to use the project to dispel the perception that Apple systems are free of the security bugs that have long plagued Windows users.

In two days, as promised, two bugs have been publicized, all of which allows for remote arbitrary code execution:

• Apple Quicktime rtsp URL Handler Stack-based Buffer Overflow
• VLC Media Player udp:// Format String Vulnerability

Is this the end of the "bulletproof" Mac?

The year has started with a blast: Publico's Ponto Media blog as pointed to my 5 games to think about post, so currently the number of unique visitors and page views is twice the average.

It's never too late to make new year resolutions, and the games itself help us to think about the world we are living. Political issues, ecological concerns and religious radicalism are every day issues, and we can/should/must have an active roll. No more "someone has to do something about it". It's up to you now.

So, play the games, spread the word, and think about it.

Warning! If you intend to buy a new Sony camcorder, with AVCHD capabilities, think twice: there is no support for this codec, neither in Windows or Mac.

My girlfriend's father bought the new Sony HDR-SR1 (with 30GB harddisk) for a journey, recorded more than 300 clips, and now he can't do anything with it! Windows or Mac are not able to play (or edit) any of those clips, due to the lack of the proper codec.

He requested my help, so I searched for the codec in the web, just to find out that there are a lot of people complaining about the same issue. I drop the search when I found out that Sony itself does not support it in is own software. The solution? My girlfriend's father will have to wait for the spring. Now, imagine his face when I told him that.

In fact, this should be one of the worst years in Sony's life: look at the evidences. The Sony camcorders with AVCHD support are the new HDR-UX1 and the HDR-SR1. Beware.

Still alive after last week home experiments? Good. Now is time to think about some issues (political & ecological) the best way I know how: by playing with it.

The following is a short compilation of web games from Water Cooler Games and Social Impact Games websites. Play it, share it, think about it:

• Home Water Conservation - "Waterbusters" - A game to teach tips for water conservation around the home;
• Darfur is Dying - In partnership with the Reebock Human Rights Foundation and the International Crisis Group, mtvU launched the Darfur Digital ActivistContent, a competiton briging together student technology and activism to help end the genocide in Darfur. The game is a narrative-based simultaion where the user, from the perspective of a displacedDarfurian, negotiates forces that threated the surevival of his or her refugee camp. It offers a faint glimpse of ewhat it's like for 2.5 million who have been internally displaced by the crisis in Sudan;
• McDonald's game - The McDonald's game from Molleindustria. Be sure to try out the Italian version of the website, as a Pope Speaking Generator can be found here;
• Cyberbudget-France - The French government has taken a gaming approach to try and find a solution to the country's financial challenges. Budget Minister Jean-Francois Cope has launched an online Cyberbudget game that allows people to balance the books. The challenge is to ensure the €300 billion budget is spent wisely and that if tax cuts are made then services do not fall into deficit. There are a range of tests to face, including having to present the budget to a virtual parliament;
• "Madrid" - An online game expressing feelings about the March 11, 2004 train bombings. The game was online less than 48 hours after the incident.</ul></p>