Up until the late 1990s PC Computer cases were typically rectangular, beige objects where the colour was dictated more by the quality of cheap recycled plastic from which they were manufactured than by choice or design. In the late 1990s to early 2000s some PC enthusiasts, many of them Gamers, began Case Modding - "spicing up" their PC cases with lights, windows and paintwork to reflect their personalities and interests in much the same way as car enthusiasts have been modifying their cars since the early days of hot-rodding in the 1930s.

Case mods are often bright and gaudy, festooned with lights and high-gloss paintwork, but increasingly there are beautifully conceived and executed, even elegant, case mods by talented and professional designers.

In 2001 VIA Technologies introduced the Mini-ITX form-factor motherboard; a tiny 17cm x 17cm board with onboard CPU and minimal cooling requirements. This has opened avenues for case modders to build PC into smaller and more unusual enclosures than ever before. The case mods I showcase here combine these tiny mini- or pico-ITX boards with classic PC from computing history. Here are my picks for the best retro case mods:

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While searching for something completely unrelated, I stumpled upon one of the most egregious sins against the natural world since the invention of fire. On the otherwise excellent Binary Zone Interactive I found the Specadore 64.

When is a Commodore 64 not a Commodore 64? When it's a ZX Specadore 64! So how the blazes did this all come about then? Well, I've had my trusty C64C for MANY years now - in fact, it was bought brand new way back in 1987 I think! Unfortunately over time the keyboard changed colour from a vibrant light grey/cream colour to a horrible yellow mess. So I decided to give it a fresh new coat of paint. As I rather like the colour scheme of the original Sinclair ZX Spectrum I thought I'd paint up my C64C in ZX Spectrum style colours!

Shame on you Jason Mackenzie!

I read on Ars Technica that:

"We wanted to ensure we took every logical step to deter player griefing," Ben Jones, a designer at Zipper Interactive, told Ars. "Features like protected spawn areas, vote-kick and auto-kick at a certain team kill threshold help to preserve the ideal gameplay experience. You'll also receive negative experience points for TKing, and in a game where XP is vital to progressing your character, we feel that's a solid deterrent."

Can anybody explain WTF this means? Is this even English?

Don Lohrmann is writing a series of articles offering carreer advice for security professionals. Nothing groundbreaking, but some interesting reading nonetheless:

1. Why Do Security Progessionals Fail?
2. Offer Security Options: Does The Shoe Fit?
3. Problem #3 for Security Professionals: Not Enough Humble Pie

He also tries to define a security professional.

After nine months deliberation, Simon Powers has released a cabinet paper detailing a replacement Section 92a; the controversial law withdrawn in March this year which could have seen Internet users summarily disconnected by ISPs if accused of copyright infringement, and would have left ISPs no option but to do so.

The new ammendment introduces a notice-and-notice process, whereby ISPs are required only to pass on notices of infringment from copyright holders to alleged infringers. Should the user be served three such notices the copyright holder may choose to escalate to the Copyright Tribunal for redress.

Unfortunately all this good work could soon be derailed by super-secret ACTA negotiations, considered to be so super-national-security-sensitive that the citizens of involved nations cannot be trusted to hear what is being discussed.

The Cabinet Paper
National Business Review
Ars Technica