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======================================================================
Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* Slate: Amazon's Tax Stance Unfair and Unethical
* The Wi-Fi Hacking Neighbor From Hell
* Women Arrested For Refusing TSA Search of Children
* Bill Gates Looks to Reinvent the Toilet
* Can a Monkey Get a Copyright & Issue a Takedown?
* The Cost Of Broadband In Every Rural Home
* Zuckerberg Quits Google+ Over Privacy Concerns
* An Inside Look At the Rise and Fall of RIM
* Bitcoin Mining Tests On 16 NVIDIA and AMD GPUs
* Scientists Breeding Super Bees
* How Increasing Cloud Reliance Affects IT Jobs
* PuTTY 0.61 Released
* Did Google Knowingly Violate Java Patents?
* Patched MS Bluetooth Flaw Exposes Even Disconnected PCs
* Is the Military Prepared For Cyberwarfare?
* Computer Learns Language By Playing Games
* The Dangers Of Amateur Astronomy In Afghanistan
* Six-Drive SATA III SSD Round-Up Shows Big Gains
* W3C Chastises Apple On HTML5 Patenting
* US Wants Drivers To Test Wireless Auto Safety Tech
* New "Last Dinosaur" Find Backs Asteroid Extinction
* The Stanford Prisoner Experiment - 40 Years On
* EA Buys <em>Bejeweled</em>-Maker PopCap In Deal Worth Up To $1.3 Billion
* Open Source Software Hijacked To Push Malware
* Lizards Beat Birds In Intelligence Test
* Last NASA Spacewalk Marks End of Era
* Samsung Chromebook Series 5 Review
* Texas and Taxes: Is a Server a Business Presence?
* Apple Spin-Off Hosts Enterprise App Stores
* Bruce Campbell Confirms New <em>Evil Dead</em> Movie
* MIT Researchers Printing Solar Cells On Fold-able Sheets
* Watch Ben Heck Hack a 360 and a Sega CDX
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Slate: Amazon's Tax Stance Unfair and Unethical
| from the pretend-it-was-an-oil-company dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday July 13, @11:11 (Government)
| with 862 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1442221/Slate-Amazons-Tax-Stance-Unfair-and-Unethical?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
theodp writes "We've talked before about Amazon's [0]reluctance to
collect sales tax, with Jeff Bezos going so far as to [1]say it's
unconstitutional. So it's not too surprising to see Amazon support a
California referendum to [2]repeal sales tax for online retailers.
Slate's Farhad Manjoo loves buying from Amazon and would hate to pay
higher prices, but [3]says the e-tailer 'has no intellectually sound
arguments against collecting taxes from residents ��� by all ethical and
civic standards, its position is unsound.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1442221/Slate-Amazons-Tax-Stance-Unfair-and-Unethical?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://techflash.com/seattle/2010/09/ballmer_bezos_fund_effort_to_defeat_state_income_tax.html
1. http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/05/17/2242203/Jeff-Bezos-Calls-Sales-Tax-Requirements-On-Amazon-Unconstitutional
2. http://www.geekwire.com/2011/amazon-support-california-referendum-repeal-sales-tax-initiative
3. http://www.slate.com/id/2299051/pagenum/all
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Wi-Fi Hacking Neighbor From Hell
| from the internet-equivalent-to-road-rage dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday July 13, @08:15 (Crime)
| with 547 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0445224/The-Wi-Fi-Hacking-Neighbor-From-Hell?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Hugh Pickens writes "Barry Ardolf, a Minnesota hacker prosecutors
described as a 'depraved criminal,' has been handed an 18-year prison
term for unleashing a vendetta of cyberterror that turned his neighbors'
lives into a living nightmare. Ardolf [1]hacked into his next-door
neighbors' Wi-Fi network and used it to try and frame them for child
pornography, sexual harassment, various kinds of professional misconduct,
and to send threatening e-mail to politicians, including Vice President
Joe Biden. The bizarre tale began in 2009 when Matt and Bethany Kostolnik
moved into the house next door to Ardolf. On their first day at their new
home, the Kostolnik's then-4-year-old son wandered near Ardolf's house.
While carrying him back next door, Ardolf allegedly kissed the boy on the
lips. 'We've just moved next door to a pedophile,' Mrs. Kostolnik told
her husband. The couple [2]reported Ardolf to the police, angering their
creepy new neighbor (PDF). 'I decided to "get even" by launching computer
attacks against him,' said Ardolf, who downloaded Wi-Fi hacking software
and spent two weeks cracking the Kostolnik's WEP encryption. Then he used
their own Wi-Fi network to create a fake MySpace page for the husband,
where he posted a picture of a pubescent girl having sex with two young
boys. Ardolf [3]turned down a 2-year plea agreement last year to charges
related to the Biden e-mail. After that, the authorities piled on more
charges, including identity theft and two kiddie-porn accusations
carrying lifetime sex-offender registration requirements."
Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0445224/The-Wi-Fi-Hacking-Neighbor-From-Hell?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/slashdot/
1. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/07/hacking-neighbor-from-hell/
2. http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2011/07/ardolffedssentencingmemo.pdf
3. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/hacker-faces-decades-imprisonment/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Women Arrested For Refusing TSA Search of Children
| from the tiniest-terrorist dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @19:17 (Security)
| with 517 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2229255/Women-Arrested-For-Refusing-TSA-Search-of-Children?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]CelticWhisper writes "A Tennessee mother was [1]arrested for refusing
to allow TSA screening clerks to subject her child to a body scan or
patdown. This comes in the wake of a promise by the TSA Administrator to
make repeated attempts at non-physical screening of children, after which
another video of a child patdown surfaced. This event may signify a
tipping point in the public's willingness to tolerate invasive and
inappropriate security procedures at airports."
Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2229255/Women-Arrested-For-Refusing-TSA-Search-of-Children?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://celticwhisperatgmail.com/
1. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110713/NEWS01/307130115/Police-charge-mother-Nashville-airport-altercation
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Bill Gates Looks to Reinvent the Toilet
| from the please-no-pop-ups dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @12:10 (Earth)
| with 437 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1527242/Bill-Gates-Looks-to-Reinvent-the-Toilet?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the German government are working
on a $10 million project to provide [0]innovative sanitation facilities
to 800,000 Kenyans over the next five years. From the article: "The goal
is to find 'innovative solutions' for sanitation in poor urban areas.
Gates says it's time to move on from the era of the classic toilet. He
points out that, despite all the recent achievements, 40% of the world's
population, or some 2.5 billion people, still lives without proper means
of flushing away excrement. But just giving them Western-style toilets
isn't possible because of the world's limited water resources." I wonder
what the toilet version of The Blue Screen of Death is.
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1527242/Bill-Gates-Looks-to-Reinvent-the-Toilet?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2082509,00.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Can a Monkey Get a Copyright & Issue a Takedown?
| from the would-be-a-step-up-for-some dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday July 12, @22:20 (The Internet)
| with 317 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0033214/Can-a-Monkey-Get-a-Copyright-amp-Issue-a-Takedown?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Last week, the Daily Mail published a story
about some monkeys in Indonesia who happened upon a camera and [0]took
some photos of themselves. The photos are quite cute. However, Techdirt
noticed that the photos had copyright notices on them, and started a
discussion over [1]who actually held the copyright in question, noting
that, if anyone did, the monkeys had the best claim, and certainly not
the photographer. Yet, the news agency who claimed copyright [2]issued a
takedown to Techdirt! When presented with the point that it's unlikely
the news agency could hold a legitimate copyright, the agency told
Techdirt it didn't matter. Techdirt claims that using the photos for such
a discussion is a clear case of fair use, an argument which has so far
been ignored."
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0033214/Can-a-Monkey-Get-a-Copyright-amp-Issue-a-Takedown?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2011051/Black-macaque-takes-self-portrait-Monkey-borrows-photographers-camera.html
1. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110706/00200314983/monkey-business-can-monkey-license-its-copyrights-to-news-agency.shtml
2. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110712/01182015052/monkeys-dont-do-fair-use-news-agency-tells-techdirt-to-remove-photos.shtml
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Cost Of Broadband In Every Rural Home
| from the I-miss-real-internt dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @16:48 (The Internet)
| with 294 comments
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2014244/The-Cost-Of-Broadband-In-Every-Rural-Home?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
dave562 writes "In an analysis of the effectiveness of the the 2009
stimulus program (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or
ARRA), one of the programs that was investigated was the project to
[0]bring broadband access to rural America. Some real interesting numbers
popped out. Quoting the article: 'Eisenach and Caves looked at three
areas that received stimulus funds, in the form of loans and direct
grants, to expand broadband access in Southwestern Montana, Northwestern
Kansas, and Northeastern Minnesota. The median household income in these
areas is between $40,100 and $50,900. The median home prices are between
$94,400 and $189,000.' So how much did it cost per unserved household to
get them broadband access? A whopping $349,234, or many multiples of
household income, and significantly more than the cost of a home
itself.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2014244/The-Cost-Of-Broadband-In-Every-Rural-Home?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://blogs.forbes.com/nickschulz/2011/07/05/how-effective-was-the-2009-stimulus-program/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Zuckerberg Quits Google+ Over Privacy Concerns
| from the so-much-irony dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday July 13, @09:43 (Google)
| with 266 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1317252/Zuckerberg-Quits-Google-Over-Privacy-Concerns?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ianpm writes "Mark Zuckerberg has decided to leave Google's new social
network because [0]he 'doesn't want to be tracked.' In other news, the
Internet's irony meter has just exploded. Robert Scoble is now the most
followed person on Google+ according to The Inquirer." Most of the
article is about the rankings of various G+ users with big followings. I
currently have [1]a measly 400 or so. Guess I'll never be as cool as
MySpace's Tom.
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1317252/Zuckerberg-Quits-Google-Over-Privacy-Concerns?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2093546/zuckerberg-closes-google-account-tracked
1. https://plus.google.com/u/0/105030465637303791249/posts
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| An Inside Look At the Rise and Fall of RIM
| from the behind-the-curve dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday July 13, @12:32 (Blackberry)
| with 244 comments
| https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1628258/An-Inside-Look-At-the-Rise-and-Fall-of-RIM?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zacharye writes with this excerpt from BGR: "Research In Motion is in the
midst of a major transition in every sense of the word. Publicly, the
company is portraying a very defensive image ��� one that is very
dismissive, as if RIM is profitable and class-leading, and the media is
out of line to criticize its business, as are investors. Internally,
however, there's a different story to be told. It's a story filled with
attitude, cockiness, [0]heated arguments among the executive team and
Co-CEOs, and paranoia. ... The three-year roadmap for RIM products
focused on refining the technology in phones had already been released,
rather than looking at where to add major new componentry or trying to
identify or even shape future trends. 'One of the main reasons RIM missed
the mark with the browser was because they were always proud of how
little data usage a user would use,' a former executive said. 'There was
no three-year plan at RIM.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1628258/An-Inside-Look-At-the-Rise-and-Fall-of-RIM?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Bitcoin Mining Tests On 16 NVIDIA and AMD GPUs
| from the mine-faster dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @19:00 (Bitcoin)
| with 202 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2227223/Bitcoin-Mining-Tests-On-16-NVIDIA-and-AMD-GPUs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vigile writes "For users that have known about the process of bitcoin
mining the obvious tool for the job has been the GPU. Miners have been
buying up graphics cards during sales across the web but which GPUs offer
the most dollar efficient, power efficient and quickest payoff for the
bitcoin currency? A [0]series of tests over at PC Perspective goes
through 16 different GPU configurations including older high-end cards
through modern low-cost options and even a $1700+ collection with
multiple dual-GPU cards installed. The article gives details on how the
mining programs work, why GPUs are faster than CPUs inherently and why
AMD seems to be so much faster than NVIDIA."
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2227223/Bitcoin-Mining-Tests-On-16-NVIDIA-and-AMD-GPUs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Scientists Breeding Super Bees
| from the what-could-go-wrong dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @16:04 (Science)
| with 196 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1925241/Scientists-Breeding-Super-Bees?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elliot Chang writes "Over the last five years the world's honey bee
population has been steadily dwindling, with many beekeepers citing 2010
as the worst year yet. In order to save these extremely important
insects, [0]scientists are working on breeding a new super honey bee that
they hope will be resistant to cold, disease, mites and pesticides. If
all goes well, the new and improved insect will continue to pollinate our
crops for years to come."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1925241/Scientists-Breeding-Super-Bees?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://inhabitat.com/scientists-breeding-a-disease-and-mite-resistant-super-bee/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| How Increasing Cloud Reliance Affects IT Jobs
| from the bob-here-will-escort-you-out-of-the-building dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday July 13, @00:18 (Cloud)
| with 176 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0053221/How-Increasing-Cloud-Reliance-Affects-IT-Jobs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]snydeq writes "Kevin Fogarty takes a look at how the [1]rise of cloud
computing will impact IT jobs, outlining which roles stand to gain
prominence in the years to come, and which roles will suffer as
organizations extend their commitments to the cloud. 'Ultimately the bulk
of IT could look more like a projects office than the way it looks now,
when most of the hands-on work is done inside. It probably won't be a
total transformation, but moving into cloud, there will be more of that
and less DIY.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0053221/How-Increasing-Cloud-Reliance-Affects-IT-Jobs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.infoworld.com/
1. http://www.infoworld.com/print/165427
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| PuTTY 0.61 Released
| from the what's-old-is-new dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday July 13, @06:29 (Open Source)
| with 161 comments
| https://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0530255/PuTTY-061-Released?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]drmacinyasha writes "Simon Tatham [1]announced Tuesday the official
release of PuTTY 0.61 after four years of development. It brings a number
of bug fixes and improvements, such as GSSAPI SSH-2 authentication,
significantly faster SSH key exchanges, and even support for Windows 7's
jump lists. [2]Downloads are available from [3]the project's homepage."
Discuss this story at:
https://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0530255/PuTTY-061-Released?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://goo-inside.me/
1. http://lists.tartarus.org/pipermail/putty-announce/2011/000016.html
2. http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html
3. http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Did Google Knowingly Violate Java Patents?
| from the pay-no-attention-to-the-man-behind-the-curtain dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday July 12, @20:26 (Android)
| with 145 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/07/12/2331212/Did-Google-Knowingly-Violate-Java-Patents?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]jfruhlinger writes "Opponents of software patenting have been rather
heartened by [1]recent developments in the Oracle-Google lawsuit, which
have seemed to indicate that Oracle's patent case is weakening. But now
the judge in the case has some sharp questions for Google, given that
[2]Google tried to negotiate with Sun over the patents in question before
going on to develop Android without them."
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/07/12/2331212/Did-Google-Knowingly-Violate-Java-Patents?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://joshreads.com/
1. http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/06/23/1419230/USPTO-Rejects-Many-of-Oracles-Android-Claims
2. http://www.itworld.com/software/182381/judge-its-possible-google-knew-java-violation
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Patched MS Bluetooth Flaw Exposes Even Disconnected PCs
| from the you-are-the-one-neo dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday July 13, @05:11 (Bug)
| with 142 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0512221/Patched-MS-Bluetooth-Flaw-Exposes-Even-Disconnected-PCs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Among the [0]22 security holes Microsoft
issued updates to fix yesterday is a critical [1]kernel-level Bluetooth
flaw that could let nearby attackers break into vulnerable systems
[2]even when the targeted computer is not connected to a network. An
attacker could use the bug to gain access to any unpatched,
Bluetooth-enabled Windows Vista or Win7 computer within 100 meters (or
much further with specialized tools), all before the target system even
gets an alert that another computer is requesting a Bluetooth
connection."
Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0512221/Patched-MS-Bluetooth-Flaw-Exposes-Even-Disconnected-PCs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms11-jul.mspx
1. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS11-053.mspx
2. http://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/07/microsoft-fixes-scary-bluetooth-flaw-21-others/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Is the Military Prepared For Cyberwarfare?
| from the not-until-they-can-email-hand-grenades dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday July 13, @02:19 (Security)
| with 140 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0121225/Is-the-Military-Prepared-For-Cyberwarfare?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]pbahra writes "If you think that combating cyber criminals is hard in
your organization, imagine doing it in an enterprise with some 18 or so
layers of management between the top man (and it is always a man) and the
most junior employee. Now imagine that in such an organization, there is
a form for everything, that [1]it can take literally decades to buy new
equipment, and that you can be jailed for having dirty footwear. But that
same organization is charged with helping to defeat shadowy hacker groups
who are faster, have better equipment, almost certainly are better funded
and don't have to salute every time someone senior walks past them. The
modern military is used to operating in what is known as an asymmetric
environment, with a distinct imbalance between the two opponents. The
problem for the military is that they like to be the big guy. According
to a senior officer speaking at the 2011 Annual Defense Lecture in
London, when asked if the military was capable of operating at the same
speed as their opponents, he admitted they were not."
Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0121225/Is-the-Military-Prepared-For-Cyberwarfare?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. mailto:parminder.bahra@wsj.com
1. http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/07/12/is-the-military-prepared-cyberwarfare/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Computer Learns Language By Playing Games
| from the did-you-just-teach-computers-how-to-conquer-the-world dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday July 13, @13:12 (AI)
| with 128 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1451246/Computer-Learns-Language-By-Playing-Games?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Frans Faase writes "By basing its strategies on the text of a manual,
[1]a computer infers the meanings of words without human supervision. The
paper [2]Learning to Win by Reading Manuals in a Monte-Carlo Framework
(PDF) explains how a computer program succeeds in playing Civilization II
using the official game manual as a strategy guide. This manual uses a
large vocabulary of 3638 words, and is composed of 2083 sentences, each
on average 16.9 words long. By this the program improves it success rate
from 45% to 78% in playing the game. No prior knowledge of the language
is used."
Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1451246/Computer-Learns-Language-By-Playing-Games?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.iwriteiam.nl/
1. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/language-from-games-0712.html
2. http://people.csail.mit.edu/regina/my_papers/civ11.pdf
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Dangers Of Amateur Astronomy In Afghanistan
| from the time-to-pick-another-science dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @15:20 (Space)
| with 127 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1832243/The-Dangers-Of-Amateur-Astronomy-In-Afghanistan?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Nancy_A writes "Most amateur astronomers take for granted that they
can just go outside and enjoy viewing the night sky without encountering
many problems. But in order for [1]amateur astronomers in Afghanistan to
simply set up a telescope in a dark region, they have to deal with more
serious complications, such as making sure the area is clear of land
mines, not arousing the suspicions the Taliban or the local police, and
watching out for potential bombing raids by the US/UK/Afghan military
alliance."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1832243/The-Dangers-Of-Amateur-Astronomy-In-Afghanistan?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.universetoday.com/
1. http://www.universetoday.com/87231/the-challenges-%E2%80%93-and-dangers-%E2%80%93-of-amateur-astronomy-in-afghanistan/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Six-Drive SATA III SSD Round-Up Shows Big Gains
| from the johnny-five-needs-throughput dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday July 12, @23:24 (Data Storage)
| with 122 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/018259/Six-Drive-SATA-III-SSD-Round-Up-Shows-Big-Gains?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]MojoKid writes "Solid state drives have gone from essentially
non-existent on the desktop to the preferred storage medium of
enthusiasts and workstation professionals in less than three years. Three
of the drives featured in this [1]six-drive SATA III SSD round-up
consistently offered [2]'best-of-class' performance throughout testing,
with speeds in excess of 500MB/s for read and write throughput. OCZ's
Vertex 3 Max IOPS, Corsair's Force GT, and the Patriot Wildfire all
feature the same SandForce SF-2281 controller and synchronous NAND flash
memory. These drives offered the highest transfer rates in the majority
of tests, though performance does drop off as the data gets more
incompressible."
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/018259/Six-Drive-SATA-III-SSD-Round-Up-Shows-Big-Gains?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://hothardware.com/
1. http://hothardware.com/Reviews/SATA-III-SSD-RoundUp-OCZ-Corsair-Patriot-Crucial/
2. http://hothardware.com/Reviews/SATA-III-SSD-RoundUp-OCZ-Corsair-Patriot-Crucial/?page=6
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| W3C Chastises Apple On HTML5 Patenting
| from the play-nice-with-the-other-children dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday July 13, @10:30 (Patents)
| with 121 comments
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1430232/W3C-Chastises-Apple-On-HTML5-Patenting?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]angry tapir writes "The W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) is [1]seeking
to invalidate a pair of Apple patents so the underlying technologies can
be used as part of a royalty-free HTML5 stack. The [2]patented
technologies are core components to the W3C's [3]Widget Access Request
Policy, which specifies how mobile applications can request sensitive
material. It is one of a number of specifications that are closely tied
to the W3C's next generation standard for Web pages and applications,
HTML5."
Discuss this story at:
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1430232/W3C-Chastises-Apple-On-HTML5-Patenting?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.computerworld.com.au/
1. http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/393143/w3c_chastises_apple_html5_patenting/
2. http://www.w3.org/2010/12/cfpa
3. http://www.w3.org/TR/widgets-access/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| US Wants Drivers To Test Wireless Auto Safety Tech
| from the computer-take-the-wheel dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @14:39 (Security)
| with 121 comments
| https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1751229/US-Wants-Drivers-To-Test-Wireless-Auto-Safety-Tech?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]coondoggie writes "Can new wireless auto safety systems work in the
real world and how will drivers respond? That's what the US Department of
Transportation hopes to find out in the next few months as it lets
hundreds of drivers in six communities across the country [1]test some of
the latest communication devices in controlled situations."
Discuss this story at:
https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1751229/US-Wants-Drivers-To-Test-Wireless-Auto-Safety-Tech?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://netwotkworld.com/
1. http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/us-let-everyday-drivers-test-advanced-wireles
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| New "Last Dinosaur" Find Backs Asteroid Extinction
| from the sky-is-falling dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @16:26 (Science)
| with 106 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1927259/New-Last-Dinosaur-Find-Backs-Asteroid-Extinction?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "A new fossil discovery has suggested that
[0]dinosaurs were alive right up until the asteroid impact, and did not
go extinct gradually due to climate change or changes in sea level, as
previous theories have proposed."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1927259/New-Last-Dinosaur-Find-Backs-Asteroid-Extinction?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4511/last-dinosaur-supports-asteroid-extinction-theory
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Stanford Prisoner Experiment - 40 Years On
| from the it's-good-to-be-a-guard dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @17:51 (Science)
| with 106 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2054207/The-Stanford-Prisoner-Experiment---40-Years-On?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cheros writes "It's now 40 years ago that the Stanford prisoner
experiment went ugly so quickly it had to be aborted. Stanford has an
interesting piece called [0]The Menace Within that looks back on this
momentous psychological experiment. From the article: 'What happened in
the basement of the psych building 40 years ago shocked the world. How do
the guards, prisoners and researchers in the Stanford Prison Experiment
feel about it now?'"
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2054207/The-Stanford-Prisoner-Experiment---40-Years-On?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2011/julaug/features/spe.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| EA Buys <em>Bejeweled</em>-Maker PopCap In Deal Worth Up To $1.3 Billion
| from the don't-break-it dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday July 12, @20:06 (Businesses)
| with 101 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/07/12/2343241/EA-Buys-Bejeweled-Maker-PopCap-In-Deal-Worth-Up-To-13-Billion?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
donniebaseball23 writes "Weeks ago, rumors were that Electronic Arts had
stepped up to the plate to buy mobile/casual gaming publisher PopCap,
developer of titles such as Bejeweled and Plants vs Zombies. Today, [0]EA
has confirmed that it has purchased PopCap for a final sum of $650
million and $100 million in shares of EA common stock. There's also the
possibility for up to $550 million in earn-outs for hitting 2013
financial milestones. That would [1]bring the price to a whopping $1.3
billion. 'We picked EA because they have recast their culture around
making great digital games,' said David Roberts, CEO of PopCap. 'By
working with EA, we'll scale our games and services to deliver more
social, mobile, casual fun to an even bigger, global audience.'" More
broadly, EA's plan for PopCap is: "[2]don't break it."
Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/07/12/2343241/EA-Buys-Bejeweled-Maker-PopCap-In-Deal-Worth-Up-To-13-Billion?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.industrygamers.com/news/ea-has-purchased-popcap-for-650-million/
1. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/35832/Riccitiello_PopCap_Acquisition_Accelerates_EA_To_1B_Digital_Business.php
2. http://www.shacknews.com/article/69261/ea-on-popcap-acquisition-dont
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Open Source Software Hijacked To Push Malware
| from the malware-of-the-people dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @18:13 (Open Source)
| with 98 comments
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2059221/Open-Source-Software-Hijacked-To-Push-Malware?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]jfruhlinger writes "VLC Media Player is a popular, useful, and
free-as-in-beer piece of software. Unfortunately, its open source nature
makes it easier for people with bad intentions to repackage it in
nefarious ways. Not only do some of these folks claim that they're the
originator of the software (a violation of trademark law and the
license), but they [1]often bundle it up with crapware and malware, which
is a real dilemma for open source developers who play by the rules."
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2059221/Open-Source-Software-Hijacked-To-Push-Malware?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://joshreads.com/
1. http://www.itworld.com/security/182757/floss-accept-no-substitutes
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Lizards Beat Birds In Intelligence Test
| from the bird-brains dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @18:34 (Science)
| with 80 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/215258/Lizards-Beat-Birds-In-Intelligence-Test?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
rhettb writes "Reptiles have long been thought to be dim-witted, but a
new study in Biology Letters finds that the Puerto Rican anole, a type of
lizard, can match birds in intelligence. Using cognitive tests that have
been previously used on birds, researchers with Duke University found
that the [0]lizards were capable of solving a problem they've never
encountered before, remembering the solution in future trials, and even
changing techniques when presented with new challenges. In fact, the tiny
anoles solved the test with fewer tries than birds."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/215258/Lizards-Beat-Birds-In-Intelligence-Test?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0712-hance_smart_lizards.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Last NASA Spacewalk Marks End of Era
| from the put-on-a-hat-it's-cold-out-there dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday July 13, @08:59 (NASA)
| with 79 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1234219/Last-NASA-Spacewalk-Marks-End-of-Era?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Astronauts embarked on [0]the final space
walk of the US shuttle era at the International Space Station, where
Atlantis is docked on the final mission of the 30-year US program.
Atlantis carries a year's worth of supplies ��� more than 3,600 kilograms ���
for the International Space Station. It will also bring up a system that
will be used by Canada's Dextre robot to test a system for refuelling and
repairing spacecraft and satellites in space."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1234219/Last-NASA-Spacewalk-Marks-End-of-Era?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/179012/20110713/last-nasa-spacewalk-marks-end-of-era.htm
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Samsung Chromebook Series 5 Review
| from the that-could-have-gone-better dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @19:50 (Chrome)
| with 75 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/232242/Samsung-Chromebook-Series-5-Review?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Neil McAllister takes an [1]in-depth look
at the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 3G and finds the device comparatively
lackluster. 'The Chromebook is lightweight and inexpensive, and it offers
a full-featured Web browsing experience. But its low-end hardware, lack
of versatility, and primitive support for commonplace computing tasks
such as printing, file management, networking, and media playback make it
a poor choice for everyday use, particularly in a business setting,'
McAllister writes. 'All in all, the Samsung Series 5 is an
average-quality netbook with a large screen and a higher-than-average
price tag, while Chrome OS itself feels more like a proof-of-concept
project whose time has not yet come.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/232242/Samsung-Chromebook-Series-5-Review?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.infoworld.com/
1. http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/google-chromebook-lacks-luster-purpose-796
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Texas and Taxes: Is a Server a Business Presence?
| from the do-you-take-virtual-money? dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @17:30 (Businesses)
| with 65 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2049224/Texas-and-Taxes-Is-a-Server-a-Business-Presence?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1sockchuck writes "Does having a server in a data center give you an
official business presence in the state where the data center is located
��� invoking the requirement to collect state taxes? Not in Texas anymore,
thanks to a new bill, which [0]clarified a ruling that would have
required hosting companies leasing servers in Texas to collect state
sales tax from their customers. That's a big deal, since Texas is home to
many of the industry's largest hosting companies ��� including [1]Rackspace
and [2]SoftLayer, who have comments on the issue."
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2049224/Texas-and-Taxes-Is-a-Server-a-Business-Presence?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2011/07/13/texas-and-taxes-relief-for-hosting-companies/
1. http://www.rackspace.com/blog/?p=2305
2. http://blog.softlayer.com/2011/texas-house-bill-1841-hosting-and-taxes/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Apple Spin-Off Hosts Enterprise App Stores
| from the welcome-to-the-app-mall dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @13:55 (Android)
| with 58 comments
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1713231/Apple-Spin-Off-Hosts-Enterprise-App-Stores?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Last year Apple quietly authorized
private-label app stores with its OTA (over-the-air) protocol, and now an
Apple spin-off is offering the first hosting service to uses OTA to
create [0]alternative app stores for iOS devices like the iPhone and
iPad. One of the first is Cisco's App Fridge (for cool networking apps),
but a dozen other Fortune 500 companies have also signed up. And this
fall, Apperian promises to add Android apps to its service, enabling
one-stop-shopping for private-label apps store hosted in the clouds. So
far these store are for employees only, but by 2012 Apperian claims it
will be offering alternative app stores for the rest of us"
Discuss this story at:
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1713231/Apple-Spin-Off-Hosts-Enterprise-App-Stores?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Smarter-Strategies/Apple-SpinOff-Hosts-Enterprise-App-Stores/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Bruce Campbell Confirms New <em>Evil Dead</em> Movie
| from the groovy dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 13, @17:10 (Movies)
| with 55 comments
| https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2022237/Bruce-Campbell-Confirms-New-Evil-Dead-Movie?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
blackstone2020 writes "Dread Central reported last night that a fourth
Evil Dead film is up for production in Detroit, and editor Bob Murawski,
who worked with Sam Raimi on all three 'Spider-Man' films and 'Drag Me to
Hell,' is gearing up to start on the project. Bruce Campbell recently
joined Twitter and left one of the best comments to a fan [0]confirming
this rumor 'Believe in the remake, dawg! The project is real. In the
works. Cool as hell. Scary as hell.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/2022237/Bruce-Campbell-Confirms-New-Evil-Dead-Movie?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://moviemikes.com/2011/07/bruce-campbell-confirms-new-evil-dead-is-real/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| MIT Researchers Printing Solar Cells On Fold-able Sheets
| from the bright-ideas dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday July 13, @11:50 (Earth)
| with 42 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1549238/MIT-Researchers-Printing-Solar-Cells-On-Fold-able-Sheets?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Following up on [0]earlier work in the field,
researchers at MIT are developing a process to [1]print solar cells
directly onto many common forms of paper. 'The technique represents a
major departure from the systems used until now to create most solar
cells, which require exposing the substrates to potentially damaging
conditions, either in the form of liquids or high temperatures. The new
printing process uses vapors, not liquids, and temperatures less than 120
degrees Celsius. These "gentle" conditions make it possible to use
ordinary untreated paper, cloth or plastic as the substrate on which the
solar cells can be printed. ... The resilient solar cells still function
even when folded up into a paper airplane.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/1549238/MIT-Researchers-Printing-Solar-Cells-On-Fold-able-Sheets?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/05/05/1817229/MIT-Unveils-First-Solar-Cells-Printed-On-Paper
1. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/printable-solar-cells-0711.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Watch Ben Heck Hack a 360 and a Sega CDX
| from the teach-me-your-voodoo dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday July 13, @03:31 (Hardware Hacking)
| with 28 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0140245/Watch-Ben-Heck-Hack-a-360-and-a-Sega-CDX?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We've previously discussed a few projects by game system hacker Ben Heck,
including his [0]PS3 laptop and [1]Xbox 360 laptop. Now, GameSetWatch
points out [2]two videos produced by Ben showing and explaining new
projects. First, he designs and builds a disc-changer for an Xbox 360,
and then he turns an old Sega CDX system into a portable console.
Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/07/13/0140245/Watch-Ben-Heck-Hack-a-360-and-a-Sega-CDX?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://games.slashdot.org/story/09/10/02/0428249/Ben-Hecks-PS3-Slim-Laptop
1. http://slashdot.org/story/06/09/11/1729233/XBox-360-Laptop-Mod-Created
2. http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2011/07/watch_ben_heck.php
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