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======================================================================
Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* The Most Expensive One-Byte Mistake
* Facebook Exec: Online Anonymity Must Go Away
* Was<nobr> <wbr></nobr>.NET All a Mistake?
* Spiderman's Politically Correct Replacement
* Limits On Growth of Energy Use and Economies
* Apple Removes MySQL From Lion Server
* .NET Gadgeteer — Microsoft's Arduino Killer?
* Mug-Shot Industry Digs Up Your Past, Charges You To Bury It
* Google+ Registers 25 Million Visitors
* eBay Deploys 100TB of SSDs, Cuts Rackspace By Half
* AptiQuant Browser/IQ Study Was Likely a Hoax
* First Observational Test of the "Multiverse"
* Ripping CDs Set To Be Legalized In UK
* Wall Street Predicts Merge of OS X and iOS
* Preview of id Software's <em>Rage</em>
* The Epidemic of Digital Distraction
* Earth May Once Have Had Two Moons
* Get Cyber-Mercenaries Suggests Ex NSA, CIA Director
* Governments, IOC and UN Hit By Massive Cyber Attack
* Living In an Unsecured World
* Microsoft To Pay $200k Prize For New Security Tech
* Google Patches 30 Chrome Bugs, Adds Instant Pages
* Computer Scientist Calls For Web Search Shake-Up
* IBM To Unveil Secure Open Wireless At Black Hat
* Federal IT Will Survive the Budget Deal
* US Wants Cybersecurity Protection Plan For Cars
* Giant African Rat Kills With Poisonous Mohawk
* <em>Borderlands 2</em> Announced
* Building Material Absorbs and Releases Heat
* Monitor Household Energy From Your Smartphone
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Most Expensive One-Byte Mistake
| from the catchy-but-totally-misleading-internet-headline dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 03, @00:18 (Programming)
| with 544 comments
| https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/011244/The-Most-Expensive-One-Byte-Mistake?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Poul-Henning Kamp looks back at [0]some of
the bad decisions made in language design, specifically the C/Unix/Posix
use of NUL-terminated text strings. 'The choice was really simple: Should
the C language represent strings as an address + length tuple or just as
the address with a magic character (NUL) marking the end? ... Using an
address + length format would cost one more byte of overhead than an
address + magic_marker format, and their PDP computer had limited core
memory. In other words, this could have been a perfectly typical and
rational IT or CS decision, like the many similar decisions we all make
every day; but this one had quite atypical economic consequences.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/011244/The-Most-Expensive-One-Byte-Mistake?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2010365
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Facebook Exec: Online Anonymity Must Go Away
| from the show-your-support-anonymously dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 03, @08:10 (Facebook)
| with 516 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/0523211/Facebook-Exec-Online-Anonymity-Must-Go-Away?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chaonici writes "The EFF has a blog post about what appears to be
Facebook's stance on anonymity on the Internet. Speaking last week at a
social media conference hosted by Marie Claire magazine, Facebook's
Marketing Director, Randi Zuckerburg, is quoted: '[0]I think anonymity on
the Internet has to go away. People behave a lot better when they have
their real names down. I think people hide behind anonymity and they feel
like they can say whatever they want behind closed doors.' This position
appears to apply to the entire Internet, not just Facebook (which already
requires that its users post real names instead of pseudonyms). The EFF
goes on to point out how this would be a bad choice for civil liberties
online."
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/0523211/Facebook-Exec-Online-Anonymity-Must-Go-Away?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/08/randi-zuckerberg-runs-wrong-direction-pseudonymity
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Was<nobr> <wbr></nobr>.NET All a Mistake?
| from the in-hindsight dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @17:01 (Microsoft)
| with 505 comments
| https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/2027207/Was-NET-All-a-Mistake?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mikejuk writes "The recent unsettling behavior at Microsoft concerning
.NET makes it a good time to re-evaluate [0]what the technology is all
about. It may have been good technology but with the systems guys
building Windows preferring to stick with C++ the outcome was inevitable.
Because they failed to support its way of doing things .NET has always
been a second class Windows citizen unable to make direct use of the
Windows APIs ��� especially the latest. .NET started out as Microsoft's
best challenge to Java but now you have to ask what has the excursion
into managed code brought the Microsoft programmer and indeed what good
has it done Microsoft? From where we are now it begins to look very much
like an unnecessary forced detour and Windows programmers are going to be
living with the mess for years to come."
Discuss this story at:
https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/2027207/Was-NET-All-a-Mistake?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.i-programmer.info/professional-programmer/i-programmer/2830-was-net-all-a-mistake.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Spiderman's Politically Correct Replacement
| from the taking-it-in-a-different-direction dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @15:50 (Entertainment)
| with 477 comments
| https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1858250/Spidermans-Politically-Correct-Replacement?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]jbarr writes "In the latest Marvel Comic series 'Ultimate Fallout,'
[1]Miles Morales replaces Peter Parker who has been killed off by the
Green Goblin. Morales is a half-black, half-Latino teen, and the creators
haven't ruled out that he might be gay. From the article: 'Marvel's
editor in chief Axel Alonso denied that having a black Spider Man was a
publicity stunt. 'What you have is a Spider-Man for the 21st century
who's reflective of our culture and diversity. As someone who grew up on
a steady diet of Luke Cage, Hero For Hire and Shang Chi, Master of Kung
Fu, I am personally invested,' he said. "
Discuss this story at:
https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1858250/Spidermans-Politically-Correct-Replacement?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://jimstips.com/
1. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2021563/Marvel-Comics-reveal-new-Spider-Man-black-gay-future.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Limits On Growth of Energy Use and Economies
| from the but-infinite-growth-sounds-fun dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 02, @20:00 (Power)
| with 465 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/02/2315207/Limits-On-Growth-of-Energy-Use-and-Economies?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]snoop.daub writes "Dr. Tom Murphy, professor of astrophysics at UCSD,
has a new blog called 'Do The Math,' and the first few posts are doozies.
In the first, he shows [1]the impossibility of continued exponential
growth in energy use. Even if a new, 'free' energy source is developed,
thermodynamic limits on efficiency mean that the heat associated with
converting this energy into useful work will increase the temperature of
the earth to unbearable levels within 300 years. In the second, [2]he
extends the argument to economic growth. The timescales there are faster,
only 50-100 years. Fascinating stuff. Time to stop breeding, folks, or to
get our butts into space."
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/02/2315207/Limits-On-Growth-of-Energy-Use-and-Economies?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. mailto:snoop.daub@gmail.com
1. http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/07/galactic-scale-energy/
2. http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/07/can-economic-growth-last/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Apple Removes MySQL From Lion Server
| from the well-isn't-that-interesting dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 03, @08:55 (Databases)
| with 285 comments
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1238249/Apple-Removes-MySQL-From-Lion-Server?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sfcrazy also noticed that Apple has officially [0]removed MySQL from Lion
Server, opting instead to include PostgreSQL, albeit in command line only
form. The article speculates that the change is because MySQL is now
Oracle property, and Apple is concerned about IP issues following all the
legal issues surrounding Java.
Discuss this story at:
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1238249/Apple-Removes-MySQL-From-Lion-Server?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/02/apple_dumps_mysql_from_mac_os_x_server/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| .NET Gadgeteer — Microsoft's Arduino Killer?
| from the didn't-see-this-in-the-magic-eight-ball dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 02, @20:59 (Hardware Hacking)
| with 234 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/0012203/NET-Gadgeteer-mdash-Microsofts-Arduino-Killer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mikejuk writes "[0].NET Gadgeteer is a new open source platform, from
Microsoft Research, based on the use of the .NET Micro Framework. It
[1]brings with it lots of hardware modules that are backed by object
oriented software. You simply buy the modules you need ��� switches, GPS,
WiFi etc ��� that you need and plug them together. The software, based on
C#, is also open source, and comes with classes that [2]let you use the
modules without having to go 'low level.' Is this a competitor for the
Arduino?"
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/0012203/NET-Gadgeteer-mdash-Microsofts-Arduino-Killer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://netmf.com/gadgeteer/
1. http://www.i-programmer.info/news/91-hardware/2819-net-gadgeteer-an-alternative-to-arduino.html
2. http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/news/features/gadgeteer-080111.aspx
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Mug-Shot Industry Digs Up Your Past, Charges You To Bury It
| from the you-give-and-they-take dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 03, @02:10 (Crime)
| with 234 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/0532239/Mug-Shot-Industry-Digs-Up-Your-Past-Charges-You-To-Bury-It?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Exploiting Florida's liberal public-records
laws and Google's search algorithms, a handful of entrepreneurs are
making real money by [0]publicly shaming people who've run afoul of
Florida law. Florida.arrests.org, the biggest player, now hosts more than
4 million mugs. On the other side of the equation are firms like
RemoveSlander, RemoveArrest.com and others that sometimes charge hundreds
of dollars to get a mugshot removed. On the surface, the mug-shot sites
and the reputation firms are mortal enemies. But behind the scenes, they
have a symbiotic relationship that wrings cash out of the people
exposed."
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/0532239/Mug-Shot-Industry-Digs-Up-Your-Past-Charges-You-To-Bury-It?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/08/mugshots/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Google+ Registers 25 Million Visitors
| from the still-a-long-ways-to-go dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 03, @11:10 (Google)
| with 209 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1333214/Google-Registers-25-Million-Visitors?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hypnosec writes "Google Inc.'s new social networking platform [0]Google+
is one of the first to boast of more than 25 million users in less than
one month of the launch. Market research firm comScore in its latest
report has revealed that Google+, which was launched to masses in late
June, has managed more than 25 million visitors in a month and is
recording around a million unique visits every day." I've been [1]using
G+ for awhile now, but since the grandparents will never leave Facebook,
I'm still stuck with 2 systems.
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1333214/Google-Registers-25-Million-Visitors?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.itproportal.com/2011/08/03/google-registers-25-million-visitors-in-under-a-month/#ixzz1TxOM5RAY
1. https://plus.google.com/105030465637303791249/posts
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| eBay Deploys 100TB of SSDs, Cuts Rackspace By Half
| from the go-big-or-go-home dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 03, @03:22 (Data Storage)
| with 189 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/0219230/eBay-Deploys-100TB-of-SSDs-Cuts-Rackspace-By-Half?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Lucas123 writes "eBay's QA division was facing mounting performance
issues related to its exponential growth of virtual servers, so instead
of purchasing more 15k rpm Fibre Channel drives, [1]the company began
migrating over to a pure SSD environment. eBay said half of its 4,000 VMs
are now attached to SSDs. The changeout has improved the time it takes
the online site to deploy a VM from 45 minutes to 5 minutes and had a
tremendous impact on its rack space requirements. 'One rack [of SSD
storage] is equal to eight or nine racks of something else,' said Michael
Craft, eBay's manager of QA Systems Administration."
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/0219230/eBay-Deploys-100TB-of-SSDs-Cuts-Rackspace-By-Half?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9218811/EBa
1. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9218811/EBay_attacks_server_virtualization_with_100TB_of_SSD_storage
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| AptiQuant Browser/IQ Study Was Likely a Hoax
| from the or-maybe-it-just-fooled-the-dumb-people dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 03, @10:27 (News)
| with 176 comments
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1350224/AptiQuant-BrowserIQ-Study-Was-Likely-a-Hoax?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A steady stream of people have submitted notes this morning saying that
the story we (and the entire internet, and even NPR's Marketplace)
mentioned recently talking about [0]browser platform correlating with IQ
looks like a hoax. Of course, if you read the Slashdot discussion, you
probably would have known this already, but [1]now everyone knows. The
company responsible for the survey, AptiQuant, looks to not be real.
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1350224/AptiQuant-BrowserIQ-Study-Was-Likely-a-Hoax?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/07/31/161200/Study-Compares-IQ-With-Browser-Choice
1. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/191615/20110803/internet-explorer-aptiquant-iq-study-hoax.htm
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| First Observational Test of the "Multiverse"
| from the que-the-evil-doppelgangers dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @18:10 (United Kingdom)
| with 176 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/2053213/First-Observational-Test-of-the-Multiverse?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "The theory that our universe is contained
inside a bubble, and that multiple alternative universes exist inside
their own bubbles ��� making up the 'multiverse' ��� is being tested
observationally by UK physicists, who are searching for [0]disk-like
collision patterns in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation.
Though CMB is generally thought of as a uniform schmear of radiation
extending in all direction in our universe, in fact, they say, if a
multiverse exists, there ought to be imprints, trapped in the muck like
footprints, of where our universe banged into others."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/2053213/First-Observational-Test-of-the-Multiverse?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://scienceblog.com/46860/first-observational-test-of-the-%E2%80%98multiverse%E2%80%99/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Ripping CDs Set To Be Legalized In UK
| from the about-bloody-time dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 03, @05:02 (United Kingdom)
| with 149 comments
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/0239242/Ripping-CDs-Set-To-Be-Legalized-In-UK?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]nk497 writes "The UK is finally set to [1]legalize format shifting,
making it legal for the first time to rip songs or films from CDs and
DVDs. Ripping is technically illegal under copyright protection laws,
despite most industry lobbyists agreeing it was time for a change. The
rules look set to be modernized as the government endorses a recent
intellectual property report, which also called for the government to
ditch plans to require ISPs to block illegal file-sharing sites without a
court order."
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/0239242/Ripping-CDs-Set-To-Be-Legalized-In-UK?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/
1. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/369064/format-shifting-may-finally-be-legalised
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Wall Street Predicts Merge of OS X and iOS
| from the two-in-one dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @18:38 (Apple)
| with 142 comments
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/217215/Wall-Street-Predicts-Merge-of-OS-X-and-iOS?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
gumbi west writes "One Wall Street analyst predicts what slashdot
commenters have predicted for years, that [0]iOS and OS X will merge into
a single OS. However the analyst sees this happening because the iOS
devices receive a substantial CPU boost from the quad core A6 which can
power MBA and smaller devices while following 64-bit ARM processors can
bring the remainder of the Apple lineup back to ARM under a single
architecture."
Discuss this story at:
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/217215/Wall-Street-Predicts-Merge-of-OS-X-and-iOS?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Preview of id Software's <em>Rage</em>
| from the sunshine-and-unicorns-gameplay dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 03, @06:33 (First Person Shooters (Games))
| with 141 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/0654232/Preview-of-id-Softwares-Rage?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
id Software's upcoming shooter Rage is nearing its Oct. 4 release, and
the company recently provided some hands-on time with the game in its
current state. GiantBomb described it thus: "In those three hours, I
discovered a first-person shooter. Also, a racing game. And a car combat
game. And an open-world adventure. A collectible card came, too. Lastly,
it's practically every piece of apocalyptic science fiction we have known
to date tossed into a blender, set to puree, poured onto a disc, and
spread evenly over a seemingly lengthy and elaborate single-player
adventure. In short, [0] Rage is a kitchen sink kind of game, the kind so
often labeled as 'missed potential' due to a lack of focus on any one
particular aspect. I don't think Rage will garner any such labels." Rock,
Paper, Shotgun's write-up is [1]a bit more poetic, providing a
first-person preview of the first-person shooter.
Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/0654232/Preview-of-id-Softwares-Rage?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.giantbomb.com/news/rage-the-first-three-hours/3544/
1. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/02/rage-preview-pc/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Epidemic of Digital Distraction
| from the what-were-you-saying? dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @14:01 (The Internet)
| with 140 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1734243/The-Epidemic-of-Digital-Distraction?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]asto21 writes "Almost no one does just one thing anymore. The screens
won't let us. And in an incredible burst of human evolution, [1]our minds
have grown accustomed to monitoring multiple inputs at once. Yeah, you're
reading this post. But we're nearly three paragraphs in. So if you're
anything like me, it's about that time to check Twitter, count the
additions to your Google Plus circles, read a handful of new incoming
email messages, and chime in on a couple of ongoing instant message
conversations. But are we paying less attention to important details?"
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1734243/The-Epidemic-of-Digital-Distraction?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://blog.arunbalan.in/
1. http://gizmodo.com/5827121/how-to-hold-someones-attention-for-more-thaooh-twitter-updates
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Earth May Once Have Had Two Moons
| from the that's-no-moon dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @15:32 (Moon)
| with 124 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1824202/Earth-May-Once-Have-Had-Two-Moons?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AaronW writes "According to a story at space.com, [0]Earth may once have
had two moons. The smaller moon, estimated to be 750 miles (1200km) wide
and only 4% of the mass of the larger moon, crashed into the far side of
the larger moon which caused the features we see today on the moon. The
surface of the far side of the moon is quite different than the side
facing the earth, having a different composition and a much rougher
terrain."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1824202/Earth-May-Once-Have-Had-Two-Moons?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.space.com/12529-earth-2-moons-collision-moon-formation.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Get Cyber-Mercenaries Suggests Ex NSA, CIA Director
| from the watch-out-for-the-black-ice dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @13:22 (Security)
| with 119 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1717243/Get-Cyber-Mercenaries-Suggests-Ex-NSA-CIA-Director?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
siliconbits writes "One of the architects of US foreign policy under
George W. Bush, General Michael Hayden, suggested that [0]the US
Government should consider creating a "Digital Blackwater" during a
conversation at an event called the Aspen Security Forum. Blackwater was
the US private military group founded in 1997 and which has been renamed
as Xe Services LLC, a move possibly linked with a number of controversies
that arose after the company expanded its security-related operations
into Iraq and Afghanistan. Recruiting mercenaries, Hayden suggested
'might be one of those big new ideas in terms of how we have to conduct
ourselves in this new cyber domain.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1717243/Get-Cyber-Mercenaries-Suggests-Ex-NSA-CIA-Director?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Governments, IOC and UN Hit By Massive Cyber Attack
| from the because-mcafee-says-so dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 03, @09:47 (China)
| with 110 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/138231/Governments-IOC-and-UN-Hit-By-Massive-Cyber-Attack?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]fysdt writes "IT security firm McAfee claims to have uncovered one of
the largest ever [1]series of cyber attacks. It lists 72 different
organisations that were targeted over five years, including the
International Olympic Committee, the UN and security firms. McAfee will
not say who it thinks is responsible, but there is speculation that China
may be behind the attacks. Beijing has always denied any state
involvement in cyber-attacks, calling such accusations 'groundless'."
Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/138231/Governments-IOC-and-UN-Hit-By-Massive-Cyber-Attack?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://definely.com/
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14387559
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Living In an Unsecured World
| from the trying-to-bail-the-ocean dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 02, @22:08 (Security)
| with 106 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/008242/Living-In-an-Unsecured-World?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GhostX9 writes "Charlie Miller, Accuvant Principal Research Consultant
and keynote speaker at NATO's recent International Conference on Cyber
Conflict, speaks with Alan Dang of Tom's Hardware about [0]living in an
unsecured world. He goes over his recent [1]MacBook battery exploit and
the challenges of computing security in the upcoming future. Quoting:
'[W]hat we can do (and this is the approach the industry is sort of
taking) is make it so hard and expensive to pull off attacks that it
becomes economically infeasible for most attackers. ... The way we make
it more difficult is to reduce the number of vulnerabilities and ensure
users' software is up to date and "secure by default." Also, make the OS
resilient to attack with things like stack canaries, ASLR, DEP, and
sandbox applications so that multiple exploits are needed. We also need
to better control the software loaded on our devices (i.e. Apple's App
Store model). So, instead of having to write a single exploit, it takes
three or four in order to perform an attack. This means most attackers
won't be able to pull it off, and those who can will have to spend much
more time working it out.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/008242/Living-In-an-Unsecured-World?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/charlie-miller-battery-hack-security,2996.html
1. http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/07/22/2021230/Apple-Laptops-Vulnerable-To-Battery-Firmware-Hack
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Microsoft To Pay $200k Prize For New Security Tech
| from the making-a-little-pocket-money dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @14:48 (Microsoft)
| with 106 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1822215/Microsoft-To-Pay-200k-Prize-For-New-Security-Tech?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trailrunner7 writes "In the face of mounting external pressure to begin
paying bug bounties, [0]Microsoft is instead launching a new program that
will pay a $200,000 top prize to a security researcher who develops the
most innovative defensive security technology. The program is designed to
'inspire researchers to focus their talents on defensive technologies,'
the company said. Known as [1]the Blue Hat Prize, after the company's
regular internal research conferences, the program will focus in its
first year on getting researchers to design a novel runtime technology to
defend against memory safety vulnerabilities. Microsoft security
officials said that rather than paying for individual bugs the way that
some other companies such as Google, Mozilla and others do, they wanted
to encourage researchers to think about ways to defeat entire classes of
bugs."
Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1822215/Microsoft-To-Pay-200k-Prize-For-New-Security-Tech?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. https://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/microsoft-pay-200000-innovative-defense-technology-blue-hat-prize-program-080311
1. http://www.microsoft.com/security/bluehatprize/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Google Patches 30 Chrome Bugs, Adds Instant Pages
| from the not-a-bad-month dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 03, @11:51 (Chrome)
| with 101 comments
| https://slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1532247/Google-Patches-30-Chrome-Bugs-Adds-Instant-Pages?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JohnBert writes "Google patched 30 vulnerabilities in Chrome, paying out
the third-highest bounty total ever for the bugs that outsiders filed
with its security team. The company packaged the patches with [0]an
update to Chrome 13, adding Instant Pages to the "stable" channel of the
browser. The feature, which Google earlier tucked into Chrome 13
previews, proactively pre-loads some search results to speed up browsing.
Google last upgraded Chrome's stable build in early June. Like Mozilla,
which this year shifted to a rapid-release schedule, Google produces an
update about every six-to-eight weeks. Fourteen of the 30 vulnerabilities
patched were rated "high," the second-most-serious ranking in Google's
four-step scoring system, while nine were pegged "medium" and the
remaining seven were labeled "low.""
Discuss this story at:
https://slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1532247/Google-Patches-30-Chrome-Bugs-Adds-Instant-Pages?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Computer Scientist Calls For Web Search Shake-Up
| from the what's-wrong-with-repackaging dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @19:25 (Google)
| with 92 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/228241/Computer-Scientist-Calls-For-Web-Search-Shake-Up?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
alphadogg writes "Given the seemingly non-stop battle between Google,
Microsoft and others in Web search, you might think this is a pretty
fertile area for new ideas. But a University of Washington computer
science professor thinks otherwise and is [0]calling on academia and
industry to get way more creative. Timed to coincide with this year's
20th anniversary of Tim Berners-Lee springing the World Wide Web upon us,
Oren Etzioni Thursday will have a commentary titled 'Search needs a
shake-up' published in the journal Nature. The main obstacle to progress
'seems to be a curious lack of ambition and imagination,' Etzioni writes
in the piece, which he acknowledges 'is meant to be provocative.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/228241/Computer-Scientist-Calls-For-Web-Search-Shake-Up?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/080311-websearch-washington-bing-google.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| IBM To Unveil Secure Open Wireless At Black Hat
| from the does-it-pass-the-sniff-test dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 03, @12:41 (IBM)
| with 83 comments
| https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1551250/IBM-To-Unveil-Secure-Open-Wireless-At-Black-Hat?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trailrunner7 writes "Researchers from IBM's ISS X-Force plan to [0]unveil
a new system for running an open wireless network in a secure mode at the
Black Hat conference here this week. The system mimics the way that Web
sites browsers use digital certificates to establish a trusted connection
with one another. X-Force researchers have been working on the system for
a while now and the company plans to demonstrate the technology on
Thursday during the conference. One of the main problems with public
wireless networks is that they're susceptible to a number of simple
attacks, including passive sniffing and man-in-the-middle. The X-Force
system is designed to get around these problems by using a digital
certificate to assure users that they are communicating with the wireless
hotspot that they think they are."
Discuss this story at:
https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1551250/IBM-To-Unveil-Secure-Open-Wireless-At-Black-Hat?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. https://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/ibm-unveil-secure-open-wireless-system-black-hat-080311
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Federal IT Will Survive the Budget Deal
| from the surviving-the-it-ceiling dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @17:50 (Cloud)
| with 82 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/2046233/Federal-IT-Will-Survive-the-Budget-Deal?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]jfruhlinger writes "Like most people in America ��� and like most
government workers in particular ��� federal IT staffers are wondering how
the recent budget deal will affect them. It seems that they [1]won't
suffer much, for two reasons: there was already a major tech
consolidation effort underway, and everyone involved is hoping that IT
initiatives will result in cost-savings in other areas of government
operations. In particular, federal moves to the cloud ��� which can yield
[2]considerable savings, despite a need for up-front investment that
deters some shops ��� will continue."
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/2046233/Federal-IT-Will-Survive-the-Budget-Deal?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://joshreads.com/
1. http://www.itworld.com/cloud-computing/189067/federal-it-should-survive-budget-deal-cloud-migration-effort-likely-stay-trac
2. http://www.itworld.com/cloud-computing/189029/barriers-cloud-migration-everything-else-it-has-its-plate-do-right-now
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| US Wants Cybersecurity Protection Plan For Cars
| from the gentlemen-start-your-anti-virus dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @16:15 (Security)
| with 74 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1947225/US-Wants-Cybersecurity-Protection-Plan-For-Cars?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]coondoggie writes "As cars and other forms of transportation
increasingly rely on online systems for everything from safety to onboard
entertainment, the cybersecurity threat from those who would exploit such
electronic control packages has also increased. That's why the US
Department of Transportation (DOT) today issued a Request For Information
to the security industry to help it build a roadmap to build '[1]motor
vehicle safeguards against cybersecurity threats and assure the
reliability and safety of automotive electronic control systems.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1947225/US-Wants-Cybersecurity-Protection-Plan-For-Cars?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. mailto:mcooney@nww.com
1. http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/us-wants-build-cybersecurity-protection-plan-
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Giant African Rat Kills With Poisonous Mohawk
| from the T-approved dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @19:00 (Idle)
| with 69 comments
| https://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/221245/Giant-African-Rat-Kills-With-Poisonous-Mohawk?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
thebchuckster writes "The African crested rat has been known to kill
local dogs, but researchers have just figured out how. After eating the
'poison-arrow plant,' the over-sized rodent [0]stores its poison-laced
spit in special hollow hairs in its mohawk. Then, when a predator grabs
the rat, the animal gets stung with the poison and spit-tipped hairs
which can sicken and kill."
Discuss this story at:
https://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/221245/Giant-African-Rat-Kills-With-Poisonous-Mohawk?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| <em>Borderlands 2</em> Announced
| from the so-nice-they-made-it-twice dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 03, @16:35 (First Person Shooters (Games))
| with 58 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1948219/Borderlands-2-Announced?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today, after Eurogamer [0]spilled the beans earlier than [1]Randy
Pitchford would have liked, Gearbox and 2K Games officially [2]announced
Borderlands 2, the sequel to 2009's well-received shooter/RPG. It's
planned for sometime between April 2012 and April 2013, and will be
available on the PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows. Gearbox plans to demonstrate
the game in its current state during Gamescom and PAX Prime later this
month.
Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1948219/Borderlands-2-Announced?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-02-borderlands-2-confirmed-source
1. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/08/developer-calls-accurate-borderlands-2-report-shoddy-journalism.ars
2. http://www.borderlands2.com/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Building Material Absorbs and Releases Heat
| from the cool-house dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @19:54 (China)
| with 54 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/2217253/Building-Material-Absorbs-and-Releases-Heat?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zothecula writes "Researchers at the Ningpo, China campus of the
University of Nottingham (UNNC) have created a new heat-regulating
material that could be used to cut the heating and cooling costs of
buildings. The non-deformed storage phase change material (PCM) can be
fixed so that it starts absorbing any excess heat above a pre-determined
temperature and releasing stored heat when the ambient temperature drops
below the set point. The researchers say the material can be manufactured
in a variety of shapes and sizes, even small enough so that it can be
sprayed as a microscopic film to surfaces in existing buildings."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/2217253/Building-Material-Absorbs-and-Releases-Heat?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Monitor Household Energy From Your Smartphone
| from the power-in-your-pocket dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 03, @17:23 (Power)
| with 46 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/2036213/Monitor-Household-Energy-From-Your-Smartphone?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]kkleiner writes "People Power 1.0 is an open and extensible
cloud-based platform that allows you to [1]monitor up-to-the-minute
household energy usage from an iPhone or Android smartphone. Part of the
growing Internet of Things, People Power 1.0 brings energy monitoring to
the common household. It works through your house router to connect to
the Internet and send data to your smartphone. Or you can measure energy
consumption from individual devices with People Power's GreenX
Powerstrips."
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/2036213/Monitor-Household-Energy-From-Your-Smartphone?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://singularityhub.com/
1. http://singularityhub.com/2011/08/02/monitor-household-energy-from-your-smartphone/
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