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Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* Anonymous Vows To Destroy Facebook
* Old Arguments May Cost Linux the Desktop
* The London Riots and Facial Recognition Technology
* Ask Slashdot: What OS For a Donated Computer?
* New Drug Could Cure Nearly Any Viral Infection
* New USB Specification Promises 100W of Power
* Court Rules Sending Too Many Emails Is "Hacking"
* Why The US Will Lose a Cyber War
* Dashboard Avatar To Replace Car Owner's Manuals
* A Quest For the Perfect SNES Emulator
* Google Pulls Plug On Programming For the Masses
* IBM Plays <em>SimCity</em> With Portland, Oregon
* Wall Street: Software More Valuable Than Oil
* Apple Now Offering Free Recycling For PCs
* Copycat "hiPhone 5" Surfaces In China
* Orange Goo Invades Alaskan Village
* 4G and CDMA Reportedly Hacked At DEFCON
* Microsoft Patches 1990s-Era 'Ping of Death'
* CERN To Tap Unused Desktop Power To Help Find Higgs Boson
* Gamification — Valid Term or Marketing-Speak?
* Gizmodo Off the Hook In iPhone 4 Investigation
* Wireless Charging On the Droid Bionic?
* Military Working On Laser Powered Drones
* Six Python Web Frameworks Compared
* Walmart To Close Online Music Store
* New Type of e-Paper Can Be Used Up To 260 Times
* The Biggest Dangers to Your Fiber
* Feds' Radios Have Significant Security Flaws
* Perseid Meteor Shower To Be Hampered By Full Moon
* GameFly To Jump Into Digital Game Rentals
* Smartphone-Style Touch Sensing On an 82-Inch Screen
* NASA Taps 7 Commercial Firms For Suborbital Flights
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Anonymous Vows To Destroy Facebook
| from the gonna-need-a-bigger-boat dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 09, @20:18 (Facebook)
| with 561 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0015221/Anonymous-Vows-To-Destroy-Facebook?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DarkOx sends this snippet from BusinessInsider: "Anonymous has [0]vowed
to destroy Facebook on November 5th (which should ring a bell). Citing
privacy concerns and the difficulty involved in deleting a Facebook
account, Anonymous hopes to 'kill Facebook,' the 'medium of communication
[we] all so dearly adore.' They continued, 'It is not a battle over the
future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed
consent. ... Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that
is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details
away from them "for their own good" while they then make millions off of
you. When a service is "free," it really means they're making money off
of you and your information.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0015221/Anonymous-Vows-To-Destroy-Facebook?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.businessinsider.com/anonymous-facebook-2011-8
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Old Arguments May Cost Linux the Desktop
| from the water-under-the-bridge dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 10, @12:00 (Cloud)
| with 498 comments
| https://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1555219/Old-Arguments-May-Cost-Linux-the-Desktop?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]itwbennett writes "The old Linux arguments that pit one tool against
another ��� Evolution vs. Thunderbird, LibreOffice vs. OpenOffice, and
GNOME3 vs. Unity vs. KDE vs. everything else ��� [1]may cost Linux its shot
at the desktop, opines blogger Brian Proffitt. 'We can compare
LibreOffice to OpenOffice.org to Office till the cows come home,' says
Proffitt. 'But what happens when Google Docs gets truly robust enough for
business and high-end document production? Or Prezi gets enough mindshare
to start an upwards trajectory of user numbers?' It should be the case
that increasing reliance on cloud software will make it easier for
businesses to choose Linux, but for that to happen, Linux communities
need to stop fighting the old fights, says Proffitt."
Discuss this story at:
https://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1555219/Old-Arguments-May-Cost-Linux-the-Desktop?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.itworld.com/
1. http://www.itworld.com/it-managementstrategy/192173/will-linux-miss-its-big-desktop-shot
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The London Riots and Facial Recognition Technology
| from the digital-mobs-fighting-real-mobs dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 10, @02:19 (Crime)
| with 441 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/062225/The-London-Riots-and-Facial-Recognition-Technology?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
nonprofiteer writes "A bunch of vigilantes are organizing a Google Group
dedicated to using recently revealed [0]facial recognition tools to
[1]identify looters in the London riots. While Vancouver discussed doing
something similar after the Stanley Cup riots, the city never actually
moved forward on it. Ring of Steel London, though, is [2]far more likely
to incorporate FRT into its investigative work." A related article points
out how development of face-recognition technology has been [3]kept under
wraps by some organizations, but [4]we're getting to the point where
it'll soon be ubiquitous.
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/062225/The-London-Riots-and-Facial-Recognition-Technology?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/01/1533210/How-Face-Recognition-Can-Uncover-SSNs
1. http://blogs.forbes.com/kashmirhill/2011/08/09/will-london-riots-be-the-turning-point-for-facial-recognition-as-crime-fighting-tool/
2. http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/09/google-group-members-to-use-facial-recognition-to-identify-london-rioter/
3. http://www.slate.com/id/2299134/pagenum/all/
4. http://www.motherboard.tv/2011/8/9/the-cop-iphone-app-that-knows-your-face-and-can-send-you-to-jail
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Ask Slashdot: What OS For a Donated Computer?
| from the free-and-tax-deductible-software dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 10, @05:09 (Operating Systems)
| with 350 comments
| https://ask.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0632241/Ask-Slashdot-What-OS-For-a-Donated-Computer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]chefwear writes "I am thinking of donating retired computers to a
local charity for kids. What OS do you think would be best for this? From
reading tips regarding the donation of computers, it's widely recommended
to keep with the currently installed OS (which is Windows XP in this
case). Since XP will be unsupported in about two years, I'm not sure I
would be setting the little ones up for success. Would anyone suggest
donating a computer with a Linux distro like Ubuntu to a local charity
for kids?"
Discuss this story at:
https://ask.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0632241/Ask-Slashdot-What-OS-For-a-Donated-Computer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. mailto:cameron.paulk@gmail.com
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| New Drug Could Cure Nearly Any Viral Infection
| from the universal-cure dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @16:14 (Science)
| with 337 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1917232/New-Drug-Could-Cure-Nearly-Any-Viral-Infection?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HardYakka writes "A team of researchers at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory have
designed a drug that can [0]identify cells that have been infected by any
type of virus, then kill those cells to terminate the infection. The
researchers [1]tested their drug against 15 viruses, and found it was
effective against all of them ��� including rhinoviruses that cause the
common cold, H1N1 influenza, a stomach virus, a polio virus, dengue fever
and several other types of hemorrhagic fever."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1917232/New-Drug-Could-Cure-Nearly-Any-Viral-Infection?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2011/08/possible-progress-in-medicine.html
1. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022572
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| New USB Specification Promises 100W of Power
| from the now-you're-playing-with-power dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 10, @08:53 (Power)
| with 266 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1224202/New-USB-Specification-Promises-100W-of-Power?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blacklaw writes "The group behind the USB 3.0 specification has
[0]announced a tweak which could lead to impressive new devices,
including large-format displays, printers, and even laptops that are
powered entirely from a USB port."
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1224202/New-USB-Specification-Promises-100W-of-Power?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.thinq.co.uk/2011/8/10/new-usb-specification-promises-100w-power/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Court Rules Sending Too Many Emails Is "Hacking"
| from the if-you-send-it-more-than-twice-your-hacking-it dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @15:02 (The Courts)
| with 253 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/182224/Court-Rules-Sending-Too-Many-Emails-Is-Hacking?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "An appeals court has ruled that having people
send a company a lot of emails (in this case, a union protesting a
company's business practices) [0]qualifies as hacking under the Computer
Fraud & Abuse Act. We're not even talking about a true DDoS action here,
but just a bunch of protest emails. Part of the problem is that the
company apparently set up their email to only hold a small number of
emails in their inbox, and the court seems to think the union should take
the blame for stuffing those inboxes."
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/182224/Court-Rules-Sending-Too-Many-Emails-Is-Hacking?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Why The US Will Lose a Cyber War
| from the not-enough-code-red dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 10, @09:37 (China)
| with 232 comments
| https://slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1247248/Why-The-US-Will-Lose-a-Cyber-War?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "There's not another nation in the world that
can wage kinetic warfare as effectively as the United States, and that's
probably at the heart of the reason why [0]the United States will lose a
war fought in cyberspace, leading cyber security analyst Jeffrey Carr
writes."
Discuss this story at:
https://slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1247248/Why-The-US-Will-Lose-a-Cyber-War?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://the-diplomat.com/flashpoints-blog/2011/08/10/why-us-will-lose-cyber-war/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Dashboard Avatar To Replace Car Owner's Manuals
| from the clippy-says-you-need-oil dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @14:15 (Transportation)
| with 214 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1730230/Dashboard-Avatar-To-Replace-Car-Owners-Manuals?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cylonlover writes "At one time not all that long ago, cars had a warning
light on the dashboard that simply said 'ENGINE.' That's pretty vague.
Really, it might just as well have said 'CAR.' Some newer automobiles now
have codes that appear on the console, which the driver must then look up
in an index in the vehicle's owner's manual. Working with Audi, Germany's
Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) Institute of Business Informatics
is now working on taking things a step farther, with the development of
an [0]on-screen avatar that will talk to drivers, and even understand
their spoken questions."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1730230/Dashboard-Avatar-To-Replace-Car-Owners-Manuals?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.gizmag.com/driving-avatar-to-replace-owners-manuals/19468/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| A Quest For the Perfect SNES Emulator
| from the do-a-barrel-roll dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 10, @06:36 (Nintendo)
| with 208 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0641202/A-Quest-For-the-Perfect-SNES-Emulator?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader sends this excerpt from the Opposable Thumbs blog:
"It doesn't take much raw power to play Nintendo or SNES games on a
modern PC; emulators could do it in the 1990s with a mere 25MHz of
processing power. But emulating those old consoles accurately ��� well,
that's another challenge entirely; [0]accurate emulators may need up to
3GHz of power to faithfully recreate aging tech. ... As an example,
compare the spinning triforce animation from the opening to Legend of
Zelda on the ZSNES and bsnes emulators. On the former, the triforces will
complete their rotations far too soon as a result of the CPU running well
over 40 percent faster than a real SNES. These are little details, but if
you have an eye for accuracy, they can be maddening. ... The primary
demands of an emulator are the amount of times per second one processor
must synchronize with another. An emulator is an inherently serial
process. Attempting to rely on today's multi-core processors leads to all
kinds of timing problems. Take the analogy of an assembly line: one
person unloads the boxes, another person scans them, another opens them,
another starts putting the item together, etc. Synchronization is the
equivalent of stalling out and clearing the entire assembly line, then
starting over on a new product. It's an incredible hit to throughput. It
completely negates the benefits of pipelining and out-of-order execution.
The more you have to synchronize, the faster your assembly line has to
move to keep up."
Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0641202/A-Quest-For-the-Perfect-SNES-Emulator?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Google Pulls Plug On Programming For the Masses
| from the hacking-is-cancelled dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 10, @12:44 (Education)
| with 207 comments
| https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1615234/Google-Pulls-Plug-On-Programming-For-the-Masses?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
theodp writes "Google has decided to [0]pull the plug on Android App
Inventor, which was once [1]touted as a game-changer for introductory
computer science. In an [2]odd post, Google encourages folks to 'Get
Started!' with the very product it's announcing will be discontinued as a
Google product. [3]The move leaves CS Prof David Wolber baffled. ' In the
case of App Inventor,' writes Wolber, 'the decision affects more than
just your typical early adopter techie. It hurts kids and schools, and
outfits like Iridescent, who use App Inventor in their Technovation
after-school programs for high school girls, and Youth Radio's Mobile
Action Lab, which teaches app building to kids in Oakland California.
You've hurt professors and K-12 educators who have developed new courses
and curricula with App Inventor at the core. You've hurt universities who
have redesigned their programs.' Wolber adds: 'Even looking at it from
Google's perspective, I find the decision puzzling. App Inventor was [4]a
public relations dream. Democratizing app building, [5]empowering kids,
women, and underrepresented groups ��� this is good press for a company
continually in the news for anti-trust and other far less appealing
issues. And the cost-benefit of the cut was negligible-believe it or not,
App Inventor was a small team of just 5+ employees! The Math doesn't make
sense.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1615234/Google-Pulls-Plug-On-Programming-For-the-Masses?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/10/app_inventor/
1. http://sites.google.com/site/androidblocks/
2. http://www.googlelabs.com/show_details?app_key=agtnbGFiczIwLXd3d3IUCxIMTGFic0FwcE1vZGVsGPOaIgw
3. http://appinventorblog.com/2011/08/09/app-inventor-discontinued-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/
4. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/technology/12google.html
5. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/future-female-engineers-come-together.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| IBM Plays <em>SimCity</em> With Portland, Oregon
| from the enjoy-your-godzilla-and-wildfires dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 10, @08:13 (Government)
| with 203 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0549213/IBM-Plays-SimCity-With-Portland-Oregon?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Hugh Pickens writes "Portland, Oregon will be the first city to use
IBM's new software called Systems Dynamics for Smarter Cities, containing
[1]3,000 equations which collectively seek to model cities' emergent
behavior and help them figure out how policy can affect the lives of
their citizens. The program seeks to quantify the cause-and-effect
relationships between seemingly uncorrelated urban phenomena. 'What's the
connection, for example, between ... obesity rates and carbon emissions?'
writes Greg Lindsay. 'To find out, simply round up experts to hash out
the linkages, translate them into algorithms, and upload enough
historical data to populate the model. Then turn the knobs to see what
happens when you nudge the city in one direction.' One of the drivers of
the '[2]Portland Plan' is the city's commitment to a 40 percent decrease
in carbon emissions by 2030, which necessitates less driving and more
walking and biking. After running the model, [3]planners discovered a
positive feedback loop: More walking and biking would lead to lower
obesity rates for Portlanders. In turn, a fitter population would find
walking and biking a more attractive option. But as the field of urban
systems gathers steam, it's important to remember that IBM and its fellow
technology companies aren't the first to offer a quantitative toolkit to
cities. In the 1970s, RAND built models they thought could predict fire
patterns in New York, and then [4]used them to justify closing fire
stations in NYC's poorest sections in the name of efficiency, a decision
that would ultimately displace 600,000 people as their neighborhoods
burned."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0549213/IBM-Plays-SimCity-With-Portland-Oregon?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://poncacityweloveyou.com/
1. http://www.fastcompany.com/1772083/ibm-partners-with-portland-to-play-simcity-for-real
2. http://www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan/
3. http://www.govtech.com/policy-management/Software-Helps-Cities-See-the-Future.html
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_shrinkage
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Wall Street: Software More Valuable Than Oil
| from the rich-in-ideas dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @16:58 (Apple)
| with 157 comments
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1928206/Wall-Street-Software-More-Valuable-Than-Oil?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]CWmike writes "The tech industry's answer to this week's stock market
roller coaster was delivered on Tuesday by the mighty Apple Inc. Apple
saw its stock price rise enough ��� gaining more than 5% ��� [1]to briefly
surpassed Exxon Mobil as the most valuable company in the U.S., according
to an AP analysis of its market cap. (Exxon Mobile wound up the day
slightly ahead of Apple.) Most of the other major tech companies ���
including Intel, IBM, Dell, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard ��� all finished
in positive territory yesterday, as markets made up ground lost in the
big sell-off on Monday that also hit oil prices and other
commodities.Tuesday's rally may be all that's needed to shake away, at
least temporarily, some of the economic concerns the IT industry still
faces. By closing in on Exxon, Apple effectively affirmed that there are
few limits to tech growth. CW blogger Jonny Evans posits that [2]ideas
are why Apple beats Exxon on market cap, noting, 'While Exxon drills,
hammers and crushes its way to find its billions, Apple's mind-miners
explore myriad complexities to develop and understand new technologies.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1928206/Wall-Street-Software-More-Valuable-Than-Oil?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://twitter.com/mikeatcw
1. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9219023/Wall_Street_Software_more_valuable_than_oil
2. http://blogs.computerworld.com/18771/ideas_are_why_apple_beats_exxon_in_market_cap
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Apple Now Offering Free Recycling For PCs
| from the out-with-the-old dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @15:49 (Apple)
| with 149 comments
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1912222/Apple-Now-Offering-Free-Recycling-For-PCs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]MrSeb writes "Do you have a few old, dusty beige-box computers kicking
around that you'd like to turn into money? Or perhaps you'd just like to
get rid of them, but you lack the means to dispose of them properly?
Well, if you're in the US you're in luck: Apple will now provide
postage-paid packaging to allow you to [1]recycle your old laptop or
desktop PC and its monitor for free, and if it's worth anything, you'll
even get an Apple Gift Card in return. In addition, your old iPhone or
iPad can now be returned for an Apple Gift Card, too."
Discuss this story at:
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1912222/Apple-Now-Offering-Free-Recycling-For-PCs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://mrseb.co.uk/
1. http://www.extremetech.com/computing/92348-apple-now-offering-free-recycling-and-gift-cards-for-old-windows-pcs
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Copycat "hiPhone 5" Surfaces In China
| from the certified-authentic-fake dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @19:50 (China)
| with 149 comments
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/225227/Copycat-hiPhone-5-Surfaces-In-China?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hypnosec writes "A fake iPhone 5, inspired by the leaked images of the
device, has been discovered to be on sale in China. [0]The quality of the
hiPhone 5 varies with the price, with the most premium version of the
device being available for 800 yuan or ��76. The device reportedly comes
in red and pink. Chinese media is reporting that the fake iPhone 5 is
thinner than the iPhone 4 and comes with round edges. Other reports are
claiming that the device is extremely light and almost feels like that
one is holding a plastic toy. The reports are likely based on some images
that were leaked by the supply chain." Since they're going to the trouble
of [1]building counterfeit stores, the knock-off phones shouldn't
surprise anyone.
Discuss this story at:
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/225227/Copycat-hiPhone-5-Surfaces-In-China?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/10/us-china-iphone-idUSTRE7791UM20110810
1. http://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/07/20/175220/Fake-Apple-Stores-Mushrooming-In-China
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Orange Goo Invades Alaskan Village
| from the invasion-begun dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @11:24 (Earth)
| with 142 comments
| https://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1447214/Orange-Goo-Invades-Alaskan-Village?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
s31523 writes "When the residents of the Alaskan village of Kivalina woke
up last week, the unexpected sight of an [0]orange goo covering the
surface of the water was quite alarming. Suspecting a oil spill or some
other man-made disaster, the residents worried about the toxicity of the
substance. After NOAA investigated, it was found the that goo is an
unknown type of [1]microscopic eggs. According to NOAA scientist Keep
Rice, 'We now think these are some sort of small crustacean egg or
embryo, with a lipid oil droplet in the middle causing the orange color.'
More work is needed to identify what the eggs are and what caused them to
show up."
Discuss this story at:
https://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1447214/Orange-Goo-Invades-Alaskan-Village?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.businessinsider.com/alaska-orange-goo-2011-8
1. http://www.businessinsider.com/orange-goo-that-invaded-an-alaskan-village-turns-out-to-be-eggs-2011-8
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 4G and CDMA Reportedly Hacked At DEFCON
| from the hack-and-slash dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 10, @10:16 (Cellphones)
| with 133 comments
| https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1338201/4G-and-CDMA-Reportedly-Hacked-At-DEFCON?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "At the DEFCON 19 hacking conference it seems
that a full man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack was [0]successfully launched
against all 4G and CDMA transmissions in and around the venue, the Rio
Hotel in Las Vegas. This MITM attack enabled hackers to gain permanent
kernel-level root access in some Android and PC devices using a rootkit,
and non-persistent user space access in others. In both cases, whoever
launched this attack on CDMA and 4G devices was able to steal data and
monitor conversations. For now the only evidence that such an attack
occurred is a Full Disclosure mailing list post, but in the next few
hours and days, depending on the response from cellular carriers, we
should know whether it's real or not."
Discuss this story at:
https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1338201/4G-and-CDMA-Reportedly-Hacked-At-DEFCON?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.extremetech.com/computing/92370-4g-and-cdma-reportedly-hacked-at-def-con
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Microsoft Patches 1990s-Era 'Ping of Death'
| from the better-late-than-never dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 10, @00:18 (Bug)
| with 125 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0412224/Microsoft-Patches-1990s-Era-Ping-of-Death?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]CWmike writes "Microsoft on Tuesday [1]issued 13 security updates that
patched 22 vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, Windows, Office and
other software, including one that harked back two decades to something
dubbed 'Ping of Death.' While [2]other patched vulnerabilities we more
serious, one marked 'CVE-2011-1871' brought back memories for nCircle's
Andrew Storms. 'This looks like the Ping of Death from the early-to-mid
1990s,' he said. 'Then, when a specially-crafted ping request was sent to
a host, it caused the Windows PC to blue screen, and then reboot.' Two
decades ago, [3]the Ping of Death (YouTube video demonstration) was used
to bring down Windows PCs remotely, often as a way to show the
instability of the operating system."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0412224/Microsoft-Patches-1990s-Era-Ping-of-Death?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://twitter.com/mikeatcw
1. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9219022/Microsoft_patches_1990s_era_Ping_of_Death_
2. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS11-057.mspx
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzuFYdDUjsQ
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| CERN To Tap Unused Desktop Power To Help Find Higgs Boson
| from the god-particle-the-home-game dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @13:30 (Science)
| with 107 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/176222/CERN-To-Tap-Unused-Desktop-Power-To-Help-Find-Higgs-Boson?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hypnosec writes "Research institute CERN has launched a new project to
[0]tap into the extra computing power from the public for its Large
Hadron Collider atom smashing project. According to the organization, the
[1]LHC@home project will, for the first time, allow volunteers to aid in
high-energy collisions of protons in CERN's Large Hadron Collider and in
turn helping physicists to unravel the mysteries of the origin of the
universe"
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/176222/CERN-To-Tap-Unused-Desktop-Power-To-Help-Find-Higgs-Boson?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.dailytech.com/CERN+Invites+Citizens+to+Help+the+LHC+Find+the+Higgs+Boson/article22388.htm
1. http://lhcathome.web.cern.ch/LHCathome/Physics/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Gamification — Valid Term or Marketing-Speak?
| from the click-through-for-five-bonus-slashpoints dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 09, @22:23 (Games)
| with 93 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0217251/Gamification-mdash-Valid-Term-or-Marketing-Speak?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Trepidity writes "Controversy continues over the seemingly unstoppable
trend of 'gamification' (something we've [1]discussed previously). The
University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business held a
Gamification Symposium entitled '[2]For The Win' this week, indicating
apparent academic respectability. But in the opening panel debating
definitions of 'gamification,' one participant, game scholar Ian Bogost,
[3]defined it as 'bulls***.' Elsewhere, Jon Radoff responds that it may
not be BS, but is [4]too focused on superficial behaviorism rather than
deeper gameplay. For my part, I wonder if by claiming gamification is a
completely new thing, rather than just a new word, we're missing out on
important past lessons, like the very strange history of [5]Soviet
gamification."
Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0217251/Gamification-mdash-Valid-Term-or-Marketing-Speak?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.kmjn.org/
1. http://games.slashdot.org/story/11/03/31/0443201/Gamification-mdash-How-Much-of-It-Is-Really-New
2. http://mackcenter.wharton.upenn.edu/eventpage/2011/08/08/126-for-the-win-the-serious-gamification-symposium
3. http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/gamification-is-bullshit/243338/
4. http://radoff.com/blog/2011/08/09/gamification-behaviorism-bullshit/
5. http://www.kmjn.org/notes/soviet_gamification.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Gizmodo Off the Hook In iPhone 4 Investigation
| from the no-harm-no-foul dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @18:13 (Iphone)
| with 84 comments
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/213206/Gizmodo-Off-the-Hook-In-iPhone-4-Investigation?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "When [0]Gizmodo ran photos of Apple's iPhone
4 months before Apple even officially acknowledged it existed, the
blogosphere exploded with excitement. But when details leaked explaining
how Gizmodo came to find itself in possession of a pre-release iPhone 4,
that excitement quickly turned into indignation, and for some, anger.
Now, Gimzodo and Gizmodo editor Jason Chen have been [1]let off the hook
by the San Mateo DA's office."
Discuss this story at:
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/213206/Gizmodo-Off-the-Hook-In-iPhone-4-Investigation?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. https://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/04/20/1346208/Gizmodo-Blows-Whistle-On-4G-iPhone-Loser
1. http://www.edibleapple.com/gizmodo-and-jason-chen-off-the-hook-in-lost-iphone-4-investigation/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Wireless Charging On the Droid Bionic?
| from the stop-gnawing-on-cables dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 10, @11:06 (Android)
| with 77 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1456236/Wireless-Charging-On-the-Droid-Bionic?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mahiskali writes "New documents pertaining to the ever-hyped and
much-delayed Motorola Droid Bionic have surfaced on the FCC website.
Perusing through the documents, I noticed a very interesting feature: an
[0]inductive charging coil (click 'Internal Photos'), built into the
battery door housing. It seems Motorola may have some tricks up its
sleeve yet--but will it be enough to beat out the competition (read:
Samsung Galaxy S2, iPhone 5)?"
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1456236/Wireless-Charging-On-the-Droid-Bionic?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Military Working On Laser Powered Drones
| from the amazing-laser dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @17:25 (Shark)
| with 77 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1935227/Military-Working-On-Laser-Powered-Drones?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
disco_tracy writes "Modern militaries depend on fuel. Nearly 80 percent
of the supplies delivered to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan consist
of fuel, and it's no surprise that those military convoys are frequently
the targets of insurgents. In the last decade, 1000 soldiers have died
delivering gasoline to military operations. A new approach [0]using
lasers could provide power to drones in flight or to machines on the
ground and remove the need for gas deliveries to army bases."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1935227/Military-Working-On-Laser-Powered-Drones?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://news.discovery.com/tech/energy-beam-laser-military-110810.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Six Python Web Frameworks Compared
| from the best-of-breed dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @18:30 (Programming)
| with 74 comments
| https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/2111203/Six-Python-Web-Frameworks-Compared?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Rick Grehan provides an [1]in-depth
comparison of six Python Web frameworks, including CubicWeb, Django,
Pyramid, Web.py, Web2py, and Zope 2. 'No matter what your needs or
leanings as a Python developer might be, one of these frameworks promises
to be a good fit,' Grehan writes. 'As usual, the choice is highly
subjective. You will find zealots for each product, and every zealot is
able to present rational reasons why their chosen framework is
superior.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/2111203/Six-Python-Web-Frameworks-Compared?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.infoworld.com/
1. http://www.infoworld.com/d/application-development/pillars-python-six-python-web-frameworks-compared-169442
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Walmart To Close Online Music Store
| from the survival-of-the-most-convenient dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @17:46 (DRM)
| with 72 comments
| https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/210200/Walmart-To-Close-Online-Music-Store?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UnknowingFool writes "Beginning August 28, 2011 Walmart will close its
online downloadable music store. After eight years, [0]Walmart will no
longer offer music for download but will still sell physical music
formats. Walmart will keep their DRM servers online for customers that
purchased their music with DRM. Despite having cheaper music, the store's
market is tiny compared to No. 1 and 2, Apple and Amazon respectively."
Discuss this story at:
https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/210200/Walmart-To-Close-Online-Music-Store?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| New Type of e-Paper Can Be Used Up To 260 Times
| from the e-erasable dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @15:22 (Technology)
| with 65 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/185242/New-Type-of-e-Paper-Can-Be-Used-Up-To-260-Times?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]joaommp writes "Taiwanese scientists developed a new type of film that
can be [1]printed on a thermal printer and erased up to 260 times. The
boffins at the Industrial Technology Research Institute claim it as an
ideal replacement for paper signs and posters. It does not require
patterned electrodes. It is based on a plastic film covered with
cholestric liquid crystal, a type of liquid crystal structured similarly
to cholesterol molecules and can be erased by simply plugging it to a
power source and an A4 sheet costs only US $2. It is expected to be
available to consumers within the next two years."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/185242/New-Type-of-e-Paper-Can-Be-Used-Up-To-260-Times?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.indiegogo.com/TheLifeBracelet
1. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/08/us-taiwan-paper-idUSTRE7770LU20110808
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Biggest Dangers to Your Fiber
| from the cutting-the-cord dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @19:22 (The Internet)
| with 62 comments
| https://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/2154236/The-Biggest-Dangers-to-Your-Fiber?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ffejie writes "Fred Lawler, SVP of Global Field Services at Level 3 has
an [0]amusing look at some strange fiber cuts that he's seen in his days
maintaining a large fiber network across the US. Whether it's squirrels,
vandals, storms or truckers, it seems everyone has a new way to destroy
the fiber that keeps the global communications infrastructure afloat."
Discuss this story at:
https://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/2154236/The-Biggest-Dangers-to-Your-Fiber?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://blog.level3.com/2011/08/04/the-10-most-bizarre-and-annoying-causes-of-fiber-cuts/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Feds' Radios Have Significant Security Flaws
| from the listening-to-the-listeners dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @19:01 (Encryption)
| with 52 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/2113246/Feds-Radios-Have-Significant-Security-Flaws?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OverTheGeicoE writes "The Wall Street Journal has a story describing how
the [0]portable radios used by many federal law enforcement agents have
major security flaws that allow for easy eavesdropping and jamming.
Details are in a [1]new study being released today (PDF). The authors of
the study were able to intercept hundreds of hours of sensitive traffic
inadvertently sent without encryption over the past two years. They also
describe how a [2]texting toy targeted at teenage girls can be modified
to jam transmissions from the affected radios, either encrypted or not."
Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/2113246/Feds-Radios-Have-Significant-Security-Flaws?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/08/10/security-flaws-in-feds-radios-make-for-easy-eavesdropping/
1. http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/p25sec08102011.pdf
2. http://uk.girltech.com/electronics-imMe.aspx
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Perseid Meteor Shower To Be Hampered By Full Moon
| from the it-is-too-a-moon dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 10, @02:55 (Earth)
| with 38 comments
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0625238/Perseid-Meteor-Shower-To-Be-Hampered-By-Full-Moon?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "The annual Perseid meteor shower, which is
caused by debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle and has been observed for about
2000 years, [0]will be hampered this year by the full moon. The full moon
falls on August 13, and is also called 'Grain Moon' or 'Green Corn Moon.'
During this time, the moon rises about the same time the sun sets, and
sets at about the same time the sun rises. This will create difficulty in
viewing the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks on the night of Friday and
into the early morning of Aug. 13."
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0625238/Perseid-Meteor-Shower-To-Be-Hampered-By-Full-Moon?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| GameFly To Jump Into Digital Game Rentals
| from the full-steam-ahead dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 09, @21:10 (The Internet)
| with 37 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/016229/GameFly-To-Jump-Into-Digital-Game-Rentals?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "GameFly apparently wants to follow in the
footsteps of Netflix, announcing plans to launch a new online client that
[0]allows users to download and install their rentals over the internet.
The service won't require a separate subscription, but will be bundled
alongside a standard GameFly by-mail subscription. GameFly acquired
digital game retailer Direct2Drive earlier this year, so it's likely they
are harnessing this technology to offer the new service."
Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/016229/GameFly-To-Jump-Into-Digital-Game-Rentals?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/09/gamefly-to-add-unlimited-pc-play-this-holiday/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Smartphone-Style Touch Sensing On an 82-Inch Screen
| from the life-size-angry-birds dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 10, @01:20 (Displays)
| with 30 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0434206/Smartphone-Style-Touch-Sensing-On-an-82-Inch-Screen?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Those giant touch screens used by CNN anchors
look slick, but have to be several feet thick to make room for the
cameras that track the touches. Perceptive Pixel, which makes the
screens, has now figured out a way to use capacitive touch (like on an
iPhone or tablet screen) at a larger scale, and says [0]giant touch
panels with 82-inch screens but just six inches deep will appeal to many
businesses."
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/0434206/Smartphone-Style-Touch-Sensing-On-an-82-Inch-Screen?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/38262/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| NASA Taps 7 Commercial Firms For Suborbital Flights
| from the space-outsourcing dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 10, @16:38 (NASA)
| with 25 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1921226/NASA-Taps-7-Commercial-Firms-For-Suborbital-Flights?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]coondoggie writes "NASA this week picked seven commercial space
companies to fly a manner of experiments on their suborbital aircraft.
According to NASA [1]the companies will split $10 million and get a
two-year contract that will let NASA set up a pool of reusable suborbital
systems that could help it test applications in everything from
astrobiology to measuring the impact of a solar storm."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/10/1921226/NASA-Taps-7-Commercial-Firms-For-Suborbital-Flights?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://networkworld.com/
1. http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/nasa-taps-7-commercial-space-companies-suborb
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